How to Repair Carpenter Bee Damage

Our Answer

Rather than assume that you have compromised the structural integrity of the wood, you might want to have someone inspect it to see if you have to just fill in the surfaces cosmetically or if you need to fill in the galleries since there is a structural concern. If it is just cosmetic, you can use a putty on the surface and then stain with a stain to match the logs. Test a patch to make sure that the color is right.

If you have to fill in the galleries, you might want to consider inject a two part epoxy leaving a dimple at the surface. When dry, fill in the dimple with the wood putty and stain it. An alternative filler would be plastic auto body filler using a turkey fryer “injector.”

And I wouldn’t give up the fight against carpenter bees.  A professional licensed exterminator may be needed to treat the property on a regular basis.  Many will do the treatment and then provide a warranty against future infestation. Also, if it’s the building trim that’s being infested, consider replacing any wood boards with Azek, a product made of PVC that looks like wood, and cust like wood, but for the carpenter bees — it doesn’t taste like wood and they’ll stay away!