1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:06,679 Welcome to the Simple Garden Life Podcast, a program dedicated to keeping the yard 2 00:00:06,719 --> 00:00:11,320 of gardening simple, fun and always rewarding. Now Here are your hosts, 3 00:00:11,439 --> 00:00:15,599 Jim and Mary Competti. Hello and welcome everybody to Simple Garden Life Podcast. 4 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,640 I am your host, Jim Competti with my wife Mary Competti and Mary today 5 00:00:20,199 --> 00:00:23,800 talking about carpenter bees, which we've had a lot of history with. Yeah, 6 00:00:23,839 --> 00:00:27,160 these little things have been give me fits lately. I'll tell you We've 7 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:31,600 had them at our old farm. We've had some epic battles everywhere. And 8 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:36,439 now that we built our new farm, even though we have metal siding stone 9 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:41,840 below, we have some wood corbels and guess who's coming calling, right, 10 00:00:42,119 --> 00:00:44,719 Carpenter bees can be really difficult to deal with him. We're going to talk 11 00:00:44,719 --> 00:00:50,240 about them in length, about how to handle them and why you don't just 12 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,000 want to kill them, you know, just spray them and secticides. You 13 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,679 want you want some other ways to be able to keep them around, but 14 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:02,000 not get them into your woodwork, right, because they can be very destructive. 15 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,159 And if we can, you know, deter them from drilling into the 16 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,359 wood structures on your house, barns, pergolas, sheds, you know that's 17 00:01:08,359 --> 00:01:11,599 a great thing to have, but you know, they do really cause havoc. 18 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,959 They do, but they're also one of the best pollinators around. So 19 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,799 that's what we're going to try to work with today. But we'll get into 20 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:21,599 today's topic and just a minute, but as always, we want to take 21 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:23,760 a moment to remind everyone that you can always reach us vias email at the 22 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:29,640 farm at Owgarden dot com. We love your questions, we love your thoughts 23 00:01:30,239 --> 00:01:34,079 ideas for the podcast. You can sign up to follow along at simple Gardenlife 24 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:38,640 dot com. You can also follow on on Facebook or your favorite podcast app 25 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,560 to get all of our latest podcasts, and of course always check out our 26 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,840 Old World Garden YouTube channel as well. I think we'll start off today's topic, 27 00:01:45,879 --> 00:01:48,200 Mary with our question of the Week. We've been doing this a little 28 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,159 bit more lately because these questions are so poignant to what we're talking about, 29 00:01:52,359 --> 00:01:56,760 and honestly, I could probably read thirty to fifty of these from our inbox 30 00:01:56,799 --> 00:02:00,959 in just the last week. Because it's springtime and carpenter bees are very active. 31 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,359 So why don't you go ahead with the question of the week and then 32 00:02:02,359 --> 00:02:07,280 we'll get into the topic right our email has been blooming investing at the seams 33 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,479 at this point, but carpenter bees are at the head of the topic. 34 00:02:10,599 --> 00:02:15,960 So this question of the Week comes from Ronnie Davis from Covington, Kentucky. 35 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:19,000 Too far from us, not too far. I just put up a beautiful 36 00:02:19,039 --> 00:02:22,800 wood garden fence last year and the carpenter bees are destroying it the spring. 37 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,520 It's made from rough song pine and I'm letting it aged naturally, but they 38 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:30,120 are drilling holes all over it. Well, painting help it? Is there 39 00:02:30,159 --> 00:02:34,719 something I can spray on it? Please help? I feel you're painting, 40 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,599 Ronnie. You know, it is really tough to watch something that you have 41 00:02:38,759 --> 00:02:43,360 just built or you have there and see these carpenter bees coming in droves and 42 00:02:43,719 --> 00:02:46,039 taking it out. So we're going to cover a lot for you, Ronnie 43 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:50,840 in today's podcast and hopefully give you a few great solutions that will work to 44 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,120 say that beautiful fence. But let's start by covering why carpenter bees actually can 45 00:02:54,159 --> 00:02:59,199 be beneficial for gardeners, and then we'll get into answering his