If you're building traps you have a problem. The traps will catch bees but they won't stop your problem. "Well ya crazy ole fart what will"? I'm glad you ask but no one seems to do it. If one of you guys do try this let everyone else know your results. My buddies love it and it stopped a terrible infestation around my barn and sheds. That's why I started mixing it. I built over 20 traps of different styles trying to see which one was best. The 4x4 style was the winner which you made. I even drilled holes in the jars to let the thermion scent out but that doesn't help. It will help a trap get started if you'll swat a bee and put it in the jar for scent. Enough with what doesn't work and on to what does, Carpenter Bee Wax. This mixture took some time but I'm happy with this. Get a 13 oz container of petroleum jelly at the Dollar Store or Walmart ($2.50), get the 8 oz bottle of Permethrin 10% liquid ($10.50 I went to Tractor Supply but most farm stores will have it). Permethrin 10% is used to treat children's head lice and spray on animal to kill flies, it's considered safe for humans. The petroleum jelly mixes easily if you warm the container in a pot of warm water on the stove, it turns into a liquid. Mix 13 ounces of petroleum jelly with 4 ounces of Permethrin 10% pour both ingredients into a 1 quart canning jar and shake well, that's all there is to it. Draw the mixture into a 60 CC / 2 ounce catheter syringe with the long smooth tip ($3.30 at the farm store). You want it thick enough to stick in their holes but thin enough to be used in a syringe. Optional - put a 7" piece of 3/8 OD x 1/4 ID clear vinyl tubing ($3.20 for 10' at Lowes) on the end of the syringe to reach into their holes better. The tubing slides on the syringe easier if you heat it with a hair dryer or heat gun. When it's time to refill the syringe, warm the container in warm water on the stove so it can be drawn into the syringe. It doesn't take much to treat a hole, less is more in this case. A 60 CC syringe should treat 150 holes. Imagine a 7/16" diameter Carpenter Bee going down a 1/2" tunnel, all they have to do is get this stuff on em. This will make 17 ounces and the syringe holds 2 ounces so you will have 7 refills. Basically a lifetime supply and you've only used 1/2 of your Permethrin. I like to treat the hole while the bee is inside so early in the morning works well. Try to squirt the mixture about 1/2" - 3/4" inside the hole so it won't prevent the bee from going in if she isn't in there already. If I treat just inside the edge of the hole she doesn't want to go in. This targets the female that bores the hole, lays the eggs, and stings. The male doesn't do any of those things. This will kill their offspring as they emerge also. You'll find a pile of bees under a hole. It turns every existing hole into a trap. They'll start buzzing, crawl out of the hole, and die on the ground in a few minutes, I had dead bees everywhere. The petroleum jelly protects the Permethrin giving it a longer shelf life to last all season. If you spray Permethrin it would be effective about 14 days before starting to breakdown. For less than the price of one store bought trap you can mix this stuff, if anything is ever going to stop em this is it. This stuff will wax em, thus the name Carpenter Bee Wax. I'm not selling anything and make no money from this stuff but it fixed my problem and several others so I want to offer it to everyone. Might even make a good video, good luck everyone
Thank you for the time you spent in writing this. I will place traps up as the ones in the videos, but will also use this idea to combat the already made holes. I have a huge infestation of these suckers and have killed dozens by whacking them for around 12 days now, but they don't seem to be letting off. Thanks again.
