are mason and carpenter bees the same?
we have a nice enough 12x20 shed that has a number of problems, one of which is a large carpenter bee infestation. we’re planning on testing it down eventually so we took an untreated waste board and drilled several holes in it. last year 2 or 3 were tunneled and expanded, and now i think all of them are.
when we tear down the shed we’re going to mount the board on our garden fence.
I have seen a number of laser cut hives and some of the first Flowhive boxes were laser cut too.
The bees had no problem with my lasercut Flowbox and i have heard no stories of bees moving because of laser-cut smell.
But certainly, as others have suggested, sanding back the burn marks and also liberal use of Tung Oil would do as good a job as any with masking the smell
We could use you over here too!
Different genus.
Mason bees typically won’t act like carpenter bees in the sense of digging out wood. I say typically because animal behavior isn’t always exactly predictable.
For example, I had a beekeeper come out to my moms house to relocate some Mason bees that were beginning to nest under a bench right by the door (proximity to the door along with young grandchildren is only reason we had it relocated). The beekeeper asked what they were, to which I replied blue orchard bees (a type of Mason bee). She didn’t believe me because they aren’t especially known for building their own nesting cavities and they were actively building mud dauber type nesting areas under the bench. Sure enough, she confirmed the ID when she showed up.
cheers, thanks. i haven’t noticed one yet here, i don’t think, but then they do tend to solitary behaviours from what i’m reading.