Is swatting at Carpenter bees with a badminton racket a sport?

[mldollins]

I killed them all the time last year and in one day killed 20 with a racket. I have already killed a half dozen or more but too many are just not getting close enough. They are boring the heck out of my wood.

[nobodyUknow]

Yes, most definitely. We tend to use a children's plastic snow shovel for our games. Lotsa fun! Congrats on a great score.

[longrider]

I got about 30 something with a thin piece of plywood. about 4"x16" long. still got a couple of more but I knock the population down. Now we have a killer wasp going in the holes and dragging out the larva and running them off.

[Yvonne's hubby]

My Yvonne has declared full scale war on them this year. She is swatting, stomping, cursing and spraying with everything from raid to hairspray.... and I expect the 22 will be brought into the game soon.

[mldollins]

3 swings....3 bees....

Then today, one was right in front of me...swing...miss....swing...miss.... I swung 5 or 6 times and totally missed.

[Harry Chickpea]

Bushhogging today, I noticed that the carpenter bees were about the only things pollinating flowers.

[highlands]

No. It's dumb. They are good beneficial insects. Leave them be.

[partndn]

Is it a sport?
I say YES. And I have at least a bronze medal or something.

Have used all sorts of "bat"ing implements. There is no way to kill them other than squash that I'm aware of.

Even had a professional tell me they are only able to cause the existing female to die. But nothing will stop another one from going right in the same wood after a few weeks.

They say it's the males that buzz around and stare you down and LAUGH when you miss a swat. I swear they've also laughed at me with the spray stuff. You'd a thought they enjoyed a cool shower rather than be bothered at all.

Originally Posted by longrider

I got about 30 something with a thin piece of plywood. about 4"x16" long. still got a couple of more but I knock the population down. Now we have a killer wasp going in the holes and dragging out the larva and running them off.

Had no idea there might be an enemy type bee. I think I'd welcome the wasps if I knew they would target the boogers.

[rancher1913]

we used tennis rackets when I was a kid, you could knock on the wood with it and they would come out to see what was knocking and WHAM out goes the lights. on a side note baseball bats and fireflys were a blast as well.

[wannabfree]

they may be beneficial to a point - but eventually they are going to level my barn

[DavidUnderwood]

Aint dumb worth a dang. Year after year
boring holes in my barn rafters. Looks like
the work of big big termites.
I prefer a ping pong paddle.

[partndn]

Ditto that Wannabe..

The room I'm sittin in right now is almost fully windowed. Each one of the three is 44"wide 53" tall, with about 2 1/2" frame all around.

One of these days, the glass is just gonna drop out.

[HeelSpur]

Originally Posted by longrider

I got about 30 something with a thin piece of plywood. about 4"x16" long. still got a couple of more but I knock the population down. Now we have a killer wasp going in the holes and dragging out the larva and running them off.

I could use a couple of those killer wasps. I have 2 rafters I need to replace because of them boogers.

[MO_cows]

Carpenter bees just showed up at our place last year, never had them in 20+ years before that. Only found one hole from the females so far, but the males are always buzzing around being a nuisance. So far, I have gotten a couple of them with the "flip-flops of death".

PS - Tell Yvonne, the .22 is no good. They don't hold still long enough to lock in the aim. She's gonna need the 20-gauge.

[Badger]

I use a .22 pistol with rat shot - Kinda expensive ($4.00 per 20 shots) but they're easy to hit and you can clean out a whole colony for about $8.00. Just be patient and move the tractor somewhere else for a while.

[Darren]

Originally Posted by Harry Chickpea

Bushhogging today, I noticed that the carpenter bees were about the only things pollinating flowers.

I've noticed that for a couple of years. Whatever decimated the honey bees, pretty much killed them off around here. At least with the carpenter bees and other native bees we still have something to pollinate the crops and gardens.

[Haven]

Someone once bought me a battery operated electrified tennis racket - no kidding - when you swatted them the netting in the racket zapped them. I'm sure you can find one online through Google.

[pheasantplucker]

I've had some success with my Gamo .177 pellet gun.

[fixer1958]

We have badmitton rackets strategically placed on the front and back porches for that reason.
We had the neighbors over a few years ago for a cookout. I was flipping burgers on the grill and the oversized neighbor lady was sitting at the other end of the porch. A carpenter bee came into my grilling space and I just happened to have my spatula in hand.
You guessed it , SCORE! Knocked that sucker 30 feet and nailed the oversized neighbor lady right in the middle of the forehead with the bee. I still remember the scream.
It was awesome. That was a good day.

[bja105]

Thanks for the idea. I have a few rackets I have been using to strain the leaves out of the rain barrels and stock tanks. I got about 10 bees this morning. I can't tell if they are males or females, though. I don't know which legs to look between.