I have a stack of Pecan and Oak firewood for grilling on my patio. At my previous home, nothing molested my wood, save for the errant bug or borer worm.
Although I am only about 6 miles west of that place, my wood is constantly bothered by carpenter bees, leaving sawdust underneath the log they are working.
At first I tried wasp and hornet spray, trying another brand when the first did nothing, even when I gave the little buggers a face full at close range. Nothing.
So I decided to make a sport out of it, using an old college paddle that had the fraternity name burned in so the pop would show up as a signature on the unlucky recipient's butt.
These bees are curious in that if you miss, they almost always hang around flying in tight circles until you do hit them with a satisfying whack.
Tough they are though, as some of the ones that I've retrieved have come to and will eventually fly off, if not dispatched.
Fun game, I find myself hanging out by the sliding glass door ready to do battle with the tough little critters.

When reading this, 2 things come to mind. Using a badminton racket might be easier and faster to swing. Also, if a neighbor or passerby sees you, not knowing what you are doing, they may think you a bit touched! A buddy of mine used to shoot them with the .22 shotshells.

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Miss Buddies crsides & fat tom

Buy one of these lotsa fun.

Bug Zapper Racket: Mosquito Control | eBay

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Don

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

That's a great idea, I'm gonna get one.

WD-40 is kryptonite to them, try it.

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Back to back World War Champs.

Try soapy water

If you want them gone, dead and not returning, spray the only pesticide that will work on carpenter bees = pemethrin . I pick it up at the local farmers supply or a home depot or some garden place, comes in 10%, 32 or 38% and a small 1/2 pint can be found for around $ 10. it will kill all know insects and is the product used for the past many decades for termite treatment. Spray your wood pile, nothing in the insect line will be seen for 6-8 weeks. I have a friend who buys this stuff by the 5 gallon cases every year, keeps his entire yard sprayed, no tick, flees, ants, wasp, yellow jackets, spiders, etc are ever encounter around his house and shops. Best pesticides ever invented in my opinion. Its like the 44 caliber of the pesticide world. One well placed shot is all that is necessary.

I'm getting to like the sport of whacking them.

There are folks on this forum who load black pepper (coarse ground) in home-made shot shells that are supposed to be very effective and satisfying.

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On the Oak Savannah

I saw a professional exterminator use the badminton racket to whack these guys. They are too fast for a spray. He also used a powder to shoot into the bored holes.

[quote]Yes, they are fast, but they seem to challenge you by hovering within whacking range.

That was Chris aka N-Frame in Elgin ,SC
I have a neighbor that makes traps... If I can put one together I'll post some pix..
JIM...........

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SWCA # L-1911

a tennis racket. They like my log cabin. Bayer makes a pesticide that knocks 'em down pretty quick, keeps them from boring. I spray the cabin with it.
Nothin' better than givin' one a good backhand.


Ned

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Devil's afraid I'll take over.

Don't know about spraying pesticides on wood that you will use to grill with later. I have a cedar mail box post and those little buggers love it.
I now keep a tennis racket next to the door so when I retrieve my mail l also get a workout. l am up to fourteen kills. May start putting little bee stickers with a black line through each on the side of the mail box.

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Not so Free in the Free State

Guys you need to check out the electronic fly swatter at Harbor Freight. They run a coupon on them sometimes so you can get them for free with any purchase. I got one for free and my son has had a field day with it. It is powered by 2 D cell batteries. Yes it works really well.

Check the old post.........Several bee shooters here....me included......I used a .38 snub loaded with #9's. ......Like a miniature dove shoot.

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S&W Accumulator

I like the shotshell alternative.

I'm in the city, so I use bad minton rack (easier on the elbow than a tennis rack). Don't always kill them, but some get cut into which is might satisfying.
In the past, I muzzle loaded my pellet gun with #9 shot over one of those clean wads they sell for pellet rifles. Works great. Yeah, mini dove hunt.

Charlie

Carb cleaner. Any bug any place any time any where drops dead on the spot

The 17 years locusts came out where my folks lived and made a godawful LOUD electronic sounding racket. My Dad made a paddle and he would go out in the yard and swing it around like a madman. I don't know what good he was doing because there were millions of them per square mile.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Tried that, didn't work.
Tried straight gasoline and it didn't work, either. Never seen any other bug stand up to gas before.
You would think a solid whack from a fast moving board would smash them dead, but I have seen two come to afterward.
Incredibly tough little guys! If they weren't messing with my firewood, I'd leave them alone out of respect.

Any bug that eats and destroys your house does not deserve respect. They are in the same category as termites. Let them eat up your hard work and money. I say give them a good dose of pesticide. If you want fun, load some shot shells for one of those S & W revolvers and have fun, it is a mini dove shoot. Range time on the back deck.

As a side note, I find it amazing how they can bore a pretty good round hole and leave a neat pile of saw dust and when they got into my gable end fascia they could steer the tunnel to keep it inside the 3/4 inch board and would come to the dame board year after year. After a professional exterminator failed, I discovered the WD-40 and they are gone. A few came creeping around the following year but I hit the board again with WD and Bob's your Uncle.
Amazing little critters, I hope they all die.
And as another poster knows, that old line that cedar is naturally insect proof..... not so much with these guys.
.

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Back to back World War Champs.

I've yet to meet a bug that Berryman B-12 Chemtool carburetor cleaner did not kill instantly. I keep some around for dispatching the nasty crawly things that just laugh at bug sprays. To bugs, it's like a sledgehammer in a can.