question over the 46 00:02:59,199 --> 00:03:02,360 course of this post and why it's best not to just start spraying with them 47 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:07,439 insecticides. So let's start with what a carpenter bee actually is married, you 48 00:03:07,439 --> 00:03:09,439 know, you know good, there's some good news about carbon bees. I 49 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,840 know you said they're they're tough, and they are. They drive me nuts 50 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:16,719 too, but they are actually a major pollinator, right, absolutely, And 51 00:03:16,759 --> 00:03:20,560 if you just try to kill them off with a sex side and spray, 52 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,240 you're killing off the pollinators that are actually pollinating your flowers, your vegetable garden. 53 00:03:24,479 --> 00:03:28,439 So you really don't want to do that, but I understand the pain. 54 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:30,120 Yeah, And it's not just the carpenter bees. I mean, they 55 00:03:30,159 --> 00:03:36,000 are incredible pollinators, but you also when you spray those insecticides, you're killing 56 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,439 honey bees, you're killing butterflies, you can kill anything comes in contact with 57 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:43,599 So it's not always the best answer. But a carpenter bee is a little 58 00:03:43,639 --> 00:03:46,719 different than other bees. So let's kind of talk about that and then we'll 59 00:03:46,719 --> 00:03:51,039 work our way into how to deter them and also how to control them and 60 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,159 maybe keep your keep your woodwork safe. Right, and a carbon bee, 61 00:03:54,280 --> 00:04:00,360 you know, you can really determine a carpenter bee versus a bumblebee when you 62 00:04:00,479 --> 00:04:03,879 feel the wood shavings coming down on you while you're grilling, So the other 63 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:08,240 night. You know, we were stating at the grill and down by our 64 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,240 barn and the wood shavings started coming down on me. I looked up at 65 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:15,520 the carboner bees drilling. But they resemble bumblebees very similar. Yeah, there 66 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:16,839 is a few key differences, but you're absolutely right. A lot of people 67 00:04:16,879 --> 00:04:20,839 confuse them with bumblebees. So here's the difference. Carpenter bees do not have 68 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:25,160 any hair on their stomach. Now for most people, they're like, yeah, 69 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,160 I don't want to get but they don't, so they're a little bit 70 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:30,439 different. They're gonna have that smooth, no no hair stomach. And the 71 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:34,800 worker bumble and the honey bees and the queen bees like and normal bees when 72 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:40,319 we talk about they all have stingers where the male bee carpenter bee does not, 73 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:43,839 and they will not sting you. And here's the thing about the male 74 00:04:43,879 --> 00:04:46,920 bees. They are they're the protectors. So when you go around wood and 75 00:04:47,439 --> 00:04:51,319 everybody knows carpenter bees knows exactly what I'm talking about, you will get dive 76 00:04:51,399 --> 00:04:55,839 bombed by the bees and they'll come right at your head. Those are the 77 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:00,480 male bees. They're protecting the nest. But the funny thing is, it's 78 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,199 like they're stating weapons. Yes, that's right. They really can't sting you. 79 00:05:03,399 --> 00:05:06,680 So what about the females, Well, they can sting you. They 80 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:12,560 have stingers, and unlike the honeybee or other they do not die when they 81 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:18,000 sting you. But they are very it is very slow. They do not 82 00:05:18,079 --> 00:05:23,079 want to sting anybody. Yeah, it's very rare. They're working on drilling 83 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,480 out um You know when you talk about carboner bees, and I know I'm 84 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:30,040 gonna hear it now because you know, it's it's the women that they're doing 85 00:05:30,079 --> 00:05:33,439 all the work. So they are drilling out the hole, they're laying the 86 00:05:33,519 --> 00:05:38,120 larvae. The male bee is checking out and trying to protector. He is 87 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:43,160 the protector, So don't be so nervous around them. They're The likelihood of 88 00:05:43,199 --> 00:05:46,959 getting stung by a carbon to bee is very very minimal compared to other wasps 89 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,399 and bees um as. Again, the female have stingers, but they're simply 90 00:05:49,399 --> 00:05:54,439 not aggressive. U. The third difference is that and this