Carpenter Bee

[ContainerTed]

I may not have been totally clear. I do not go looking for carpenter bees in dead trees. I only try to reduce the number that are assaulting my home. The rest I find are useful in buzzing around my beans and peas. We have a lot of un-pampered trees around here. We choose not to cut something down just because it's not pretty. We have a lot of oak, hickory, walnut, sycamore, poplar, alder, locust, pine and cedar trees and they are left alone for a variety of reasons - not to mention shade and scratching posts for the cattle. In the past seven years, I've had to replace 6 of the 12 shutters on the house and various segments of the trim on this brick house. I've had the roof replaced with steel and also had the soffits and all other trim replaced with sheet metal. So, in self defense, I let any carpenter bees that want to play up here at the main house know that they are not welcome.

We have several different kinds of bees and other pollinator critters that show up in the main garden each year. And, our experience is that the carpenter bees will bore thru some paint layers if they choose to. They are also not deterred by treated lumber, in fact seeming to prefer it.

So, there you are, my world. If I were rich or had won the lottery, I might let someone else worry about it. But my reality is that I refuse to allow critters to damage my home and will exercise "extreme prejudice" to protect my home. The carpenter bees that show up in the garden have nothing to fear from me. I've had them fly around me while picking beans. I don't go looking for their homes in trees to destroy where they live. But I want the same respect for where I live.

I'm done with my rant.

Happy gardening, y'all!!