Article 612 of triangle.gardens:
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From: mwaldvog@ent1.ent.ncsu.edu (Michael Waldvogel)
Newsgroups: triangle.gardens
Subject: Carpenter Bees
Date: 11 May 1994 01:50:36 GMT
Organization: Dept. of Entomology - NCSU, Raleigh, NC
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>They deposit more than eggs.  We talked to an exterminator about these
>guys because they're attacking our deck too.  The problem with carpenter
>bees is that they deposit food in the holes for when the little bee
>babies hatch.  The adult bees paralyze insects somehow (the guy wasn't 
>specific on this) and stick the insects in the hole.  The insects don't 
>always remain in their paralyzed state, and termites are a popular choice 
>among the bees for baby food.  So carpenter bees can actually start a termite
>infestation in your deck, house, or fence.

            WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

Carpenter bees do not eat termites or any other insect.  They eat
POLLEN.  The female makes a pollen ball and places it inside the tunnel.
She then deposits an egg and the hatching larvae feeds on the pollen
ball. She fills the tunnel with a series of little cells, each with a
pollen ball and an egg.  THAT is why you spray insecticide into the
hole, then plug it.  You trap and kill the offspring when they try to
emerge as adults.

If you don't plug the hole, you can get moisture inside the wood.  If
left unchecked, you can *eventually* have a problem with wood-rotting
fungi, carpenter ants, or termites, who would be attracted to areas
where moisture is present.

You cannot have a termite infestation without a queen to lay eggs, so
even if the bees did pack a few termites into the tunnels,  it would be
meaningless.  Statments in the article about termites in the 
'News and Observer' two weekends ago was based more on fantasy than fact.  


>The only way to stop the little buggers is to paint or stain all
>exposed wood - they won't chew through treated wood.  And I mean every


My treated deck and painted porch beg to differ with your statment.

Mike
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