Insect pest ID?

[Slik Geek]

Last year, we noticed some saw dust below the railing on our treated-lumber constructed deck. (I believe that it is ACQ-treated, I know it isn't arsenic-based. We built the deck a couple years ago).

We didn't find the source of the sawdust at that time.

Tonight, my wife was sitting on the stairs next to the affected railing. A bit of sawdust was evident below the railing. She called me over and told me that she could hear a scratching or chewing noise coming from inside the railing. I partially dissasembled the railing to allow better inspection. We found a hole, between 1/4" and 3/8" in diameter. The hole was quite circular. In fact, at first I thought that it was a hole made by a screw head.

I got some wire and shoved it up inside in hopes of getting the wood borer that was inside to vacate the premises. I was surprised to find a deep, curving hole that went inside about 5 to 6 inches. When I got the wire entirely inside, a loud buzzing sound emanated from the railing. I had clearly upset the resident. The noise was loud enough to intimidate me!

I shoved additional wires (probably about 22 to 24 gauge wires) inside, but couldn't seem to kill or extricate the critter. All the while it continued buzzing furiously, although sometimes I could position a wire in such a way that it sounded like I had compressed it somewhat.

I stepped up to a thicker wire. Probing around, I got the impression that inside the railing the hole widened into a comfortable home for the bug.

Unsuccessful with my initial tactics, I took my son's advice and heated up the wire red hot and inserted it. That got the bug's full attention and it managed to slide by my wire and make an exit.

I only got a brief glance at the wood boring creature. My best guess at its appearance was a slightly slimmed down version of a bumble bee, but otherwise somewhat similar in appearance.

It flew away out of sight.

Any ideas on what this bug could be? I live in northeastern Illinois, BTW. Apparently it thrives on treated lumber.

[Slik Geek]

Bad form to reply to your own post?

I did some research. It appears that I have a carpenter bee at work. Never heard of them before!

[Alex Franke]

Some wasps bore into wood. Also I think there are even carpenter bees. My guess would be the woodwasps, thought. Was the wood not treated all the way through?

[Alex Franke]

Looks like woodwasps are also called horntails.

Also, check out this fantastic ID chart about 75% toward the end of this page: How to identify common beetles, bees and wasps that attack wood.

Lots of great info in that article. Kinda makes me worry about my house, though. =)

[Slik Geek]

Was the wood not treated all the way through?

Don't know. The affected railing section was fabricated from 5/4x6 treated deck boards, ripped up the middle. I wouldn't be surprised if the treatment didn't penetrate very well - the wood was probably too wet when treated to absorb much.

On the other hand, the bee made it through the outer surface just fine, and that surface should have received a good dose of preservative. Could it be that the non-arsenic-based preservatives are susceptible to carpenter bee infestation? Or are the carpenter bees just not affected by the stuff?

Anybody had problems with carpenter bees on arsenic-based treated lumber?

[LCHIEN]

I think instead of a wire, I'd have stuck the nozzle of a can of Raid into that hole...


so, does the preservatives in treated wood, they prevent rot and don't taste good to termites.
Do carpenter bees eat wood fibers like termites or they just drill into it for living quarters in which case they don't mind the taste?

[Slik Geek]

Do carpenter bees eat wood fibers like termites or they just drill into it for living quarters in which case they don't mind the taste?

I think that they are just "drilling" - but don't they inadvertently get exposed to the preservatives?

[Mrk67mark]

You should be able to tell if it was carpenter bee's, they are huge! They are an inch long and nearly half an inch wide. They bore almost perfect holes, which the female uses to lay her eggs. They usually don't sting, but the size of them and the noise they make will usually scare people enough to stay away from them. To kill them you must kill the nest. To do so just sprinkle some boric acid in the hole, the female will enter and take the acid to the nest and kill the larvae.
Mark

[LCHIEN]

I think that they are just "drilling" - but don't they inadvertently get exposed to the preservatives?

From wikipedia:

Carpenter bees make nests by tunneling into wood, vibrating their bodies as they rasp their mandibles against the wood, each nest having a single entrance which may have many adjacent tunnels. Carpenter bees do not eat wood. They discard the bits of wood, or re-use particles to build partitions between cells.