is the big 91 00:05:54,439 --> 00:05:59,120 difference, is that bumblebees and you know, live in the ground and they 92 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:05,319 live in calling where carpenter bees they shelter by themselves and they're in their immediate 93 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:10,439 family unit we just talked about it, and unfortunately, those shelters aren't in 94 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,000 the ground. They're in the wood, right, And when you visually look 95 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,240 at them, they look very similar. They're big, they're fat, they're 96 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:19,079 round, they have black on both ends, and they have a yellow stripe 97 00:06:19,079 --> 00:06:23,120 in the middle. So you may be looking at a bumblebee or you may 98 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:26,000 be looking at a carpenter bee. And again I'm not getting close enough to 99 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,680 look at the hair on their stomach, that's right, but you can tell 100 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,040 about where they live well, and you can tell also if they're drilling into 101 00:06:31,079 --> 00:06:34,160 your wood, they're probably not bumblebees. They're gonna be carpenter bees. So 102 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:38,560 let's talk about that damage. I mean, Mary just talked about it last 103 00:06:38,639 --> 00:06:41,399 night. We were sitting down in a couple of chairs underneath the barn and 104 00:06:41,439 --> 00:06:45,040 we have some wood rafters in there, and all of a sudden, there 105 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,000 was just this fine sawdust coming down and you look up and I mean, 106 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:53,800 they're amazing that. The word carpenter is great because they drill perfect holes. 107 00:06:53,959 --> 00:06:57,879 They're amazing at it looks like it looks like a drill drill bit did it, 108 00:06:58,079 --> 00:07:01,480 and they will And the only problem is that adult bees you know, 109 00:07:01,519 --> 00:07:05,639 once they drill that it's not a one time thing. So they are most 110 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:11,560 active in April through May and June. This is when they're coming out and 111 00:07:11,639 --> 00:07:15,360 they're coming out of where their hibernation was and they're mating. And once they 112 00:07:15,399 --> 00:07:19,079 mate, what do they do. They're looking to lay that larva and so 113 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:23,399 the female's going to dig new holes or she's going to take an existing hole 114 00:07:23,639 --> 00:07:27,199 and make it a bigger condo. But this is what you're seeing right now 115 00:07:27,319 --> 00:07:30,360 is all of this activity. So over the winter, the ones that survive 116 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,560 they store a limited amount of pollen and food to survive, and then the 117 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:39,240 bees that survive the winter emerge now up until about June or July, and 118 00:07:39,279 --> 00:07:42,720 they feed on the nectar of flowers. This is where it comes in handy. 119 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,759 I mean, they're big pollinators. They are they pollinate your flowers, 120 00:07:45,759 --> 00:07:47,920 your vegetable plants. You know, they have a lot of benefits to them, 121 00:07:48,079 --> 00:07:50,399 but they also can cause a lot of damage if you have a lot 122 00:07:50,439 --> 00:07:53,920 of wood in your home. Yeah, the damage is that they're building those 123 00:07:53,959 --> 00:07:57,439 new condos and the tunnels to lay the larvae for the next generation. So 124 00:07:57,759 --> 00:08:01,279 they may reuse an existing gallery of holes or they may excavate new and that's 125 00:08:01,279 --> 00:08:03,600 what they were doing last night down on our brun and they were trying to 126 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:09,639 find new holes. So the time period that you've got to try to repel 127 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:13,079 them is somewhat short when you really think of summer. Almost all the males 128 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:18,639 they die off by July. There is some limited action after that, but 129 00:08:18,839 --> 00:08:22,199 most of the hole drilling and everything that's going on right now is going to 130 00:08:22,279 --> 00:08:24,879 happen for this month and next month, and then they're going to hatch out 131 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,959 and they're they're gonna stay and lay and wait until next year. And I 132 00:08:28,959 --> 00:08:31,120 think a big misconception is that if you look at your wood and you see 133 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:35,559 one single hole, it may not be just one single hole, because, 134 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,919 like you said, they have a whole condos system. So they will drill 135 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:43,120 a hole and then they'll turn to the right or the left and they'll continue 136 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:46,840 to drill holes so that way they can lay their larva and all those extra 137 00:08:46,879 --> 00:08:50,399 places are more protected. Yeah, old fence posts are really known for this. 138 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:52,120 You can just see the weevil and then what's really bad is if you 139 00:08:52,159 --> 00:08:56,559 get those insects in there and then the woodpeckers come to get those insects, 140 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:00,679 they can just decimate it. So it's definitely not something you want to deal 141 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:03,080 with and you want to get it, so it's best not to spray. 