Carpenter bee shells.

I just use an old tennis racket. They make a satisfying thump when I hit them. If I can’t reach them with a racket then they aren’t that big of a problem to me.

"Honey, look at the neighbor shooting his own house"

Lol

I've heard of cornmeal shot, never done it. Probably better from a revolver, let us know how it goes!

I wonder if a bug-a-salt would work?

22plinkster has a video of shooting them with cci rat shot from a .22. Dont know if corn meal would hold together well enough, but id be interested how it works if you try it.

I would try it with cream of wheat that should work. I would see if you could remove the seater stem and roll crimp the overshot card in. Might need another grain of BE 86 though. Have any revolvers and 38 SPL or 357 brass? That would work better.

I've updated my old .45 Colt Stinging Insect cartridge lately.
- drilled flash holes, so the primer doesn't back out. Leave just enough rim so the anvil seats well.
- 0.3cc scoop of Clays, or any fast pistol powder
- a .460 card wad, used to make them, now from Track of the Wolf
- a case full of crushed walnut shell media. Used to used rice: rice has more range, walnut has better pattern density.
- another card wad, and a heavy crimp. The crimp never unrolls, so only once.

This sounds like a loud paintball gun, and won't harm your siding from 12" away. My Ruger Bisley sees more of these than real bullets each year.

LoonWulf said:

I wonder if a Bug-A-Salt would work?

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https://www.bugasalt.com/?gclid=Cjw...vs175WFBdU9z-hIghEPrDbktKe53rT1xoCdg0QAvD_BwE



Basically a pump-action air rifle that shoots about 2 gr of plain table salt. It's deadly on small flying insects and similar pests.

As fun as shooting them would be a good carpenter bee trap is much more effective. They are easy to make and effective.

I've made carpenter bee shells similar to edwardware but I did not drill out the primer hole. Works pretty well.

I've put four carpenter bee traps around the house and that takes care of most of the pests. I get one or two new bore holes instead of a dozen or so. The bees seem to be lazy and like to use existing holes before boring new ones.

LoonWulf said:

I wonder if a bug-a-salt would work?

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They don’t seem to work on red wasps even at almost contact distance. Work much better on house flys.

A high pressure water hose/gun will knock them out of the air and if you keep it on them while you close distance you can stomp on them.

At the range I use the wooden slats (a piece of wood 1 3/4 x 1/4) that we use for target stands to knock them out of the air as they hover in front of their holes. After knocking down 4 or 5 they usually go away & leave me alone.

edwardware said:

a case full of crushed walnut shell media. Used to used rice: rice has more range, walnut has better pattern density.

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Has anyone tried salt, and if so what kind? I’m thinking of making up some for .45 ACP. I have used a flyswatter for whack-a-bee fun, but some are up near the roof line and don’t do the swoop/hover maneuvers near the deck.

lordpaxman said:

Has anyone tried salt. . .

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I prefer shot that isn't chemically active, since I'm running it up my barrel.

As per always:
- larger shot will reach further
- rounder shot will pattern more evenly
- smaller shot will pattern more densely

White rice reached 10' or so, but I'd sometimes miss at 5' for holes in the pattern. Walnut shell reaches 5-6', but has a very dense pattern.

I understand the nature of salt but will be cleaning the gun so I’m not worried. The distance is important for me and I need a bit denser material. Thanks for the info on the rice!

tmd16556 said:

I just use an old tennis racket. They make a satisfying thump when I hit them. If I can’t reach them with a racket then they aren’t that big of a problem to me.

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I concur.

I prefer badminton racquets, though. Lighter and easier to "flick" at them.

Based on similar experience using both badminton racket and .22 bird shot from a revolver.....both are great fun.....during normal times.

But given today's climate, I don't have primers or powder to spare for that when I know that a shot of Sevin insecticide......either dry powder or liquid shot into the hole will take them all out. Adults and larva.

I looked into getting one of those ridiculously overpowered lasers for getting rid of wood bees and the like, but the price point and visual hazard stopped me.
Use my Bug-A-Salt daily-daily on the pantry moths in my house. Kosher salt has more oomph than table salt.

Harbor Freight has a Zapper Racket for things flying around. I use it on wasp and they explode on contact. The only thing I don't like is that you have to hold a button to activate the electrified grid.

Mounted CAS load their revolvers with a shot load made of sawdust. If it'll bust a balloon surely it'll kill a bee

I had a buddy with a very nice log home. He had a war going on with woodpeckers. He was forever sneaking around trying to get a shot at 'em with light .410 loads. Hated them. Destructive hole-building little buggers. Funny to watch though.

I'd be inclined to used corncob material over corn meal--attracting ants harder to fix than simple carpenter bee traps

jmorris said:

They don’t seem to work on red wasps

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Nothing does, they are concentrated evil with permanent bad temper. Mean enough to take over and kill yellowjackets in their own nest. Chemical warfare is the only answer for red-faced hornets.

NMexJim said:

I had a buddy with a very nice log home. He had a war going on with woodpeckers. He was forever sneaking around trying to get a shot at 'em with light .410 loads. Hated them. Destructive hole-building little buggers. Funny to watch though.

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Woodpeckers are Federally protected:

All woodpeckers are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). ... Gila woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) and Gilded northern flicker (Colaptes auratus chrysoides) are California-listed endangered species and cannot be harassed or harmed in any way.

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If you have the components to pull it off, go for it! Have fun. Let us know how things work out.

I've never shot salt, cream of wheat, nor cornmeal. When I tried to fire form some .303 brass, I used grits. If you don't use the whole package, the leftovers are much more tasty!

Walnut tumbling media.