Carpenter Bee vs Air Soft Rifle

[Widder, SASS #59054]

Well, it spring time and the Carpenter Bees (wood bore bee) have once again decided to

make my deck a 'holy place'.

 

BUT, once again, my fully automatic air soft rifle has declared my decks a 'No Fly Zone'.

 

As you've already guessed, my spring time game of entertainment is airial combat training

with my air soft against those carpenter bees.   THEY ARE FAST.....and can maneuver faster than

you realize.

But one thing for sure, they have a low tolerance to pain, especially with a small pellet traveling at 375 fps

make contact with their fat little body.

 

Let the War Games begin!

 

..........Widder

 

[Rip Snorter]

When I was a kid, we would go after Dragonflies with our Red Ryders - pretty tough shooting but workable fun.

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

Sorry to hear that Rip. 

Up here we love those critters, since they eat mosquitoes and black flies.

In fact, the province of Ontario breeds and releases them in "Buggy" areas as a non toxic method of controlling the other bugs.

[Texas Joker]

 

 

[Stump Water]

Before the damnpanic we rented a log cabin near Bryson City, NC.   On every corner of the cabin hung a version of the chunk-of-4x4/Mason jar CB trap.   Most every store in the tourist trap zone in Cherokee had them for sale.

 

My dad liked to take them out with a .177 cal. pellet rifle.  

 

If in reach, my preferred weapon is a badminton racquet.

[Eyesa Horg]

When young and stupid, salt dribbled down the barrel of a pump 22 pellet gun, made a great insect gettin shotgun. Then used the carcai as ammo!!! At least we did clean oil afterwards!

[Rip Snorter]

2 hours ago, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said:

Sorry to hear that Rip. 

Up here we love those critters, since they eat mosquitoes and black flies.

In fact, the province of Ontario breeds and releases them in "Buggy" areas as a non toxic method of controlling the other bugs.

Wonderfully environmental.

[Eyesa Horg]

1 hour ago, Eyesa Horg said:

When young and stupid, salt dribbled down the barrel of a pump 22 pellet gun, made a great insect gettin shotgun. Then used the carcai as ammo!!! At least we did clean oil afterwards!

This worked well for science class insect collections. If ya don't get too close, it doesn't often damage wings. There's no obvious sign that they'd been shotgunned with salt! Teacher was amazed at the quantity and variation! And way easier than running around with a net and jar with alcohol.

[Rip Snorter]

5 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

This worked well for science class insect collections. If ya don't get too close, it doesn't often damage wings. There's no obvious sign that they'd been shotgunned with salt! Teacher was amazed at the quantity and variation! And way easier than running around with a net and jar with alcohol.

Alcohol?  I used Ether.  A net as well.

[Eyesa Horg]

12 hours ago, Rip Snorter said:

Alcohol?  I used Ether.  A net as well.

Pretty sure that's what it was. Cotton balls in the bottom with alcohol and usually a screen over that. Don't think we had access to ether. We were boys, we'd have knocked each other out with it 

 

Correction, turns out it was Carbon Tetracloride

Edited March 19 by Eyesa Horg
Added text

[Cypress Sun]

28 minutes ago, Rip Snorter said:

Alcohol?  I used Ether.  A net as well.

 

23 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Pretty sure that's what it was. Cotton balls in the bottom with alcohol and usually a screen over that. Don't think we had access to ether. We were boys, we'd have knocked each other out with it 

 

I used Carbon Tetrachloride in a jar similar to Eyesa's description. Killed them in seconds with no damage to the insect.

 

The improvised salt shotgun sounds like more fun though. FWIW - The Bug A Salt gimmick is worthless for anything other than getting salt all over the place and pissing off the wife by getting salt all over the place.

Edited March 19 by Cypress Sun

[Rip Snorter]

Thing is, Dad was a Doc, wanted me on that path.  Didn't want to go there, but didn't ever abuse access to superior tech.

[Eyesa Horg]

21 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

 

I used Carbon Tetrachloride in a jar similar to Eyesa's description. Killed them in seconds with no damage to the insect.

 

The improvised salt shotgun sounds like more fun though. FWIW - The Bug A Salt gimmick is worthless for anything other than getting salt all over the place and pissing off the wife by getting salt all over the place.

I do believe you are right. It was Carbon Tet not alcohol. Thanks for the brain refresh. Been moons since I've said Carbon Tet!!!

[Rip Snorter]

Brings a story to mind I haven't thought of in a very long time. A country boy friend of mine decades back, new to living in NYC nearly died over Carbon Tet.  He rented an apt and, of course, had roaches. Asked some of his city boy buddies what to do.  They suggested he squirt Carbon Tet in the cracks - I don't believe it was malice, they never would have guessed he would actually do it.  Well, he did and passed out.  His GF arrived, giving away a hundred pounds, she managed to drag him into the hall and shut the door.  Distresses me I can't remember her name - brave / tough little gal

Edited March 19 by Rip Snorter
Typo

[Cypress Sun]

8 minutes ago, Rip Snorter said:

Brings a story to mind I haven't thought of in a very long time. A country boy friend of mine decades back, new to living in NYC nearly died over Carbon Tet.  He rented an apt and, of course, had roaches. Asked some of his city boy buddies what to do.  They suggested he squirt Carbon Tet in the cracks - I don't believe it was malice, they never would have guessed he would actually do it.  Well, he did and passed out.  His GF arrived, giving away a hundred pounds, she managed to drag him into the hall and shut the door.  Distresses me I can't remember her name - brave / tough little gal

 

There was a kid in the neighborhood that was poisoned by Carbon Tet. He didn't die and I don't remember what ended up happening to him.

