I found the spray to be a killer IF I could hit the bee but that's the problem.
- The bees are difficult to hit on the wing.
- The spray does NOT reach out to 25-feet as advertised when you aim upwards. (And then some of the mist falls back on me!)
- The spray is not effective n a windy day--and we get lots of those!
- I am not on "guard duty" full time.
They are nothing more than a couple of plywood boxes with a couple of smallish holes drilled slanting upward on each side and a larger hole on the bottom to which a Mason jar is attached. I simply lashed them to the extending ends of the logs rather than do any drilling/nailing into the house.
The idea is the bees enter the small holes, get confused and exit through the larger hole into the jar where they die. A friend in Tennessee a number of folks online seem to have success with them so we'll put them to the test here at the Aerie.
I may also add some faux hornets nests made from paper bags stuffed with plastic bags/Styrofoam to the underside of the covered porch and deck to scare the bees away.
5 comments:
I wish you good luck with the boxes. We had the same problem (called carpenter bees, in Missouri) years ago. The only thing that worked was to saturate all the exposed rafters with Raid.
Keep us updated on the traps! I haven't had a huge issue with carpenter bees, they like the carport but thats about it, and the carport needs to come down in the near future anyway, but a friend of mine has had a HUGE issue with them the last few years.
Btw, your comment about the wasp spray coming back on you, reminds me of the advice to carry wasp spray for personal protection. Bet you'll agree with me that while its not pleasant to get hit with the stuff its not even remotely "stop in your tracks" debilitating!
You're right about that "stop in your tracks" bit, Ruth. Heck! It doesn't even stop the bees in their tracks.
My prefered wasp spray has a different ingredient than the standard Spectracide stuff (though its still made by the same company), I find it works much better: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Spectracide-PRO-18-oz-Wasp-and-Hornet-Killer-Aerosol-HG-30110-6/100352314
For the distance problem (cause yah, none of them spray out properly to the distance needed) try this pole attachment (you still need to buy a separate pole to put it on): http://www.amazon.com/Spray-Close-6001-Extender/dp/B0014HBQLA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461504876&sr=8-1&keywords=spray+can+holder+pole
For if the traps don't work ;)
Just what I needed to read! I was smacking them with my Badminton racket (which is really satisfying) but I wasn't making a dent.
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