142 00:09:03,159 --> 00:09:05,440 I mean, it really does kill a lot of beneficial insects in the process, 143 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:09,320 but there are some good deterrence that worked well, and you know, 144 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:11,759 I mean, that's what's really important. All right, let's take a quick 145 00:09:11,799 --> 00:09:16,200 break, Mary, and we'll be right back after this. You know, 146 00:09:16,279 --> 00:09:18,559 we talk a lot about organic on this podcast, and it's something that we 147 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:22,480 believe in very strongly, whether it's our garden, our landscape, or in 148 00:09:22,519 --> 00:09:26,639 our home. There's something good about knowing wherever you are and whatever you're doing, 149 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:30,000 it's natural. 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So, Mary, let's 168 00:10:39,639 --> 00:10:43,679 talk about some of the ways that are really good in deterring. We have 169 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,679 a lot of experience with this over our old farm and our new farm. 170 00:10:46,799 --> 00:10:48,759 We have tried several different things. Yeah, and I have to tell you 171 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:56,840 number one, more than anything else, fresh stain or paint is wonderful for 172 00:10:56,039 --> 00:11:01,240 deterring. Carpenter bees right, if you have clear would you want to seal 173 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:05,480 it. But we have better luck with high gloss and high stains on our 174 00:11:05,519 --> 00:11:09,039 wood. Yeah, we do. High glass stains and high glass paints seem 175 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:13,559 to make carbonbies not want to deal with it. We've had all of our 176 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:18,200 woodwork in a semi gloss that's around it and they just don't touch it. 177 00:11:18,279 --> 00:11:22,799 And the same thing with a stain. There are some some flat stains that 178 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:24,759 we've noticed that if, especially with this day age, a year or two, 179 00:11:24,919 --> 00:11:28,399 they'll start to come back. But that is the first thing. If 180 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,799 you have natural wood and you want to keep it natural, at least get 181 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:37,279 a stealer on that. It's going to prevent some There will still be some 182 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:39,879 attacks. It's not full proof, but I can tell you that wood that 183 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:45,879 we've stained seems to be way better off than unseen wood. Absolutely. And 184 00:11:46,039 --> 00:11:48,799 spreading with oils that the carbonrees hate also works well. I think this is 185 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,159 the big one here. So people always ask us, well, what can 186 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:56,360 I do to really keep them off? So there are three big oils that 187 00:11:56,399 --> 00:12:01,279 really work well. Almond oil, citrus oil, and peppermint oil. And 188 00:12:01,639 --> 00:12:05,559 we're talking about essential oils here. And you know what you do is basically 189 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:09,159 take a spray bottle, the little hand pump spray bottles, fill it with 190 00:12:09,159 --> 00:12:15,879 water and then what I think we tend to twelve drops, tend to twelve 191 00:12:15,919 --> 00:12:20,000 drops of your oil choice. For us, I think centrus oils really worked 192 00:12:20,039 --> 00:12:24,519 well. It's something we use a lot. We use peppermint oil to tur 193 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:28,320 spiders and the other other pests as well. Absolutely, so what you want 194 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,360 to do is basically go out and you want to spray that surface. And 195 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:35,440 you know, here's the biggest thing where people may struggle with the turrants as 196 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:39,399 far as the oils, it's not a one time thing. I mean again, 197 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:41,159 these guys are going to be active. Carpeonrbies are gonna be active for 198 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:46,200 about a month and a half to two months. You have to go out 199 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:48,200 and spray that. I mean for us, it's usually