Greetings.
I am redoing a small shed addition (12′ by 20′) to an outbuilding. The old framing members were riddled with carpenter bee tunnels. I have read (and observed) that carpenter bees are less likely to attack painted wood, so I plan to paint the new framing members.
I have some leftover interior oil-based enamel paint. Would it be foolish to use this to paint the frame? Put another way, how would interior paint fare if it is not exposed to sunlight, but is exposed to temperature extremes(occasionally below 0 in the winter and above 100 in the summer)?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Steve M.
Replies
I recently had about half the rafters replaced on my shop due to structural weakness from those beloved bees. The contractor said any paint would deter them, but an oil-based paint seemed to be better. The ones that hatched this year will be back next spring - they're like Salmon. If you don't get the paint on, wasp & hornet spray will keep 'em off for about 30 days.
When the bees are pletiful, a badminton racquet keeps one of the grandkids entertained for hours :-)
Carpenter bees seem to love the facia on the south-facing side of my house. It has about 50 coats of paint, some coats of oil and some of latex. The bees just seem to think this makes their homes "upscale". The paint doesn't even slow them down. I was thinking of trying to take away all their 3/8" drills, but I instead solved the problem by replacing the trim with Azek. Now, they only dig in about 1/16" or so before they realize there's no wood underneath and look elsewhere.
As for paint, you might want to look into using marine bottom paint with the chemicals that discourage aquatic wildlife. (No idea if that would work for bees, though, and it ain't cheap.) Or, if you haven't rebuilt yet, consider using ACQ for the framing members. I haven't seen bees drill into that. It does pose a whole other set of problems, like what fasteners to use. Or, ask a good exterminator. There may be a spray-on treatment that would work.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Unfortunately the carpenter bees are having a grand time boring into the unpainted ACQ around my house...
Billy
"Unfortunately the carpenter bees are having a grand time boring into the unpainted ACQ around my house..."
Doh! So much for THAT theory!
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
they're going after the rusty corroded fasteners...
they need some iron in their diet...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Could be it. Lord knows they've had their fill of clear 5/4 cedar at my (er, their) house!
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
I used stainless square drive screws from McFeeleys, and that's all that will be left in a few years.
Billy
ain't that stuff something???Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
It won't kill the critters but it will rust the fasteners. They saved us from minute amounts of arsenic that won't hurt us by rolling out treated wood that will become riddled with carpenter bee holes and rust out non-stainless fasteners. It's good to know the gummint is looking out for us.
Billy
ACQ... and CCA and cedar and redwood and hey, I'm thinking those critters will chew up any wood.
sobriety is the root cause of dementia.