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Allyn
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Location: Mississippi Gulf Coast - zone 8b

Carpenter Bees, Wasps and Anoles

I have a couple of Carpenter bee nests in my porch roof rafters that I need to remove. My plan, as it is now, is to treat the rafters with a bee repellent (citri-fresh, NBS30 or some other natural repellent) and provide sacrificial wood like pieces of pine to let them nest in. I don't want to kill the bees, and I want them to stay -- just not in any structural wood. I also want to treat the inside of the laundry room with wasp repellent to discourage wasps from making nests in there. The laundry room is a shed that houses the washer and dryer separate from the main house.

Now, my question is, will the repellent affect my anoles? I have anoles all over the porch -- on the deck, in the rafters, in and around the plants. Any given time during the day, I can walk outside and spot a half a dozen of them. They also live in and around the laundry shed. I want them to stay. Will the repellents send them scurrying away?

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Instead of scraps of wood. If you can get a bundle of bamboo about 3/4 inch diameter and hang it in a tree. They would really like that. Carpenter bees prefer unpainted wood. Caulk and paint. I have a lot of anoles and skinks all over my yard too. They are territorial, but nothing much slows them down except predators like cats, dogs, and birds.

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Allyn
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Location: Mississippi Gulf Coast - zone 8b

Well, see that's the thing. I don't want to caulk and paint. The timbers are rustic rough-hewn and it would ruin the look to paint them. I like the carpenter bees on the porch. Since the carpenter bees have moved in, I haven't seen a single wasp patrolling the porch looking for a place to nest. I just can't have them in the structural wood.

I'll hang the sacrificial wood and deal with the existing nests. I understand the bees like pine and redwood. If I can entice them to the sacrificial wood, maybe I can forego using the repellent.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Came across this thread -- Allyn did it work?

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Allyn
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Location: Mississippi Gulf Coast - zone 8b

I don't know how to answer that. I put some sacrificial wood up -- I made an extra row of wood below the existing beams across the front and back of the porch where the bees had drilled nests. (I say "I" like I did it. It was my husband who did the work. I just stood on the porch and supervised, pointing authoritatively and such.) I haven't seen a carpenter bee since. Next spring might tell more. If the bees go for the new wood next spring, that will be more telling.



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