I am considering wood soffits on our new house, however, we have carpenter bees that love to bore. Is there a wood species that these bees won’t attack? Is there a stain or clear finish that will deter them?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Dangerous electrical work and widespread misconceptions cause fires, deaths, and $1.5 billion in property damage annually.
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Fine Homebuilding Magazine
Fine Home Building
Follow
-
Fine Homebuilding
Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.
Start Free Trial Now -
GBA Prime
Get instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.
Start Free Trial Now
Replies
No finish will stop them but they generally don't bore into the flat sides of boards, usually on the edges.
But, put Hardisoffit up and you'll never have to worry about bugs or rot.
Carpenter bees tend to go after dried, unfinished wood, and they are particularly fond of wood that is somewhat sheltered, such as soffits. Keeping the wood finished makes a big difference. Some say that borate treatment of wood helps, as it does the job on other wood damaging insects, such as carpenter ants and termites. To rid my log home of carpenter bees, I used a powdered insecticide (Tempo 1%) and a "puffer duster" to inject the powder into the holes. It kills the queen and the newly born bees as they emerge from the nest. One treatment in the spring, and one treatment in the fall eliminated these pests.
I built a trells using tight grained old growth redwood, nice deep dark red color like burgandy wine, then watched as a carp bee bored a hole right thru a 4x4!