Carpenter Bees

[Pheasant Hollow Farm]

Has anyone noticed the abundance of Carpenter Bees since we have been getting all this rain?

These bees look lost. They are all over the propane BBQ tank and deck, they are walking all over the top of the grass in the back yard.

Do they normally burrow in the ground? If so, that could be the reason they have surfaced from being flooded out.

Steve
Pheasant Hollow Farm

[jaime7997]

They are the big giant fuzzy ones aren't they? We have a ton of them here and they have drilled into the underside of our deck steps leaving a noticable pile of sawdust on the ground underneath. Impressive, actually. They sound like helicopters out there...

[CharlieHorse]

None here.  I had some earlier in...back in the spring, but haven't seen any since

You sure you don't have sand hornets?  Carpenter bees usually aren't aggressive or pests.

Maybe it's hatching time and your place is loaded with them?  I haven't seen a one for some time now and never seen them congregate or on the ground.

[wildergamebirds]

  Some do burrow in the ground, but these are not the ones that drill the pretty, nearly perfect round holes in wood.  We have had them in our area this year.  My older male Brittany loves to jump up and catch them.  Spits them out quickly, but always dead.  He's my buddy, he's my beedog.  My guess is they cycle like many insects.  Last year was the Cicada year for us.  Year before last was the year for them farther north.  Some that look more like bumble bees, with yellow stripes around them are called wood borer wasps here, and Kansas.  They are said to be very toxic to those who have allergic reactions to regular bees.

[CharlieHorse]

Impressive, actually

Hey Jaime,   I'll get a photo and post it.........I'm not impressed.  You know what likes carpenter bees?..............wood peckers!   


     

[wildergamebirds]

  You mean, they don't pull them out the same hole?

[CharlieHorse]

       

I've got about a $2,500 door that they ripped the livin' daylights out of in about 6 seconds to get to it.   I never thought there would be a day that I'd see the need in hunting a wood pecker........but that day arrived.  I'll post some pics of the damages, I just wish I had a stuffed wood pecker picture to post too.   But since it would be illegal to blast one of them to smithereens........you know me, I just couldn't break the law.   

[wildergamebirds]

       

I've got about a $2,500 door that they ripped the livin' daylights out of in about 6 seconds to get to it.   I never thought there would be a day that I'd see the need in hunting a wood pecker........but that day arrived.  I'll post some pics of the damages, I just wish I had a stuffed wood pecker picture to post too.   But since it would be illegal to blast one of them to smithereens........you know me, I just couldn't break the law.   

  You meant to say "I just couldn't break the law, and provide picture evidence, for the DNR.   

[jaime7997]

I didn't know that woodpeckers liked the buzz..ers.... Just saw a new pile of "dust" under the stairs tonight. need to start raising woodpeckers instead of quail....

[wildergamebirds]

I didn't know that woodpeckers liked the buzz..ers.... Just saw a new pile of "dust" under the stairs tonight. need to start raising woodpeckers instead of quail....

  Now, there's an idea.  Let me know how that works out for you!

[jaime7997]

 

My boss had one of the giant woodpeckers, Ladderback?, fly into the picture window of their poolhouse. Knocked him dead!! We joked for a while that I was going to find some eggs and raise them for them so they could hear them pecking in the woods again. Haven't heard one around their house since that happened....

[CharlieHorse]

You meant to say "I just couldn't break the law, and provide picture evidence, for the DNR

Good one Wilder......thanks for drawing attention too me!     They're about like a crow or starling........they know when you have a gun and split the scene.

My boss had one of the giant woodpeckers

Those are "Pileated" woodpeckers.  Those things are everywhere around here, I had 3 in my yard this spring doing mating rituals, and it was quite entertaining. Luckily it wasn't one of them that tore into my house last year or I'd have had to make an insurance claim.

I didn't know that woodpeckers liked the buzz..ers.... Just saw a new pile of "dust" under the stairs tonight. need to start raising woodpeckers instead of quail....

Just so you know, the woodpeckers don't go after them until they are buried in the wood........you can see in the pic where the bee went in and where the woodpecker got him out.  Took about 3 knocks on my door one early morning to create this damage.

[CharlieHorse]

Heres a beam on my front porch that has yet to get covered with the fascia board. Here too, you can see where the bee went in  and the research the woodpecker did to find it.

[jaime7997]

WOW! j44 There are some trees around that look like that, but luckily, not my house!! They're pretty and all, but I think they'd have to go....

[CharlieHorse]

Had a visitor the other day, hope he/she doesn't come knocking at my door like their smaller relatives did last year.

(Click Pic to Enlarge):