Carpenter Bee Prevention For Your Log Home
One of the most problematic issues that you will have to deal with when you own a log cabin is that you will have to battle carpenter bees. These little bees might look none too harmful, but while they don't sting like yellow jackets they are definitely not harmless. These bees are in fact one of the most detrimental things that you can have visit your home. They are even more harmful then chipmunks who might crawl into the attic and run around with acorns, or raccoons that tear open your garbage. The big problem with carpenter bees is that, like their name suggests, they are particularly attracted to wood. Carpenter bees will drill into the logs in your house and this can cause an enormous amount of problems. They hollow out the logs from the inside out and this will end up destroying your home. In fact, many people won't even notice the damage, and if it is not noticed and treated then you're in for a real problem. Here's what to do.
Spot The Holes
The first thing you need to do is determine where the holes are. You can't fix the problem of carpenter bees if you don't know where they are residing. The main tell tale sign of a carpenter bee hole is that it will be circular, and there will be sawdust on the ground near the hole. The bees will cling to the log and they will chew into the wood, creating a tunnel that they will use to get into the log. A lot of the sawdust will fall to the ground and this is how you will locate the bees. These holes are the areas that you will need to address.
Spray An Insecticide Into The Hole
The first step in the process involves spraying insecticide into the hole. This will kill the carpenter bees. You will need to get a special power sprayer that can reach deep into the logs and then reach all of the bees. It's not enough to simply spray the outside of the logs, you want to actually spray deep into the holes using a special attachment that will snake itself into the hole. This will let you reach all of the bees that are hiding deep in the logs.
Plug The Holes
Once you've sprayed the holes and killed all the bees, you want to plug the holes. The best way to do this is to get small circular wooden plugs and hammer them into the logs using a soft mallet. There are actually wooden plugs sold just for this purpose. Once you hammer them in, you can then coat the entire wood surface with an insecticide that will keep new bees away from the logs in the future.
For more information, visit a website like http://www.asepestandweedsupplies.com.
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