Disclaimer: No pollinators were harmed in this process. Carpenter bees are pests that chew circular holes in wood (e.g. our porch, porch railings, and fence) and cause structural damage by creating these nesting sites and tunnels. Because the females lay a single egg in each cell they create, and these eggs develop into larger larvae that are attractive to woodpeckers, your wooden structures can sustain damage from both carpenter bees and woodpeckers. Thus, bee whacking.
John's chosen weapon in this battle is an old badminton racquet that we have picked up from yard sales, usually for free. We have an embarrassing number of these things in the barn, so there is usually one within easy reach of carpenter bee locations in the front, back, and side yards.
He watches carefully and swings when the bees are within range.
Sometimes this means they are low to the ground,
Bee whacking requires a sharp eye, quick reflexes, and the ability to withstand your spouse laughing at you, but John is a master who has been whacking bees for decades.
All hail the mighty bee whacker and farewell to the fallen.
LOL - Fletch does the exact same thing (and uses an old, bent badminton racquet). But now he has another weapon: the Bug-A-Salt!! (https://www.bugasalt.com/) - he uses it on flies, carpenter bees, etc. Hysterical!
ReplyDeleteThank you for starting off my day with a laugh! We've had issues with carpenter bees as well, though our solution has been to call in the exterminator (whacking them looks like it'd be more satisfying, but it takes time).
ReplyDeleteOh my. I just heard my Carpenter Bees cry in agony! lol
ReplyDeleteI love these giant bees... and now I am even happier I live in a brick house so I can enjoy them!
We've been seeing a lot of bumblebees in our yard but not carpenter bees (yet) Looks like a great weekend filled with fun!!
ReplyDeleteA good story is a great way to start a week! Thank you! We are laughing with John, not at him. :)
ReplyDeleteThese photos are the best, they crack me up with his form and technique!
ReplyDeleteSince I am allergic to bees, I don't think I will be whacking any of them. However, I certainly can appreciate the technique (I bow to the master), and I have had a lot of structural damage by them when living in a wooden sided house. They are nuisances!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm...I need to see if we have these! I do have intermittent issues with woodpeckers but most of our trim has been replaced with composite so they're not interested. That big wooden garage is probably a playground I'm not even aware of! Go John Go!
ReplyDeleteSort of dying here! We have lots of carpenter bees, and they make lot of holes, AND we have lots of woodpecker damage to our (unfortunately) cedar-sided house. We definitely need a set of bee-whackers!!!! (Tom's gonna love this.)
ReplyDeleteThats a funny post. We have lots of pollinators here. All kinds, including Hummingbirds!
ReplyDeleteMy husband just said last weekend that we need to get a fat, red bat like we had when our boys were younger to whack the carpenter bees!
ReplyDeleteLOL! and yay for getting John to be the entire photo focus of a post!! (there is no actual WOOD on my house, so carpenter bees, are, thankfully, not something we have to worry about ... or even see!)
ReplyDeleteI have been waiting for this post. Great technique for whacking carpenter bees and alleviating cabin fever. Just take the frustrations out on the insects. If my husband sees this post, he might try his hand with a badminton racket against the squirrels chewing on the deck and the trim around the garage door. He is desperate enough to try.
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