 

We had all kinds of poisons and chemicals on the shelfs in the garage...DDT, Diazinon, Chlordane, 7 Dust (I'm glad for spell check) and a bunch of others that I can't remember their names...probably all banned now.

 

Widders Air Soft gun is, without a doubt, safer than those poisons, more fun too!

[watab kid]

 gotta try this 

[Pat Riot]

I don’t bother the bees or any insects unless they decide to move into my structures. I rent now, but I still keep a bug free structure zone. 
 

For carpenter bees I just watch and see where they get interested in then seal the hole or crack. 
 

Now, Yellowjackets? I have a scorched earth policy with them. Evil little bastages!

[Eyesa Horg]

White faced hornets rate right up there too in the scorched earth policy.

[Rye Miles #13621]

I called an exterminator 5 years ago when I had them in my porch overhang. Haven't seen one since! I'm not gonna screw around just to save a few bucks! I let the professionals do it!

[Cypress Sun]

44 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I called an exterminator 5 years ago when I had them in my porch overhang. Haven't seen one since! I'm not gonna screw around just to save a few bucks! I let the professionals do it!

 

If they're hard to get to or the situation is close quarters...I'd agree with you. However, if it's an easy kill...I'll do it myself just for the satisfaction that I killed dozens, perhaps 100's, of the little bastards Fire ants get the same treatment...no prisoners, kill 'em in mass quantities.

[Widder, SASS #59054]

Yellowjackets:  Ah, another Widder method of fun.   Leave em alone..... for a little while.

If you got a neighbor whose dog is a nuisance and barks all the time, you try to lure

that dog over to the yellow jacket nest.  YEEHAW..... what a show.

Then later... scorch em.

 

I've actually encountered a stirred up nest of YJ's where you could see the masses of them

swarming over their nest entrance.  And the swarm was about 2 ft high and they swarmed in

an 18" diameter method resembling a tornado.

I took my shotgun with #8 & #9 shot and would shoot ONE round and you could visibly see a

hole thru that swarm........... but only for a few seconds.   Then more YJ's would come out of the

nest to increase the swarm again.

That swarm lasted thru about 8 shots before I ran out of shells.

There must have been 000's. of those YJ's in there cause I wiped out a bunch of them 

about every 30 seconds or so as the swarm replenished itself.

 

On a side note:  If you try to wipe out a YJ nest without using chemicals, like spray or gasoline,

you can revisit the nest the next morning and if there are skunks in your area, the nest will

likely be dug open and most of the comb eaten.   They love that larvae and/or the comb.

 

 

..........Widder

 

[Rip Snorter]

That you would deliberately harm a dog for being a dog is disgusting.

[Pat Riot]

3 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

Fire ants get the same treatment...no prisoners, kill 'em in mass quantities.

I got the cops called on me in North Carolina. I was working on my bass boat in the front yard. As I was climbing out I slipped and down I went, right on a new fire ant nest I didn’t know was there. Those little (colorful language omitted) bite the heck out of me. 
I moved my boat and got the Coleman fuel. I found 3 bunches of them and 3 different holes. I poured fuel in each hole. The hole gallon then I tossed a match. WOOMF! The entire yard jumped a few inches, it seemed. 
No more fire ants. 
Sheriff’s Deputy showed up to ask what was going on. I told him. He smiled and said “It looks like you took care of the problem. Have a good rest of your day.” and left. 
The center of my yard wasn’t quite the same but the ants were gone. 

After a few rain storms the dirt settle back where it was. 
I never did figure out who called the law. Didn’t really care at that point. Ants were gone. 
 

I guess that was scorched earth too. 

[Rye Miles #13621]

I had yellowjackets under my

 siding in the corner of the house .2 years ago. I called the exterminator and he got rid of them. I ain’t messin around with them things! 🙄

Edited March 19 by Rye Miles #13621

[Stump Water]

2 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

On a side note:  If you try to wipe out a YJ nest without using chemicals, like spray or gasoline,

you can revisit the nest the next morning and if there are skunks in your area, the nest will

likely be dug open and most of the comb eaten.   They love that larvae and/or the comb.

 

My MO is to sprinkle Sevin dust around the hole, making sure to get some down in there.  They land at the entrance and track it in the house.

 

On one occasion I didn't get the job done before they started to get agitated, so I backed off and decided to come back after dark and finish up.  So at 10pm back I went.  A few yards from the hole I turned on the flashlight briefly and there was Mr. Skunk working on the nest.  I didn't figure I needed to sprinkle Sevin dust on a skunk's ass so I went back to the house.