what two three days 200 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:52,200 every just depends on how much it rains, Yeah, and then keeping it 201 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:54,440 fresh. So you're right, if we get a hard rain, we'll put 202 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:56,799 it on the very next day. Again, rain or heavy dew. You 203 00:12:56,840 --> 00:13:00,320 know, you really have to make sure that the peppermint oil or such a 204 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:05,320 soil or almond oil is really prevalent and not diluted from rainer or do. 205 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:07,919 Yeah, and it does work, I'm telling you, if you stay diligent 206 00:13:07,919 --> 00:13:11,080 with this, it really does work and they'll get there. So that's one 207 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:15,679 great way to deter them. And you know, deterring such a nice thing 208 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:18,559 because you're keeping the bees still. There are so many natural habitats. If 209 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:22,879 they find old trees or old wood, and you know, in a nearby 210 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,039 they can stay alive and they're still gonna help with that pollinating. You just 211 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:31,200 want to keep them away from your home and your structures. Right now, 212 00:13:31,279 --> 00:13:33,639 we've tried other methods as well, and sometimes they work, sometimes they don't, 213 00:13:33,759 --> 00:13:37,360 that's right. So we'll go to number two, which is fake waspnest. 214 00:13:37,399 --> 00:13:41,799 So now you have to understand that carpenter bees do not like hornet nest 215 00:13:41,919 --> 00:13:46,240 wasp nest because they feed on the larva of when they lay it, they'll 216 00:13:46,279 --> 00:13:50,600 they'll actually rob the nest of this. So quite often when they see those 217 00:13:50,639 --> 00:13:54,360 big paper wasp nests, they will not try to drill. Right there, 218 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:58,759 now, it has to be realistic. And I'm Arry's laughing right now because 219 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:03,759 there are some great eight and we'll put links on the podcast. Article for 220 00:14:03,799 --> 00:14:07,200 this. But there are some great fake wasp nest out there that you can 221 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:09,960 put in hornet's nest that you can hang, um, if you're fortunate enough. 222 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,799 We had a friend of ours a few years back that sent us a 223 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:16,879 dead hornet's nest, do you remember that? And we put that up and 224 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:20,440 finally finally disintegrated. But when we put that up and hung it in the 225 00:14:20,519 --> 00:14:24,759 area underneath our leaves, perfectly no carpenter be wanted to go there at all. 226 00:14:24,919 --> 00:14:26,919 So those have as much success when I tried the paper bag track. 227 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:31,879 Well. So paper bags are said to work to act like a wasp nest. 228 00:14:31,919 --> 00:14:35,799 So we're talking about the grocery stores, like the old ones you used 229 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:41,720 to cover your books with when you go to the grocery store, but you 230 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:43,440 really should to make it effective. You want to kind of like blow up 231 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,279 a balloon and you want to kind of like almost paper machee over that. 232 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:50,639 So it's round. Um. I came home one day and I see this. 233 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:56,120 I see a basically a paper bag hanging from one of our beams, 234 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:58,960 and I asked Mary, I said what, because I'm going to try this 235 00:14:58,279 --> 00:15:01,399 for the carpenter be And I said why, I think it has to be 236 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:03,399 round. We kind of laughed about it and semi round. And when I 237 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,279 stood there talking to a carbonrby came up and tried to drill into the bags. 238 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:11,080 Okay, so didn't drill in tor wood, but it worked in the 239 00:15:11,159 --> 00:15:13,960 area that it was directly in. But you know, as a long beam, 240 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:16,279 so just kind of moved down the way it did. So the fake 241 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,919 boss. Honestly, if there, if there are authentic enough, they will 242 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,720 really work to help. And then this is a big one. We just 243 00:15:26,399 --> 00:15:30,320 if you don't mind wind chimes, So carbonr bees do not like noise. 