I think preservatives are not necessarily poisonous - in fact the last changes to pressure treated wood chemicals serves to make it less poisonous.

However, the article goes on to say that unlike termites the carpenter bee's borings are usually not structurally threatening, being singular (sparse) and near the surface.

Example of wood debris from boring:


more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_carpenter_bee

[jking]

This is an interesting topic. I have been building a swingset for my son. I asked one of the guys at Menards lumber desk is they had something to treat the cut ends of the treated lumber. He informed me (like I was some kind of idiot) "it's treated lumber, that's what pressure treated means. You don't have to treat the cut ends because the lumber is treated all the way through." I politely nodded & said thanks.

The truth is not all of the lumber gets treated clear through. I can tell this from when I cut several & was able to see how far the treating had penetrated. I am curious if anyone here knows what you can buy to treat the cut ends. I've seen products on shows like This Old House, but, don't remember any of the product names. I have not been able to find anything like what I recalled seeing at the lumber stores.

Back to Slik Geek's original question; if the lumber was ripped, you may have opened up an area of access for insects. I don't have any solutions other calling an exterminator. I plan to use yard wide insect control to prevent any possible problems with my project. I an curious to see how the AC2 lumber holds up to the elements.

[ejs1097]

I think this mystery was solved. My in-laws have quite a few Capenter bees that bore into their soffit on the screened porch. A badmitten racket and a bunch of bees provides good entertainment for 15 minutes or so. They do get a little angry if you miss though.

[Stytooner]

This is an interesting topic. I have been building a swingset for my son. I asked one of the guys at Menards lumber desk is they had something to treat the cut ends of the treated lumber. He informed me (like I was some kind of idiot) "it's treated lumber, that's what pressure treated means. You don't have to treat the cut ends because the lumber is treated all the way through." I politely nodded & said thanks.

The truth is not all of the lumber gets treated clear through. I can tell this from when I cut several & was able to see how far the treating had penetrated. I am curious if anyone here knows what you can buy to treat the cut ends. I've seen products on shows like This Old House, but, don't remember any of the product names. I have not been able to find anything like what I recalled seeing at the lumber stores.

Back to Slik Geek's original question; if the lumber was ripped, you may have opened up an area of access for insects. I don't have any solutions other calling an exterminator. I plan to use yard wide insect control to prevent any possible problems with my project. I an curious to see how the AC2 lumber holds up to the elements.

Copper tox is what I have used in the past to treat untreated lumber. I think it would do well for end treatment too if you feel the need.
A little extra insurance and it just paints on easily. It doesn't look bad if you take your time with it. You may just want to dip the ends of the lumber into a pie plate of it.
Better check to see how safe it is though. I have only used it for railing parts that really wouldn't be touched too often.
Here is a link to a PDF about it.
http://www.blpmobilepaint.com/pds/p74-1.pdf

[siliconbauhaus]

I've noticed some sort of bee looking thing crawling into the hole I made for the door bolt on the playhouse. I've got no idea what the things are but I'll be picking up a can or two of raid and shooting it in there.

[Slik Geek]

This is an interesting topic.

Glad to see that it is of interest to others!

I am curious if anyone here knows what you can buy to treat the cut ends. I've seen products on shows like This Old House, but, don't remember any of the product names. I have not been able to find anything like what I recalled seeing at the lumber stores.

I bought some when I built the deck. I put it on cut ends. I'm not at home so I can't tell you the product name at the moment. It makes the wood a bit green, so it is probably copper-based. I believe that I got it at Menards or Home Depot.

Back to Slik Geek's original question; if the lumber was ripped, you may have opened up an area of access for insects.

The section that was ripped is covered by a treated 2x6. The bee burrowed into the "factory edge" of the board, where the treatment should be concentrated.

[Slik Geek]

From wikipedia:

Carpenter bees make nests by tunneling into wood, vibrating their bodies as they rasp their mandibles against the wood...

Carpenter bees do not eat wood. They discard the bits of wood, or re-use particles to build partitions between cells.

All of the descriptions that I have read describe EXACTLY what I witnessed, so I'm confident that I met my first carpenter bee.

From what I've read, I have some nest treatment to perform.