It MIGHT be effective to spray with water from a hose with a narrow (like a sweeper) nozzle on it, and you could do it from the ground. Bees don't do well with wet.

Many painters carry 2 minute plaster just for things like this.

Yes, I used an exterminator for an infestation of Carpenter bees years ago.

They sprayed a dust in each and every bored hole, but did no patching. A few years later I subsequently had the house painted and it seems the painters filled the holes.

There were also some holes in the underside of the rails of my split rail fence... the exterminator treated them with the powder, but I can not find the remains of the holes.

Sorry, not much help.

This post was edited by saltidawg on Tue, Jul 8, 14 at 10:23

if it's out of reach, I know they make spray products that can shoot many feet so you don't need a ladder. Do it at night though, they won't out out and about.

Thanks everyone for the feedback . I think I may have to go the exterminator route and subsequently find someone to paint and patch up the holes so they won't come back.
Yikes ! What a pain.ð©

chsci,

I am not absolutely positive, but I do not think that Carpenter Bees re-use the holes. I just left mine as is... it was a couple of years later that I had the house painted. There has been no sign of re-infestation EVER.

EDIT: Google should have been my friend... apparently the holes may be reused and should be plugged AFTER killing the critters.

This post was edited by saltidawg on Wed, Jul 9, 14 at 15:52

saltidawg,

Yeah, I read that too that's why this is going to be such a pain . I have to patch up the holes quickly otherwise I risk them coming back. Or maybe I test my luck and wait to have to have it patched and painted and hope I luck out like you did.

I had the bees boring holes in my pool fence. I do not like using insecticides around the pool area or where my animals, kids frequent.

The exterminator said it wasn't necessary to use any poison. He patched the holes with wood glue (or something like that). Plugged the holes and the bees moved on. Of course, they wound up drilling into other parts of the fence. We just plugged the holes again.

They lay their eggs in the holes, don't live in there.

Jane

"They lay their eggs in the holes, don't live in there."

Jane,
Read the EDIT to my post above and also the OP's response to it. If you Google " Carpenter Bees " I suspect you will come to realize that they indeed can go back in and also live in these holes.

YMMV

UPDATE: We had an exterminator come out and treat the little suckers.
He sprayed the holes with pyrethin insecticide and dusted underneath all our soffits and gutters. As of today no more bees helicoptering around ðÂÂÂ
The underside of our eaves/soffit/fascia board was all untreated and bare wood ð© so now we have to fill up our holes and paint them.
Hopefully we can find someone to do it for relatively inexpensive otherwise hubby will have to get on that ladder ðÂÂÂ