244 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,159 We've played our speakers before. Noise and vibration, yeah, and it will 245 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:37,399 work and keep them away. Wind chimes do a nice job of it if 246 00:15:37,399 --> 00:15:41,279 you can handle wind chimes. I personally am not a big wind chime guy. 247 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:46,159 I don't think you are like the wood yeah exactly. But a radio 248 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,919 will work for a while if you have a really bad area, play some 249 00:15:48,039 --> 00:15:52,559 music. The vibrations they do not like. But here's the big thing. 250 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:54,879 We talked about this all the time. Once you do have some damage, 251 00:15:54,919 --> 00:16:00,440 this is where I think most people don't go that next step to prevent more 252 00:16:00,559 --> 00:16:04,000 damage. So remember that when they're drilling the hole, they're not just drilling 253 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,159 a hole to eat the wood. They're not eating the wood at all. 254 00:16:07,159 --> 00:16:11,080 They're drilling they're making a home to lay the larva for the next generation. 255 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,679 And you have got to eliminate that larva. We talk about, you know, 256 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,120 keeping things alive and keeping but if you don't take that larva out, 257 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:22,000 it's going to hatch and they're going to make that whole bigger for the next 258 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:23,840 year's family. So you got to get in there and knock it out. 259 00:16:23,879 --> 00:16:26,279 And then most important, you got to fill it right. And it's all 260 00:16:26,279 --> 00:16:29,679 about balance. You know, we want to keep the bees alive for the 261 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:34,039 pollination, but you also can't just sacrifice your home and your barns, porches 262 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:40,120 patios to let the carbon to be larva survive. Yeah, we're gonna get 263 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:41,559 to that to second because you can give them an alternate home, which is 264 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:45,159 what which is a really good way to do it. But what you want 265 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,320 to do when you do have damage and you see the holes and you think 266 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:49,759 there might be larva in there, if you can't get it out, you 267 00:16:49,799 --> 00:16:55,240 want to spray those holes with vinegar and water. It's a fifty fifty percent 268 00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:00,480 mix, and it's we're just talking about store about we're not talking about horticulture. 269 00:17:00,519 --> 00:17:04,039 Just five percent regular traditional vinegar. You know, if you want to 270 00:17:04,039 --> 00:17:07,039 smell like apple cider or great, get the apple cider. If you want 271 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:11,079 the white vinegar, that's fine too, But just the five percent version makes 272 00:17:11,079 --> 00:17:15,119 it half water half vinegar. And you spray it in there and you're gonna 273 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,799 kill that larva and most importantly, they're not going to make that whole bigger 274 00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:21,599 and they're not going to come back. But you want to fill it then 275 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,519 to make sure that they don't have an easy entrance to the home next year, 276 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:27,319 right exactly. And you know, the whole point here is is that 277 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,920 you spray it first, then you fill the hole with wood filler or cocking 278 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,359 or whatever it takes to make sure that it's covered. That's right. So 279 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:38,119 okay, So we've talked about repelling them, so there are some other options. 280 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,519 And this is when we tried a few years ago. It's kind of 281 00:17:41,559 --> 00:17:45,079 neat. So you have to understand that carpenter bees are they have a great 282 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:48,319 memory. They're gonna come back, They're going to come back to the same 283 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:52,599 area. They're gonna stay there. They're gonna live there through the winter, 284 00:17:52,039 --> 00:17:56,839 and they're gonna go back and make their home again. So if you can 285 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:02,960 give them a home that they like that's not your home, not your wood 286 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:06,480 beams on your house, or they're going to be much better and they're going 287 00:18:06,519 --> 00:18:08,440 to still stay around. So there are a lot and again we'll put a 288 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:15,039 link on the article on the podcast on Simple Gardenlife dot com for this, 289 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,200 but there are mason bee homes that