Honey-Do Lists/Projects

**wickedsolo** · 03-29-2020, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by blueridgemtnman

Nice looking work there, Wicked. I hope the birds appreciate it.

I've been working on some carpenter bee boxes, since they (bees) are out already here. I have quite a bit of scrap 1x12 roughsawn pine to use up, anyway. I have mine that I put this time of year, but love using up the leftover wood and just give them to people. Seems every spring I make about 5-10 of them and they always get claimed by someone.

I’ve been wanting to make some of those myself. What design do you use?

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**blueridgemtnman** · 03-29-2020, 01:17 PM

Originally Posted by wickedsolo

I’ve been wanting to make some of those myself. What design do you use?

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I just attach a small mason jar at the bottom of the box. I'll see if I can get a picture of one.

**blueridgemtnman** · 03-29-2020, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by wickedsolo

I’ve been wanting to make some of those myself. What design do you use?

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I'm having trouble getting pics to upload on here today. Anyway, I can email you a photo of one of mine and/or you can check out this one from the web. There are a few minor things to know to increase the effectiveness of them, if interested.

Attachment 5245

**wickedsolo** · 03-29-2020, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by blueridgemtnman

I'm having trouble getting pics to upload on here today. Anyway, I can email you a photo of one of mine and/or you can check out this one from the web. There are a few minor things to know to increase the effectiveness of them, if interested.

Attachment 5245

Yes, definitely interested. I have a wood-sides house and carpenter beers are a huge nuisance.

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**blueridgemtnman** · 03-29-2020, 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by wickedsolo

Yes, definitely interested. I have a wood-sides house and carpenter beers are a huge nuisance.

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Yeah, me too. Board and batten pine. Left unchecked, they can do a number on it. I pretty much refuse to spray toxic chemicals all over my house, which, I believe, is commonplace. My siding looks very much like the picture I attached.

It's best to use natural softwood, like pine. No sealers, etc. Attach to structure, usually up under the eaves, not hanging freely. They very much prefer the warmer/sunnier sides of the house. When drilling the holes, make them ½" and angled sharply upwards. If you are placing them in a tough to reach place, you may want a larger jar, since it has to be emptied out from time to time. They say it's best to leave a few dead ones in the jar when emptying, as the bees see them and are attracted to them more. Maybe they fly by and see Uncle Charlie or Auntie Mabel in the jar? Usually, they die w/in a day or so. They should be placed early in the spring, before the bees start drilling holes to lay eggs. Once they drill a hole and lay eggs, they will ignore the traps. Have to get them up early to have an impact.

**BustOfPallas** · 03-30-2020, 04:04 PM

I picked up some discounted rough cut pine at Home Depot a couple years ago with an eye towards turning it into a barn door but am now thinking about making a big rocket shaped bat house out of it. My only fear is I will be too successful and at night my pool will have bats bouncing off of it. I just want something to eat all the Asian Tiger mosquitos. We don't have a ton of standing water around my house but those things don't need a lot.

**blueridgemtnman** · 03-30-2020, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by BustOfPallas

I picked up some discounted rough cut pine at Home Depot a couple years ago with an eye towards turning it into a barn door but am now thinking about making a big rocket shaped bat house out of it. My only fear is I will be too successful and at night my pool will have bats bouncing off of it. I just want something to eat all the Asian Tiger mosquitos. We don't have a ton of standing water around my house but those things don't need a lot.

I wish you luck. I built a bathouse about three years ago and we haven't had any yet. I even went online and did some research on them and did everything they recommended. I guess we'll get some eventually, but thought for sure we would have by now.

**BustOfPallas** · 03-30-2020, 04:57 PM

Originally Posted by blueridgemtnman

I wish you luck. I built a bathouse about three years ago and we haven't had any yet. I even went online and did some research on them and did everything they recommended. I guess we'll get some eventually, but thought for sure we would have by now.

I bought a little commercial one a few years back and it came with guano. I'm hoping owning a pool and thus a water source will help me attract them. I see them at night flitting about a lot. I would imagine the first one is the hard part.

