Termite and Wood Boring Insects - Carpenter Bees in Porch post

Help... carpenter bees have been boring into three of my porch posts for the past two years.... they are drilling into the wood between the post and the house or post and the downspout.. there is only about 1/2" clear which makes it very difficult to paint and very difficult to dust/spray the holes.

the only way I've had any success is by killing the individual bees with a bat.... wasp spray and the dust that I've tried has had no success. they are amazing creatures... luckily... there are only a few but they do a lot of damage over time.

if i simply fill the holes, i've been told that they will simply drill new ones out.

what can i use to control/remove the bees. once they are gone.. i'm going to fill holes with an epoxy and paint the areas very well. there areas they are attacking have not been painted in a long time so i think this is part of the problem.

thank you
Scott

Hi Scott,

There's good news and bad news...The good news is that carpenter bees don't tunnel, eat and destroy wood like termites...the bad news is it takes a lot of persistence to be rid of them.

If you have time to read this page, it explains the habits, methods of control, and debunks a few myths about carpenter bees.

http://unexco.com/carpbees.html

I like a tennis racket. Faster, wider kill zone and somewhat entertaining.. :)

Puff powdered insecticide into the holes. The bees will carry the insecticide into the galleries where they will die and leave insecticide for any emerging bees. Wait a couple days and plug the holes.

http://www.carpenter-bees.com/