However, they are in direct line of the narrow passage that Mom walks through to do her gardening and have been harassing her everyday.
I thought some wood colored caulk would take care of the problem. I caulked all the holes I could see as well as below the fence where they seemed to have dug their entrance ways.I figured if I closed the doors to their entrance ways, they'd go somewhere else to set up their villages.
This golden bee tried to go in, then seemed to look at me and say, "OK...I give up, I think I'll head toward Kaneohe instead."
What a shock when I woke up this morning! I thought maybe Art didn't think I did a good enough job and had dug the holes out for me to redo. No, he wouldn't do that, but he always says I look for a way to place the blame on him first.
Then I looked below the holes and realized the bees had dug out the caulking I did the evening before all by themselves. Good grief!
OK... they've won this battle.
Unfortunately, I will have to escalate. I'll be caulking in the morning to give the caulk more time to dry. And I'm going to use a mirror to find all the holes below eye level that I must have missed before.
It's not over yet!
POSTSCRIPT: I'm glad to know the male bees don't sting. It's only the females that do. I thought I heard something under Art's breath when I told him, but he denies it completely. Now then... how can you tell which are the boy bees?
You know, if we could just get them to drill their holes where we need them---
ReplyDeleteI understand they are good pollinators, if a bit distructive of our houses. I havn't read anything that says they sting but I have read they don't like paint. My painted my porch with an oil based stain and it does seem to keep them away.
Good luck for your Mom's sake.
Good luck with your battle. Bees are such industrious insects and so necessary for life.
ReplyDeleteGood Luck!!!
ReplyDeleteWe're busy planting bee friendly plants to encourage more into the garden, but we don't want to encourage them to live here too. Since we moved here we've been bothered with swarms of flies at the end of summer, and last year found out where they've been nesting. Christopher might have dealt with it, perhaps not. We won't find out until later this year. I hope you win the next battle.
ReplyDeleteKay, there is something you can spray right in the holes they have dug and spray just that area of the fence they seem to like. If you got to Lowe's or Home Dept. I think they would know what it is called. We used to use it on our wood trim on our barn when we lived in NJ. Also I'm pretty sure boring bees don't sting, they do look very intimidating though when they buzz up to you and seem to stare you down! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your dilemma. Those pesky bees drill holes in my patio cover every Spring. Amazing how destructive they are. I finally had to resort to putting insecticide inside the holes then caulking them. I hated using the toxic spray, but I was about to have more holes than wood and it worked. Good luck with your battle.
ReplyDeleteGood luck in your bee battle! We have had them on our deck covering and had to spray then caulk also, but our main problem has been battling wasp which build between a double built privacy fence. They just seem to keep coming back no matter what we do!
ReplyDeleteOi veh! And what's to keep them from attacking YOU as you do all this work?
ReplyDeleteBe careful, Kay.
Yes, good luck with this, Kay! I understand why you need to find a way to stop them building where your mom might get bitten. You have some good tips from your commenters, so maybe you will find a solution without having to kill them.
ReplyDeletelife always seems to present new problems to us-good luck solving this one...bee careful!
ReplyDeleteHere there are bee keepers that will come and get the hive. Perhaps you can find one. They will always dig it out when the queen is in there.
ReplyDeleteBoy, you have been busier than busy lately. What wonderful birthdays, but I am so sorry about the water leak and the Fosomax. I''m glad she is living with you.
I planted crotons near my house, because though they are colorful like flowers, they don't attract bees. I haven't seen bees near here in a long time!
ReplyDeleteBees are very determined creatures. How about putting out one of the "houses" for carpenter bees, they look like blocks of wood drilled full of pencil size holes. Locate it away from where your mother walks.
ReplyDeleteI think they will always dig out in your fence. I'll be interested to see how this works out.
It must be awful to be allergic to bees. Good luck with them, they are hardy little buggers. Thank you for coming by.
ReplyDeleteKay, google says the females sting, although the males are more aggressive (but don't have stingers). Regardless, you don't want to mess around with bee allergies...
ReplyDeleteWe have carpenter bees that drill in our fences, and haven't had any luck with getting them to relocate. But then again, we have woodpeckers that bang on our house too, so obviously, the wood around here must taste good!
The photo of the yellow bee is very pretty--really shows his color!
When it comes to the birds and the bees, they always have their way.
ReplyDeleteNo jokes, I know how the birds behave, and they will have their way when it comes to nest building.
Now that's the question. How do you tell. Oh wait, the boy Bees are more colorful.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, you'll fix them I'm sure.
we have similar problems with bees in the summer. Hope your poor mom doesn't get bitten.
ReplyDeleteKay if you will use wood putty it dries much harder then caulk and is much harder for them to redrill. I also spray the wood with hornet and wasp spray and the holes haven't reappeared.
ReplyDeleteTulsamom: Aha! Wood putty! I shall go out and get some! Thanks a bunch!
ReplyDeleteI have never had to deal with carpenter bees. I am amazed at what they were able to do. I had no idea. i hope you have found the right solution.
ReplyDeleteeven if you plug the hole with concrete, they'll just drill a few inches away. Dunno the solution.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of carpenter bees. I'm amazed that they can drill holes like that.
ReplyDeleteBut that doesn't help with your problem. Sorry. I got nothing.
Just pull out the extension cord to their drill already.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of anyone ever getting stung by a carpenter bee. But the girl ones will be the ones wearing the cute little tutus, obviously.
walt
Interesting about the he-bees and the she-bees.
ReplyDeleteThey're good carpenters for sure and are keeping you busy as a bee.
They like to bore holes in my mailbox post.
ReplyDeleteWow! They can sure drill a hole, can't they?
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that carpenter bees stung at all -- interesting.