After putting in that fence I am suddenly remembering/worry about carpenter bees. I hate those m*****ers. I don't have a lot of jars so I think I'm going to go with water bottles if I can make them work. Gotta protect that new fence.

**BustOfPallas** · 03-30-2020, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by blueridgemtnman

Yeah, me too. Board and batten pine. Left unchecked, they can do a number on it. I pretty much refuse to spray toxic chemicals all over my house, which, I believe, is commonplace. My siding looks very much like the picture I attached.

It's best to use natural softwood, like pine. No sealers, etc. Attach to structure, usually up under the eaves, not hanging freely. They very much prefer the warmer/sunnier sides of the house. When drilling the holes, make them ½" and angled sharply upwards. If you are placing them in a tough to reach place, you may want a larger jar, since it has to be emptied out from time to time. They say it's best to leave a few dead ones in the jar when emptying, as the bees see them and are attracted to them more. Maybe they fly by and see Uncle Charlie or Auntie Mabel in the jar? Usually, they die w/in a day or so. They should be placed early in the spring, before the bees start drilling holes to lay eggs. Once they drill a hole and lay eggs, they will ignore the traps. Have to get them up early to have an impact.

My observation with carpenters bees is they are deterred by stained/sealed wood, even water based stains, but the chemicals in pressure treated wood will not deter them. My fresh fence is going to attract a lot of them. I am going to deploy a lot of these on that side until I can seal it.

**blueridgemtnman** · 03-30-2020, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by BustOfPallas

I bought a little commercial one a few years back and it came with guano. I'm hoping owning a pool and thus a water source will help me attract them. I see them at night flitting about a lot. I would imagine the first one is the hard part.

After putting in that fence I am suddenly remembering/worry about carpenter bees. I hate those m*****ers. I don't have a lot of jars so I think I'm going to go with water bottles if I can make them work. Gotta protect that new fence.

Yeah, water bottles or anything w/a screw off cap/lid works fine. You just have to be sure you can get a big enough hole in the cap for them to get into the bottle.

**cvilleRaven** · 04-03-2020, 10:55 AM

The fireplace in my living room is all exposed brick, except for the mantle. That is an eyesore of concrete top caps, and it's not even level front to back. So, I'm building a new mantle. I had this project planned last fall, but never had time to get back to it. I purchased a router table specifically for this task. The assembly is a 1x10 pine board (I'm painting it when this is done) and two pieces of door casing. I put a Roman ogee edge on the bottom of the board, and the door casing pieces are fit into a groove I routed into the bottom of the pine board. I need to glue strips of 1/2" pieces onto the existing mantle and attach shims to level it (test fit went well). Mechanically attaching the strips to the concrete isn't an option - I tried drilling holes for stocking hooks back in December, and some of the mortar failed, so glue it is!

Before/after pics will follow when the project is done (probably by the middle of next week).

**cvilleRaven** · 04-03-2020, 11:09 AM

Originally Posted by BustOfPallas

My observation with carpenters bees is they are deterred by stained/sealed wood, even water based stains, but the chemicals in pressure treated wood will not deter them. My fresh fence is going to attract a lot of them. I am going to deploy a lot of these on that side until I can seal it.

WD-40 will kill them pretty quickly, and doesn't require much - just get a can with a long nozzle, aim inside the hole, and pull the trigger. You can also seal the holes with dowels - just drill it out the rest of the way (1/2" drill bit and dowel should suffice) and use an outdoor rated wood glue. Coat the tip of a dowel with glue, stick it in the hole and twist to spread the glue evenly, and cut it flush with the remaining surface (this works on materials which can handle a hole that big). Paint in a day. Follow up again any time you see a new hole (they burrow in the spring and lay eggs, then the new bees may drill out again). WD-40 will also kill the larvae. If you'd prefer to repel rather than exterminate, there are other methods. Either way, the holes need to be plugged and bare wood needs to be painted.