What's eating my tractor shed?

jCarroll · May 24, 2013

central Ohio - shed is an old (maybe 100 years) granary - post and beam - hardwood, mostly oak and hickory.

Recently. I noticed brown "dust" on some tools. Today I looked closer, and I see lots of holes in the timbers almost 1/4" diameter where the very fine sawdust is coming out. This is eye level, and overhead.

What is eating the wood? What to do?

dr sportster · May 24, 2013

Sounds like carpenter bees.

WAYNE-N-TX · May 24, 2013

Have you noticed any bee's around? They also like wood to nest in, not honey bees'.

Anonymous-0 · May 24, 2013

look up carpenter bees. they look like bumble bees. I had them in the barn. If you don't get them fast they will do a lot of damage. The stuff i got you spray all the wood real wet. done a good job. forgot what it was. jc

LarryH · May 24, 2013

spray with permectrin --we sell it call link_disallowed ask for larry

Texasmark1 · May 24, 2013

Ditto on the bees. They can wreck your barn especially roof load bearing supports like trusses. BTDT The subject has been discussed in the last day or two on here.

Mark

jCarroll · May 24, 2013

I know carpenter bees - don't think this is my problem.

Haven't seen any inside the building - where I've noticed the dust.
Holes are smaller than our Buckeye bees.

I looked up powder post beetles - pictures of the holes look like my damage.

notjustair · May 24, 2013

Around here it would be ants. You see a pile of sawdust right next to their holes. Don't bother my buildings but they are rough on trees.

bradley martin · May 25, 2013

Carpenter bees will drill a 1/2" hole.....not 1/4" but exactly 1/2".

Stephen Newell · May 25, 2013

With a 1/4" hole, it's too small for carpenter bees and too large for powder post beetles. The beetles make about a 1/16" hole. You might have to cut a section of the wood away and get a live if you want to find out what critter is working on your shed. I would just start spraying with insecticide and keep changing products until you find one distasteful to the critter.

Richard G. · May 25, 2013

Many insecticides can be used.
One of the safest is boric acid which can be bought as Timbor. Comes in other names as well.
Most any termite killer will work also.
Used to use Dursban on the wood around here.
Richard

Ellis Kinney · May 25, 2013

Bore bees, They are always around my barns in the spring. They are pretty easy to hit with a badminton racket. I keep one in all three barns. Sometimes I hire my grandkids as bee killers. Fill all holes with grease or cheap caulk. Ellis

Anonymous-0 · May 25, 2013

Problem with powder post is, that by the time you see the holes, they have already left. They will turn the center of a post to mush, and leave you with a shell about 3/4" thick. that has the exit holes. The way to combat them, is to apply insecticide treatment as you are building, or re-building. They are active in the summer, laying eggs especially in green wood, or damp locations.

What's eating my tractor shed?

jCarroll

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dr sportster

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WAYNE-N-TX

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Anonymous-0

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LarryH

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Texasmark1

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jCarroll

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notjustair

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bradley martin

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Stephen Newell

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Richard G.

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Ellis Kinney

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Anonymous-0

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