[Widder, SASS #59054]

3 hours ago, Rip Snorter said:

That you would deliberately harm a dog for being a dog is disgusting.

 

Well, the bee's are just being a bee and the fire ants are just being a fire ant.

 

..........Widder

 

[watab kid]

On 3/18/2025 at 4:10 PM, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said:

Sorry to hear that Rip. 

Up here we love those critters, since they eat mosquitoes and black flies.

In fact, the province of Ontario breeds and releases them in "Buggy" areas as a non toxic method of controlling the other bugs.

yup they are sacred here as well , love when a large swarm sets into my riverfront and goes after the skeeters , we like the batts and martins too for that same reason , 

 

i do from time to time have to take care of those pesky ground bees nests to protect the dog and family , we also have to take care of the ant hills sometimes too , 

Edited March 19 by watab kid

[Pat Riot]

9 hours ago, Stump Water said:

 

My MO is to sprinkle Sevin dust around the hole, making sure to get some down in there.  They land at the entrance and track it in the house.

 

On one occasion I didn't get the job done before they started to get agitated, so I backed off and decided to come back after dark and finish up.  So at 10pm back I went.  A few yards from the hole I turned on the flashlight briefly and there was Mr. Skunk working on the nest.  I didn't figure I needed to sprinkle Sevin dust on a skunk's ass so I went back to the house.

So Sevin will take out a Yellowjacket nest in the ground?

 

[Texas Joker]

Dawn Dishwasher soap and water in a spray bottle or pump sprayer

[Stump Water]

12 hours ago, Pat Riot said:

So Sevin will take out a Yellowjacket nest in the ground?

 

Yes.

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

In warm weather here, I keep an electronic flyswatter handy in the house.

Although I expected it, because we live directly across from the dedicated South Nations wetlands, we don't get many mozzies or black flies outside. The prevailing breezes/winds seem to blow south and it keeps them away from the house and the rear deck and BBQ area outside.

We see Yellow Jackets and Mud Wasps. I give them the evening Wasp Spray and remove the nest next day, followed by cremation.

[Sixgun Seamus]

22 birdshot in an old 3 screw single six is also quite fun and effective although more expensive.

[Pat Riot]

On 3/19/2025 at 7:59 AM, Eyesa Horg said:

White faced hornets rate right up there too in the scorched earth policy.

In Oregon there is a hornet called the “Bald Faced Hornet”, but many call them “White Faced Hornets”.

I had one fly up the sleeve of my leather motorcycle jacket when I was crying into town at about 45 mph. 
That sucker stung me 3 times before I got stopped and got my jacket off. The darn thing just flew away. Tough little bastages!

The bigger problem was I stopped on the side of the main two lane road into town and there was no shoulder. I was on the white line dancing around trying to get that jacket off. 
Luckily, the guy directly behind seemed to know what was going on and stopped holding up traffic behind him. 
I got my jacket back on, got on the bike and was underway again. 
I think the whole event took about a minute. 
The guy behind me followed me into the convenience store parking lot I was headed to, He wanted to make sure I was okay. 
I guess some folks have bad reactions to the stings of those little devils. 
It hurt like crazy but I didn’t have a reaction to the stings.

Photo from: https://birdwatchinghq.com/wasps-and-hornets-in-oregon/

[Eyesa Horg]

2 minutes ago, Pat Riot said:

In Oregon there is a hornet called the “Bald Faced Hornet”, but many call them “White Faced Hornets”.

I had one fly up the sleeve of my leather motorcycle jacket when I was crying into town at about 45 mph. 
That sucker stung me 3 times before I got stopped and got my jacket off. The darn thing just flew away. Tough little bastages!

The bigger problem was I stopped on the side of the main two lane road into town and there was no shoulder. I was on the white line dancing around trying to get that jacket off. 
Luckily, the guy directly behind seemed to know what was going on and stopped holding up traffic behind him. 
I got my jacket back on, got on the bike and was underway again. 
I think the whole event took about a minute. 
The guy behind me followed me into the convenience store parking lot I was headed to, He wanted to make sure I was okay. 
I guess some folks have bad reactions to the stings of those little devils. 
It hurt like crazy but I didn’t have a reaction to the stings.

Photo from: https://birdwatchinghq.com/wasps-and-hornets-in-oregon/

Those are the guys! They'll track you down if you're within a quarter mile of where they live!!

One time I had to crawl on hands and knees thru bushes to get to the side of a house. The third and final time getting back out, there to my right about 2 feet away was a huge paper nest in the bush with those bastages crawling around on it. Hadn't seen it and they didn't get me! Must of just been lazy, cuz that's not been my usual experience with them!

[Pat Riot]

1 hour ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Those are the guys! They'll track you down if you're within a quarter mile of where they live!!

One time I had to crawl on hands and knees thru bushes to get to the side of a house. The third and final time getting back out, there to my right about 2 feet away was a huge paper nest in the bush with those bastages crawling around on it. Hadn't seen it and they didn't get me! Must of just been lazy, cuz that's not been my usual experience with them!

Wow! I’ll bet that sent a shiver up your spine.