you can actually if you have a lot 290 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:22,720 of bee activity, you can hang them. The bees will usually try to 291 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,559 find them because they're easy to you know, the holes that don't have to 292 00:18:25,559 --> 00:18:26,799 work very hard. They don't have to work very hard. And then you 293 00:18:26,839 --> 00:18:30,240 can relocate them, relocate them to your woods, relocate them to the to 294 00:18:30,319 --> 00:18:36,119 the edge of your property. And the good thing is is when they have 295 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:38,400 their young and they come back, they will go there. They like to 296 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:41,640 have that the possibilities for them. They're staying there. Some people get skittish 297 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:45,599 about that, but it's a great way to We talk about this all the 298 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,599 time, the balance of nature, keeping the balance. It's a great way 299 00:18:48,599 --> 00:18:52,680 to not just kill an entire population of bees that actually have some purpose right, 300 00:18:53,279 --> 00:18:56,920 just not the purpose that you want them to be wiping out your property. 301 00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:59,839 And you can find them as carbon to bee houses or Mason be Home. 302 00:19:00,319 --> 00:19:03,599 There are like little tubes stuck in a stuck in a stack, and 303 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:07,519 then what happens is that the bees will go into there and then then you 304 00:19:07,559 --> 00:19:11,440 can transport them to another area. That's right. And if you have old 305 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:14,319 fence posts that are out of the way and they've stayed in there, let 306 00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:15,640 them stay there. That's a that's another way they're going to go. Find 307 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,200 that as well. Untreated fence posts. I know a lot of people that 308 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:22,880 will put those up just to bring the carpenter bees that way. Um, 309 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,799 it's it's a lower trap, but it keeps them out. So again, 310 00:19:25,839 --> 00:19:27,000 you know, when we talk about this, let's just kind of go over. 311 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:30,359 You know, carpenter bees are going to be host. You've enjoyed this 312 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,200 episode, you strive to the Simple Garden podcast on iTunes, Apple, podcast, 313 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:37,839 Spotify, or most of your favorite podcast a check. You can also 314 00:19:37,839 --> 00:19:41,200 head over to Simple Garden Lives of Daily. We can listen and read all 315 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:45,039 of the show notes to every episode and if you have any questions and any 316 00:19:45,079 --> 00:19:48,000 ideas for shot topics or if you want to share your favorite gardens of email 317 00:19:48,079 --> 00:19:55,400 us at the farm at next time. The best defense is being diligent, 318 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:59,599 check those areas daily, put an action pain into place. And then, 319 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,319 of course we talk about this, try to avoid just flat out spraying. 320 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:06,920 It just doesn't have to happen. If you don't want to, you can 321 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,559 you can try to, you know, spray those areas with the oils. 322 00:20:10,599 --> 00:20:14,640 I think that for us has always the two most effective things for us when 323 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:15,720 we talk about this all the time, and this year, like what works 324 00:20:15,759 --> 00:20:22,759 for us on our farm painting fresh paint, fresh stain and spraying with with 325 00:20:22,839 --> 00:20:26,279 these essential oils. Yeah, and those are the ways if you really want 326 00:20:26,279 --> 00:20:29,720 to try to do it without killing him. I know there's carpenter be traps 327 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:32,799 and there's all this, and we just try not to go down that road. 328 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,519 Um. But if you can try the sprays and you stay active with 329 00:20:36,599 --> 00:20:38,319 them, it usually works out pretty good. It doesn't. And then you 330 00:20:38,319 --> 00:20:41,079 know, if you have the essential oil sprays, your house smells great too. 331 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:45,200 Oh there you go. See it's a weather benefit. All right. 332 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,559 So I think we're at the end of this one. Mary, What's what's 333 00:20:47,599 --> 00:20:49,599 that line you always say remember, whatever you do, find the fun and 334 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,920 gardening and grow something beautiful. All right, everyone, so long, we'll 335 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,200 talk to you next week.