@@BoggiestBog What started all this for me was Dad passed away in 2017 and I became a reluctant farmer. The barn and three sheds were infested with these things. I needed to do something fast but what? I started with Delta dust but that encouraged them to abandonee the old holes and drill more. Next came the traps and a butt load, different designs, types of woods, and locations. I use attractants in some traps and dead bees in others. Of the two dead bees are just as good and untreated pine is my wood of choice. I painted the top portion of some yellow to see if a color would attract them. It didn't seem to matter. 2019 rolled around and nothing had changed, the numbers wasn't going down and I had caught a lot last year. I needed something else. I was familiar with Permethrin and from what we're told it was safe to handle so I based my trials on it. It took a little time to get the consistency right. I was going to wait to see how it preformed but it was effective enough that I started telling friends and getting positive feedback from them. 2020 was much different, until this day it's hard to find one. You'll notice they like wood that warms first and gets sun all day. The southeast side of my buildings had the most damage while the west side wasn't effected. My deck at home faces west and I don't have a problem but my east and south facing neighbors did before the Bee Wax. If you would like to try this I'll be interested in your results. For some reason people think this is hard or something? I go into detail to make it simpler but I guess it sounds hard? If you have questions feel free to co0ntact me. I think if someone shows how easy it is and effective it is folks will use it. I'm 60 years old and not the guy you want videoing. lol I'm pretty sure RUclips and I wouldn't get along ! If you treat any holes overhead don't be under them when the female comes out. She won't be able to fly but she'll fall on ya. Females have an all black head and are the only ones that bore holes, lay eggs, and sting. Males have a yellow dot on their head that is easy to see, he only breeds the female. In warmer climates the female can breed two times a year producing 5 to 7 eggs each time. You'll find them piled up under the hole. We have an old refrigerator where I store mine, I don't know if that is necessary. I wish I knew more about it but I know this works. You know I'm not a professional because I didn't ya charge anything. lol
I have carpenter bees in my firewood. Is this mixture safe if the wood will be burned inside a house? If not Im gonna try these traps combined with fake wasps nests and a nest box. Hopefully they'll move to the nest box and away from firewood.
@@robertm5969 Good question Robert. I think the save thing to do is ask someone smarter than myself. What I have learned is these bees like wood that gets the early morning sun and warmth all day. At home my deck faces west so I don't have a problem but my eastern and southern facing neighbors did before Bee Wax. The most damage I have on the farm is also on the sunny sides of the structures. Is it possible to cover your wood with a tarp or move the pile into the shade? I'd try Googling burning Permethrin, some crack head is probably smoking it? lol
@@robertm5969 Good question Robert, to be safe I'd ask someone smarted than myself. What I have learned is these bees like the wood that gets the morning and all day sun. The sunny side of my structures sustained the most damage. I hung traps all around to see what they preferred. At home my deck faces west so I don't have a problem but my eastern and southern facing neighbors did before Bee Wax. Having said that is it possible to cover your wood with a tarp or move it into the shade? Traps won't stop them. From what self education I was able to find females can breed two times a year in warm climates laying 5 to 7 eggs each time. Bee Wax kills their offspring as they emerge effectively ridding you of bees. Personally no more Permethrin than you'd be burning I'd do it but that will be your call. Lets break it down, 60 CC syringe {2 oz} should treat 150 holes. It required 4 ounces of Permethrin to make 17 ounces of Bee Wax. You'll get 8.5 refills from 4 ounces of Permethrin. I'm not sure you'll use a quarter ounce if that much? lol Your call.
The access hole is drilled with a 1/2-in bit according to your introduction and what you used in the video, but during the video you called it a 3/8 inch bit. Also, I caught a lethargic carpenter bee and put it in the jar. This seemed to attract bees much faster than a empty jar. I never empty my jar, I think the bees are attracted by the scent of a dead bee, they go in to take over and already used hole.
If it had a bigger back then the other it's a queen. That's the only thing that will attract bees(mostly only wasps are those they sniff dead and come to defend)
My dad ended up tending generations of a carpenter bee "colony" and im moving them before we sell his house. Thank you. Ill keep tending them this way. ❤
I admire the damn things, being able to chew a near-perfect hole into wood as they can. But it sure is tough on the woodwork, and chemicals are a nasty inhumane way for them to die. The bees don't bite or sting, so they're merely a nuisance when they're out and about, but the long term damage on the structure they get after unfortunately outweighs my admiration for them. I hope these traps work...
I read somewhere that having a bee ir two in the trap increses other bees coming in. Maybe wrap the jar so other bees cant see them? (Note- i read this, and have no idea if bees can "see" or if they operate on something different. Yes. I consider myself a bee idiot, just sharing what i read )😂
@@ravishinghunk2671 It did, I was able to swat two bees and kill them, then placed them in the jar because apparently when they die they release pheromones. I trapped 1 bee using this trap so far. It’s been cooler outside and let bees but I’m leaving it out for the foreseeable future. 👍 We’ve had this buggers all around our 20x20 raised deck for a few years and I may need to make a few more traps.
I don't know why not. But it must be clear, allowing light to shine through it. If you try a plastic jar, please come back to this site and let us know.
