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Carpenter bees
May. 21st, 2013 05:11 pmSo you may recall I built a canoe rack a year or two ago. And it has been serving its purpose admirably and I've been pretty happy with it. The main structural elements were pressure treated 4 x 4s (pressure treated wood is the stuff that looks greenish brown) and the bracing and the actual bars that the canoes rested on were plain 2 x 4s (spruce, I think; I don't remember.)
A couple of afternoons ago I was looking thoughtfully out of the kitchen window (my rack is in front of the kitchen window) and saw a large black bee emerge from the bottom of one of the 2 x 4 bars... and fly away.
Shit! Carpenter bees!
I went outside promptly to investigate. Carpenter bees gnaw perfectly round holes in wood -- a bit smaller than a dime. They tunnel into the wood and I think they set up housekeeping in there. Having them in my canoe rack was totally unacceptable because while they hadn't bothered the canoes yet, and probably wouldn't bother the hulls in any case, they might be persistent enough to get through the varnish and into the fittings--the gunwales, the seats. I couldn't have that. Also once they settle in they send out scouts and might start attacking anything else made of wood nearby, which includes parts of the house.
Something Had To Be Done.
I went to the hardware store; they thought they had a bee trap but were still testing it. As an interim measure Kip and I moved the canoes off the rack, moved the rack away from the house, and sprayed it with the wasp poison Kip bought last summer when we had the burrowing wasps in the front yard. (What IS it with Tennessee and horrible insects?)
The bees were utterly unimpressed. The update from the hardware store was that the bee trap did not work. I decided that the thing to do was remove the infested parts, rebuild the rack with clean wood, and paint it. I bought 2 new 2 X 4s and Kip picked up oil-based stain. This morning I took the rack apart (I am SO glad I used screws to put it together) and inspected all the pieces for bee holes. Only two bars had been infected, so I put them in a contractor grade trashbag and wired the top shut. I cut replacements for them, put everything back together again, and put stain all over everything.
Those horrible bees were already sniffing around the new bars when I opened the can of stain.
I finished at pretty near 11 am this morning. I figure that is a good morning's work. I hope it works.
A couple of afternoons ago I was looking thoughtfully out of the kitchen window (my rack is in front of the kitchen window) and saw a large black bee emerge from the bottom of one of the 2 x 4 bars... and fly away.
Shit! Carpenter bees!
I went outside promptly to investigate. Carpenter bees gnaw perfectly round holes in wood -- a bit smaller than a dime. They tunnel into the wood and I think they set up housekeeping in there. Having them in my canoe rack was totally unacceptable because while they hadn't bothered the canoes yet, and probably wouldn't bother the hulls in any case, they might be persistent enough to get through the varnish and into the fittings--the gunwales, the seats. I couldn't have that. Also once they settle in they send out scouts and might start attacking anything else made of wood nearby, which includes parts of the house.
Something Had To Be Done.
I went to the hardware store; they thought they had a bee trap but were still testing it. As an interim measure Kip and I moved the canoes off the rack, moved the rack away from the house, and sprayed it with the wasp poison Kip bought last summer when we had the burrowing wasps in the front yard. (What IS it with Tennessee and horrible insects?)
The bees were utterly unimpressed. The update from the hardware store was that the bee trap did not work. I decided that the thing to do was remove the infested parts, rebuild the rack with clean wood, and paint it. I bought 2 new 2 X 4s and Kip picked up oil-based stain. This morning I took the rack apart (I am SO glad I used screws to put it together) and inspected all the pieces for bee holes. Only two bars had been infected, so I put them in a contractor grade trashbag and wired the top shut. I cut replacements for them, put everything back together again, and put stain all over everything.
Those horrible bees were already sniffing around the new bars when I opened the can of stain.
I finished at pretty near 11 am this morning. I figure that is a good morning's work. I hope it works.
