bees

kingskid7

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
24
my center console has uninfited guest. what I believe are carpenter bees, they are huge, especially when they do not want you on your boat. how do I get rid of them?they are definitely not a wasp or a hornet. who has a good answer for this one? please help, dan
 

fhhuber

Lieutenant
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
1,365
First thing is to call the government dept that deals with bees and beekeepers for your state.

tell them you don't know what type of bees.
They'll send someone out to identify them and if they are Honey Bees, they'll relocate them. If not, they will direct you about who to call for exterminating the bugs.

This guarantees you aren't killing honey bees that you misidentified.
 

kingskid7

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
24
I know enough about bees to know they are not honey bees, about two inches long they are big bees.dan
 

DeepCMark58A

Commander
Joined
Aug 17, 2015
Messages
2,030
Many people mistakenly call them bumble bees, they are carpenter bees and are destructive. I would also check for any soft wood because something drew them to nest there.
 

DeepCMark58A

Commander
Joined
Aug 17, 2015
Messages
2,030
Do you know where the nest is at? Go after them after dark, shine a light in there and spray the nest.
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,585
If they are carpenter bees, you should see some wood fibers somewhere around the area. They literally cut into wood and usually make about a 1/2" diameter hole when cutting their holes. So look for wood dust and if you see that, that are carpenter bees. If not, then they could be any number of other insects that resemble bees. Could even be dirt dobber bees which really aren't bees at all.

This is a carpenter bee and its hole.
Bees-2.png


This is a comparison between bumble bee and carpenter
Bees.png

ANd this is a dirt dobber bee nests or tubes
Bees-3.png
Hope you can identify what you have.
 

fishrdan

Admiral
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Messages
6,989
I had bees/wasps in my boat, 2 boats matter of fact... Both times I waited until late at night, reached up under the cover and put a couple bug bombs in the boat.

No-mo bees....
 

jsparks747

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Apr 12, 2017
Messages
77
my center console has uninfited guest. what I believe are carpenter bees, they are huge, especially when they do not want you on your boat. how do I get rid of them?they are definitely not a wasp or a hornet. who has a good answer for this one? please help, dan

Do you have any pictures? I am a beekeeper in my free time and can identify them for you. That does not sound like a carpenter bee though. They only lay in wood and will go into holes in it lay the eggs, seal it up, and leave. They mainly live in the ground.
 

Watermann

Starmada Splash of the Year 2014
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
13,747
I second the tarped over under the cover bug bomb or 2 after dark. It will wipe them out quick without a survivor.
 

jmb23802

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Oct 13, 2014
Messages
79
I have picked up more experience with carpenter bees than I desired. After I built a playset a few years ago the carpenter bees have tried to take up residence each summer since.

The biggest thing to remember, which can be hard to do at times, is that the males do NOT have a stinger and those are typically what you see flying around in the area of the nest. Typically there is a female digging the hole and the males will patrol the area. Since the males do not have a stinger there is no reason to be fearful of them - swat them with whatever you have handy - an old tennis racket works well.

For the females, you need to be more careful as they CAN and WILL sting you! For the females, I use carb/brake cleaner. I have even used a can of MAF sensor cleaner I had left over. The bees' bodies are basically held together with a waxy substance. Get a little degreaser on them and they die VERY quickly.

You can search the internet to figure out how to tell the females from the males - it's not too difficult once you understand what to look for. For every female you see there will several males around. Also, in my experience, the females are not very aggressive unless you interfere with them, whereas the males will act aggressive if you get in vicinity to try to bluff you out.

For the holes they leave behind, I typically spray a bunch of brake cleaner in the hole to kill any of the pupae in the hole then wad up some tin foil in a little ball and tuck it into the hole to ensure nothing comes in or out.

The above approach is more surgical than an insecticide bomb, but you have to find where the nest is - typically not hard to do if you watch the males for a little while as they come and go in and out of the nest. I caught a female starting a hole last week when I noticed a few males patrolling around the playset - a short blast with some brake cleaner and it died - haven't seen any carpenter bees around since!
 
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