If you put sugar water or anything in the bee trap, you'll catch honey bees, wasps, and flies, but no carpenter bees. Adding a dead carpenter bee will attract them. When another carpenter bee smells a dead carpenter bee, she enters the trap, thinking she can take over a nesting tunnel that another bee had already tunnelled into the wood.
@@spro3347 The damage they do is greatly exaggerated. I have certain holes that bees come back to every year. I look forward to seeing the small pile of saw dust they leave. Their value as pollinators cannot be overstated. Their numbers are decreasing just like all insects. We need to wake up before it’s too late.
I understand your concern over them as pollinators but they have done a great deal of damage to my fascia. What happens is they lay their eggs and then when they are larval stage, woodpeckers can hear them in the wood and will (and have at my house) tear up the wood to get to the larva. I'm probably looking at thousands of dollars worth of damage to my house. I have two neighbors one either side of me that raise bees so I don't worry about the impact of losing the carpenter bees.
If you're building traps you have a problem. The traps will catch bees but they won't stop your problem. "Well ya crazy ole fart what will"? I'm glad you ask but no one seems to do it. If one of you guys do try this let everyone else know your results. My buddies love it and it stopped a terrible infestation around my barn and sheds. That's why I started mixing it. I built over 20 traps of different styles trying to see which one was best. The 4x4 style was the winner which you made. I even drilled holes in the jars to let the thermion scent out but that doesn't help. It will help a trap get started if you'll swat a bee and put it in the jar for scent. Enough with what doesn't work and on to what does, Carpenter Bee Wax.
This mixture took some time but I'm happy with this. Get a 13 oz container of petroleum jelly at the Dollar Store or Walmart ($2.50), get the 8 oz bottle of Permethrin 10% liquid ($10.50 I went to Tractor Supply but most farm stores will have it). Permethrin 10% is used to treat children's head lice and spray on animal to kill flies, it's considered safe for humans. The petroleum jelly mixes easily if you warm the container in a pot of warm water on the stove, it turns into a liquid. Mix 13 ounces of petroleum jelly with 4 ounces of Permethrin 10% pour both ingredients into a 1 quart canning jar and shake well, that's all there is to it. Draw the mixture into a 60 CC / 2 ounce catheter syringe with the long smooth tip ($3.30 at the farm store). You want it thick enough to stick in their holes but thin enough to be used in a syringe. Optional - put a 7" piece of 3/8 OD x 1/4 ID clear vinyl tubing ($3.20 for 10' at Lowes) on the end of the syringe to reach into their holes better. The tubing slides on the syringe easier if you heat it with a hair dryer or heat gun. When it's time to refill the syringe, warm the container in warm water on the stove so it can be drawn into the syringe. It doesn't take much to treat a hole, less is more in this case. A 60 CC syringe should treat 150 holes. Imagine a 7/16" diameter Carpenter Bee going down a 1/2" tunnel, all they have to do is get this stuff on em. This will make 17 ounces and the syringe holds 2 ounces so you will have 7 refills. Basically a lifetime supply and you've only used 1/2 of your Permethrin. I like to treat the hole while the bee is inside so early in the morning works well. Try to squirt the mixture about 1/2" - 3/4" inside the hole so it won't prevent the bee from going in if she isn't in there already. If I treat just inside the edge of the hole she doesn't want to go in. This targets the female that bores the hole, lays the eggs, and stings. The male doesn't do any of those things. This will kill their offspring as they emerge also. You'll find a pile of bees under a hole. It turns every existing hole into a trap. They'll start buzzing, crawl out of the hole, and die on the ground in a few minutes, I had dead bees everywhere. The petroleum jelly protects the Permethrin giving it a longer shelf life to last all season. If you spray Permethrin it would be effective about 14 days before starting to breakdown. For less than the price of one store bought trap you can mix this stuff, if anything is ever going to stop em this is it. This stuff will wax em, thus the name Carpenter Bee Wax. I'm not selling anything and make no money from this stuff but it fixed my problem and several others so I want to offer it to everyone. Might even make a good video, good luck everyone
Thank you for the time you spent in writing this. I will place traps up as the ones in the videos, but will also use this idea to combat the already made holes. I have a huge infestation of these suckers and have killed dozens by whacking them for around 12 days now, but they don't seem to be letting off. Thanks again.
