An online log home community for log home enthusiasts.
Carpenter Bee Control using NBS30
We completed construction of our Log Home May 2010. Our home is stained with: Sikkens Cetol 2,3.
Just before moving in, we found what looked like the beginnings of a carpenter bee hole in the bottom of one of the support beams of our porch roof and one in process on the bottom edge of our porch fascia. The bee was actually boring the one in the fascia at the time we found her. Needless to say, she was dealt with pretty quickly. We knew of the possibility of having to deal with these little buggers; but we were not prepared to have them taking up residence before we did. No way!! This started a 2-2.5 month war between us and them. We began researching what to do to rid ourselves of them.
2010 - One of the first things we were told, from another log home owner in our area, was to get a badmitten (sp?) racquet. You use these to knock them down, stunning them, then take necessary action. This works great!!! We have one on every floor/side of our home - when we hear one buzzing around, we get the racquet closest to us and take care of it. This works fine as long as you have the time to patrol daily; not many of us do. However, staying on top of it the first summer resulted in our not finding any other boring holes to contend with.
2011 After being advised by some of our friends on this site to use NBS 30, a stain additive, we bought some. This does not kill existing bees/larvae; it repels them from making new nesting holes. Reading the label it not only repels wood boring insects, but spiders, wasps, etc. etc. To test it out, we stained our entry porch deck, stairs, stringers, and deck fascia. We had NO problems with insects on the entry porch whatsoever. However, we did find on our front porch fascia 4-5 boring holes. We sprayed insecticide in them and used caulk to seal the hole. We were advised the caulk seals out the oxygen killing any existing bees/larvae inside. Not sure if this statement is true but we can tell you we haven't had one woodpecker problem yet.
2012 - With the success we had last year using NBS 30 (used Sikkens Cetol SRD) on our entry porch, we decided to use it on our front porch fascia (with the original stain - Sikkens Cetol 2,3) to see if it will repel them in that area as well. To date, we are happy to say we had not ONE carpenter bee boring hole on any of the surfaces we've applied the NBS30. We wish now we would have asked for it to be added to the stain during construction but at least we know going forward. Future Cetol maintenance coats will have NBS30 added to it before putting it on our home.
At this point, we would recommend NBS30 to anyone, however, we would also recommend they check with their stain/paint manufacturer first to make sure it's compatible with their product before purchasing/mixing it.
Views: 358
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Red and Donna on -
I will have to look into this for we are starting our log home sometime this November. We are also using a Sikkens stain.Thanks for posting.
Red
-
Permalink Reply by Red and Donna on
-
I just talked to my builder and he said he adds NBS 30 to the stain as a normal everyday practice. He is very happy with how it works.
Red
-
Permalink Reply by Buck on -
It is a very good idea to use NBS 30 everytime you apply stain to your log home. But when staining is not necessary try this. In the Spring before your friendly bees decide to move in with you, mix the NBS 30 with water in accordance with manufactures instructions. I do this every Spring and and it don't keep them all away but I see a big improvement over the years. Hope this helps!!!
Buck
-
Permalink Reply by Terry & Shelley S on -
Buck,
Interesting.....never tried it. Do you apply with a brush or spray?
-
Permalink Reply by Terry & Shelley S on
-
Good to know! Thanks for sharing!
-
Permalink Reply by Scott Castle on -
I mixed NBS 30 with my Q8 stain this spring and I LOVED the stain but I not sure on the bee boring issue. It didn't seem to stop the bees but after 4 month I notice considerably less bugs and ants on the exterior. It is rather "pricey" and not really sure on the results. Scott
-
Permalink Reply by Carol Mockler on -
We just noticed a carpenter bee/wasp infestation in our log cabin. We use Sikkens stain - cedar. I do not know if it has any insecticides in it but we will definitely look into it next spring. We do not live in our cabin; it is our vacation home. We were very upset to discover these little pests. We have an exterminator coming out this week to check out the situation. I will show these posts to my husband. So glad to read advice from others that are dealing with this. What causes this? Can it be that we clear cut some of property and the bees/wasps moved on to our cabin because of it? I heard they like log homes. We have had our log cabin for six years and never had this problem before.
Get Connected:
Sponsors:
© 2013 Created by Neighborhood Host.
Guide to Log Homes | Advertise | Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service