Unless you have nothing better to do than stand around waiting to wack bees buy or make a bore bee trap and be done with them . It will not take very long to clear them out with a couple traps .

Heres a simple build scrap wood model that works
carpenter bees - a simple DIY trap - This Natural Dream

I like carpenter bee base ball. Use a broom for a bat and of course carpenter bees are the baseball's

They can be a pest here as well. The gutters seem to attract them, which keeps them too high, 11 ft, to whack and I don't want to shoot the house. So, I got a butterfly net and capture them, put them into a jar and put the jar in the sun, then add the carcass to the growing display of their bodies. It passes the time. They used to drill into the screen door frame, but now it's metal. They can wreck havoc in a short amount of time.

For years carpenter bees have provided sport for us at our cabin.Various tennis/badminton rackets have worked.We now use a .22 rifle or K-22 with shot shells.A 6 inch .38 with cornmeal loaded in 38 cases works well.Sounds like you are in a urban area may want to try an item called Bug-A-Salt .A quick google search will yield you tube videos.Seems like fun.

If allowed here is a link,

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SWCA#2288
SWHF#407

I am in an urban area. I know about the Bug A Salt guns, but don't think they are capable of dropping a carpenter bee.
I may try the Berryman Chemtool mentioned earlier, but am trying to keep any spray away from the wood which will eventually be used for edibles.

OK we'll see how this little jewel works.
Thanx for the link.

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Good idea not to use B-12 Chemtool on your smoke wood, probably tastes real bad at best.

Nice touch with the welcome mat.

Not certain I like the dark nature of some of these posts. First some one was beating a rabbit with a stick and now you want to beat bees with a racquet. Not to mention the trophy thread and the deer shooting threads, coon trapping threads. Where is all this violence against our animal friends coming from?

I know Chris too, great guy. He lives so far out I doubt anyone sees him shooting bees, or anything.

Another friend uses an older pump air rifle and millet seeds as shot. Turns them inside out and little noise.

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Isaiah 41:10

You know what's strange, is that I was one of the outspoken ones saying to let the rabbit go in GatorFarmer's rabbit thread.
Since they are destroying my wood and leaving sawdust on my patio, I think that a quick death with a whack would be preferable to a slow death in a trap, but I've got both going right now.
Would you just let them have their way?
I have more pity for mammals, but I have to draw the line somewhere.
Does one not kill roaches or step on ants as well?

They make for great baseball practice, but sometimes still have to be stomped after a good hit, they are tough little critters. I have no mercy for them after seeing what they done to the boards on my shed.

if I don't swat them with the broom first,I just wait until I see them in their bore hole then I backfill them with brown silicon sealant! Now they are entombed and die!

As there are not enough honey bees, I would look for ways that don't threaten honey bees. Just my thoughts

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Carpriver.

WD-40. Discovered it by accident. Brake clean will kill anything but these guys. Silicon in the whole works pretty good too.

DW

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"NUTS"

I made one of those and caught ONE(1) bee.......Maybe SC bees are smarter.

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S&W Accumulator

There you go. Mike has the answer. I built a few similar. I used a 4x4 about 6" long and drilled a hole in each end on a 45 degree angle and they meet in the middle, oh heck here is a pic.



Basically drill 2 holes, say 3/8", in the ends on a 45 degree angle more or less (depends on the length of your 4x4) and they should meet in the middle. Drill a hole upward from the bottom to meet the 2-45 degree angle holes. Next enlarge the bottom hole large enough to hold the top to a water bottle. May want to do this first depending of the tools you are using. Glue the top in place, after you drill out the inside of the top.

Done. I trapped 20+ carpenter bees this year in the one trap. No holes in my deck or trim.

The story is they go up the angle and down into the bottle and can't find their way out and they die.

Hey what do ya know, I'm remembered and known for yet something else that is of no worth.

That qualifies you to be "Nearly Famous" and gets you a free cup of coffee.

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Isaiah 41:10

My carpenter bee trap has caught 0 bees. May try another that is not treated lumber.
Went to Academy and got this youth racquet. Thought it would be better swinging in a tight confine.
Well, 3 in an hour is my personal best so far.
I find myself sitting out there looking around like I'm out dove hunting.

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Exactly right! You should pick up an electronic one too. Nothing beats a little electricity! More power and all that!!

I built my house in 1980 and they were not a problem until past 8-10 years. They don't eat wood they bore in for nests. Pressure treated or cedar, doesn't matter! I made a bunch of traps to lower my pesticide use and get more of them as very damaging. Lots of good trap patterns out there -google- "Carpenter bee trap"/images and you'll see them. Also sold on ebay where I looked for my pattern too. They are attracted to cedar wood in a natural way so i made mine from cedar. I use pint canning jars, not water bottles like some. Helps to have a drill press for the angled hole required.
They DO!!! work!!!. I have seen the jars full of them. "Suspend" will kill them but never all of them.

I shoot to shoot many of them in half with a bb gun.. We had a
back patio frame made of redwood, and the carpenter bees were
always boring holes in it. You could hear the faint sound of wood
eating in the roof at night when sitting on the patio.
In the day they are all flitting about, and made good target practice.
I also used to shoot locusts in half when they were high up in trees.
I'd spot the slight bump on the branch, pull the trigger, and they
would be a mass of insect particles formerly known as a locust.