@@BoggiestBog What started all this for me was Dad passed away in 2017 and I became a reluctant farmer. The barn and three sheds were infested with these things. I needed to do something fast but what? I started with Delta dust but that encouraged them to abandonee the old holes and drill more. Next came the traps and a butt load, different designs, types of woods, and locations. I use attractants in some traps and dead bees in others. Of the two dead bees are just as good and untreated pine is my wood of choice. I painted the top portion of some yellow to see if a color would attract them. It didn't seem to matter. 2019 rolled around and nothing had changed, the numbers wasn't going down and I had caught a lot last year. I needed something else. I was familiar with Permethrin and from what we're told it was safe to handle so I based my trials on it. It took a little time to get the consistency right. I was going to wait to see how it preformed but it was effective enough that I started telling friends and getting positive feedback from them. 2020 was much different, until this day it's hard to find one. You'll notice they like wood that warms first and gets sun all day. The southeast side of my buildings had the most damage while the west side wasn't effected. My deck at home faces west and I don't have a problem but my east and south facing neighbors did before the Bee Wax. If you would like to try this I'll be interested in your results. For some reason people think this is hard or something? I go into detail to make it simpler but I guess it sounds hard? If you have questions feel free to co0ntact me. I think if someone shows how easy it is and effective it is folks will use it. I'm 60 years old and not the guy you want videoing. lol I'm pretty sure RUclips and I wouldn't get along !
If you treat any holes overhead don't be under them when the female comes out. She won't be able to fly but she'll fall on ya. Females have an all black head and are the only ones that bore holes, lay eggs, and sting. Males have a yellow dot on their head that is easy to see, he only breeds the female. In warmer climates the female can breed two times a year producing 5 to 7 eggs each time. You'll find them piled up under the hole. We have an old refrigerator where I store mine, I don't know if that is necessary. I wish I knew more about it but I know this works. You know I'm not a professional because I didn't ya charge anything. lol
I have carpenter bees in my firewood. Is this mixture safe if the wood will be burned inside a house?
If not Im gonna try these traps combined with fake wasps nests and a nest box. Hopefully they'll move to the nest box and away from firewood.
@@robertm5969 Good question Robert. I think the save thing to do is ask someone smarter than myself. What I have learned is these bees like wood that gets the early morning sun and warmth all day. At home my deck faces west so I don't have a problem but my eastern and southern facing neighbors did before Bee Wax. The most damage I have on the farm is also on the sunny sides of the structures. Is it possible to cover your wood with a tarp or move the pile into the shade? I'd try Googling burning Permethrin, some crack head is probably smoking it? lol
@@robertm5969 Good question Robert, to be safe I'd ask someone smarted than myself. What I have learned is these bees like the wood that gets the morning and all day sun. The sunny side of my structures sustained the most damage. I hung traps all around to see what they preferred. At home my deck faces west so I don't have a problem but my eastern and southern facing neighbors did before Bee Wax. Having said that is it possible to cover your wood with a tarp or move it into the shade? Traps won't stop them. From what self education I was able to find females can breed two times a year in warm climates laying 5 to 7 eggs each time. Bee Wax kills their offspring as they emerge effectively ridding you of bees.
Personally no more Permethrin than you'd be burning I'd do it but that will be your call. Lets break it down, 60 CC syringe {2 oz} should treat 150 holes. It required 4 ounces of Permethrin to make 17 ounces of Bee Wax. You'll get 8.5 refills from 4 ounces of Permethrin. I'm not sure you'll use a quarter ounce if that much? lol Your call.
The access hole is drilled with a 1/2-in bit according to your introduction and what you used in the video, but during the video you called it a 3/8 inch bit. Also, I caught a lethargic carpenter bee and put it in the jar. This seemed to attract bees much faster than a empty jar. I never empty my jar, I think the bees are attracted by the scent of a dead bee, they go in to take over and already used hole.
So what is the correct size?
@@KOcritiques 1/2 inch is the correct size hole.
I agree.. More Bee, Dead Bee = More More Bee in Trap.. I even had a trap that I didn't empty with dozens..still catch bees
If it had a bigger back then the other it's a queen. That's the only thing that will attract bees(mostly only wasps are those they sniff dead and come to defend)
I've noticed that also.
My dad ended up tending generations of a carpenter bee "colony" and im moving them before we sell his house. Thank you. Ill keep tending them this way. ❤
Clever!
Worked well !!!!
Good stuff! Thanks. 😃👍🏼
Thank you! Very simple build.
Thanks, that was a big help!
Nice and easy. Thanks
Exactly what I've beenlooking for! Thanks!
Your welcome! Glad to help!
Yes.. bought one😊 at hardware couple years ago. Thanks❣️
Thank you we needed this! Seems like it's getting worse every year but they have only been coming to our porch for the past 2 years 🤔
Thanks for sharing. Do the traps have to be "primed" with anything to attract them?
Ours worked and for some reason the bees around here must be stupid because Wheatfields one of those jars halfway with dead bees before we emptied it
I admire the damn things, being able to chew a near-perfect hole into wood as they can. But it sure is tough on the woodwork, and chemicals are a nasty inhumane way for them to die. The bees don't bite or sting, so they're merely a nuisance when they're out and about, but the long term damage on the structure they get after unfortunately outweighs my admiration for them. I hope these traps work...
I read somewhere that having a bee ir two in the trap increses other bees coming in. Maybe wrap the jar so other bees cant see them?
(Note- i read this, and have no idea if bees can "see" or if they operate on something different. Yes. I consider myself a bee idiot, just sharing what i read )😂
Any videos of this actually working? Everybody makes videos on how to make them but they don’t work
Yes. I caught 15 this year already. Pretty crazy!
I tried this with 3/8” holes and the extra saw shavings I put in the jar, about half an inch of them. 🤞
Did it work? I'm curious..
@@ravishinghunk2671 It did, I was able to swat two bees and kill them, then placed them in the jar because apparently when they die they release pheromones. I trapped 1 bee using this trap so far. It’s been cooler outside and let bees but I’m leaving it out for the foreseeable future. 👍 We’ve had this buggers all around our 20x20 raised deck for a few years and I may need to make a few more traps.
They are solitary creatures, that is why they don’t enter if there are others in it. Thank you for this build.
Not 100% true. I’ve forgotten to empty the trap and I see where one goes in a trap full live/dead ones.
@@Mr.12volts that's verry true I also did the same thing.
unfortunately he was found dead
The only time I remove any dead bees is when I put one or two in a new bee trap. It then starts catching bees as soon as the trap is hung up.
Can you use plastic jars?
I don't know why not. But it must be clear, allowing light to shine through it. If you try a plastic jar, please come back to this site and let us know.
Yes. A plastic water bottle works great!
Yes! Plastic water bottle works great.
This is brilliant. Going to build one today. Thanks so much. What would you charge someone for these?
Am
$25
At the flea market here, they sell for $15.
Do you put anything in the jar to attract them?
I actually do not.
@@BOCraftsman thanks great idea
What size Jars are u using
@@user-tg8xf6bo6t Standard quart size Mason jar.
If you put sugar water or anything in the bee trap, you'll catch honey bees, wasps, and flies, but no carpenter bees. Adding a dead carpenter bee will attract them. When another carpenter bee smells a dead carpenter bee, she enters the trap, thinking she can take over a nesting tunnel that another bee had already tunnelled into the wood.
What stops the bees from leaving the bottle
They can’t figure out how to get back out.
The carpenter bees fly around and around and die within a few hours. They don't know to go to the center of the jar and then straight up.
Is this any danger to true bumblebees?
No other insects have entered my carpenter bee traps for years, not bumblebees, honey bees, or wasps.
That’s what I use and it catches the female only!
We should not be trapping these bees. They are just as valuable pollinators as honey bees.
You do realize that they will drill into your home, deck or wooden patio furniture
@@spro3347 The damage they do is greatly exaggerated. I have certain holes that bees come back to every year. I look forward to seeing the small pile of saw dust they leave. Their value as pollinators cannot be overstated. Their numbers are decreasing just like all insects. We need to wake up before it’s too late.
I understand your concern over them as pollinators but they have done a great deal of damage to my fascia. What happens is they lay their eggs and then when they are larval stage, woodpeckers can hear them in the wood and will (and have at my house) tear up the wood to get to the larva. I'm probably looking at thousands of dollars worth of damage to my house. I have two neighbors one either side of me that raise bees so I don't worry about the impact of losing the carpenter bees.
@@Pete_R63I suggest looking into pvc fascia. Coil stock if you're cheap
Well, conveniently, this is just a trap so we can all make them and send the bees to live in your house.