Get a load of this: I've been hunting BUMBLE BEES!

[Max Heat]

You know, the kind that "hover". I think that they are also known as "carpenter" bees. The last few warm days that we've been having here in PA have really been bringing them out.

MY weapon of choice is a .177 cal RWS model 48 air rifle. On my first hunt, I "bagged" 10 of them. Yesterday was my 2nd time out. I wasn't counting, but I estimate that I got 12-15 of them before I finally ran out of pellets. At ranges from 1 to about 35ft, it's not exactly long range hunting, but it sure is a blast. One bee decided to check out the muzzle from a distance of about an inch. It was no longer there, or any where for that matter, after I pulled the trigger.

You need to "hold over" quite a bit with the crosshairs at such short ranges. It takes practice to become consistent at hitting them. There are basically 2 kinds of hits. Shoot-downs, which usually require follow-up ground shots to finish off, and direct hits, which are pretty much vaporization shots, leaving maybe just a couple of tiny pieces to float to the ground.

Take your shots when they are hovering, with sky behind them. Position yourself so the shots will be more vertical, as opposed to horizontal, for safety reasons. The model 48 slings em out at 1100fps.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I prefer 'Black Flag' myself.

 

[kc0pph]

I like the smoke bombs that you throw under their nest. Can get em placed right from about 35 yards away Would rather not get stung...

Now where iam from Cats are a big problem. Humane society says they cant take them in and to humanely dispose of them... They reccomend (off record ) that you drown them, i prefer the pelet gun

 

[DDT]

Sounds like fun. Growing up we would shoot red wasp off the nest and hoovering.
as long as you did not hit the nest you could get all of them without ****ing them off.

 

[kc0pph]

I am amazed Darwin did not pick you guys Thank the Lord yall aint alergic to bees

Lighting the Hives on fire is another fun thing to do. We had a lot of them underground, so we would dump gas on the hive and lightit... They did not mind the gas, but the fire they did not like. Amazingly did not kill many, but they had no wings.

Used to get the "Smart" kids from the neighborhood as well when we were little kids to go bang on the cloths line pole. Its a T-Pole of 2" pipe. Makes a great Wasp Nest, or Yellow Jacket Nest.

Good Times

 

[Nimrodmar10]

I personally prefer a badmitten or tennis racket. Up close and personal. Oh, and by the way, the bumble bees with the white spot on their head don't have stingers. When I was a kid, we'd catch them and tie a sewing thread to their leg and let them fly around. Just make sure he's got the white spot before you catch him.

 

[Max Heat]

Some interesting responses there. My previous weapon of choice used to be the wiffle (ball) bat. You can get some really good, home-run-quality hits, sounding off with a loud "whack", if you've got a decent batting average. THAT weapon is only useful if they come within range of the bat though. But what I am doing now is a whole different ball game!

What I mean to say is, that I'm finally done playing "games" with them. They are trying to make swiss cheese out of my wooden structures, so I have now declared all-out war on them. Virtually all of the shots that I take at them are while they are hovering near roof eves, as I am sitting on the ground, basically leaning against the structure, sometimes shooting almost straight up. But gotta be careful so as not to shoot holes in the roof. And the ones that are shot down, but not killed, usually act like they are REALLY ****ED, so I try hard to make the follow-ups count.

I'm not sure what kind of "nests" they make, other than the holes that they bore into my wooden structures. As opposed to black flag, the model 48 has much better range, does away with the carcases, ammunition is MUCH cheaper (although the rifle itself isn't exactly cheap), and I get a whole lot more satisfaction out of taking care of them in that manor, especially now that a state of war exists between us.

I've emptied another tin of pellets on them yesterday, but the tins I have used up so far weren't exactly full. I'm going to try to get out there for at least a little while on every day that is ideal for them to be around. So far, today isn't looking too good, with a weather system expected to be settled in for the next few days. What I am now wondering is, will I ever get to the point where they are completely "cleaned up", or is this going to end up being a war of attrition?

 

[kc0pph]

If you want them gone you need to get a fogger and spray them. There will be 1000's of them you can not see. My suggestion is coveralls with gloves and a ski mask with no mouth opening and goggles. Tape over every seam with good ol duct tape and go after them with a fogger. It will be up close and personal. Drench everything with the fogger and then grab the liquid spray and just soak everything. They will be gone and no more holes in your shed.

 

[kweidner]

carpenter bees are pretty much harmless except to your wood. We shoot them with .22 and rat shot. lots of fun. had a group in one of my columns. took a few years to shoot them all. waged war last year with the rat shot. not one in my yard this spring! biggest group i have ever seen is 20 or so in one hole. they don't build hives like regular bes and they don't seem to sting.

 

[Max Heat]

carpenter bees are pretty much harmless except to your wood. We shoot them with .22 and rat shot. lots of fun. had a group in one of my columns. took a few years to shoot them all. waged war last year with the rat shot. not one in my yard this spring! biggest group i have ever seen is 20 or so in one hole. they don't build hives like regular bes and they don't seem to sting.

They may not sting, which is definitely a GOOD thing, but they WILL buzz you about the face and head, trying their damnedest to intimidate you. I once did get un-nerved and abandoned my position, after 2 of them ganged up on me, buzzing me un-relentingly. I had no idea that 20 of them could share a single hole. From what I have observed, they all seem to make their own individual holes. And I don't think I've ever seen .22 rat shot, but I do have some .22 bird shot (#11, I believe it is). The problem is, at a per-round cost of 20-30x that of a .17 cal pellet, it isn't very cost-effective to use them on bees, being that there seems to be such a large number of them.

To be totally honest, I have not been out there every day like I said I planned on doing. I've dispatched dozens and dozens of them already, but the reinforcements that they keep sending in just seems to be unending, almost like waves of chineese, I guess you could say. I am frequently running out of ammo before I run out of "enemy combatants" to shoot at, and it's starting to tire me out. But the "not 1 in my yard this spring" statement IS keeping me in the fight, giving me the hope that I will be able to say that NEXT spring.

 

[Chugiakbilly]

I hope you "bee" killers have stocked up on a life-time supply of fruits and vegetables. Bumble bees, Carpenter bees and Mason bees are the last line of pollinators on the planet. Honey bees are nearly or completely extinct in many countrys. Our pear and apple growers in Japan have been forced to hand pollinate the blossoms for the past 5 years which has greatly increased the cost of Asian pears. Other fruits like strawberries, cherries, grapes and plums can't even be grown in many areas. I was surprised to find out that over 3 out of 10 spoonfuls of what we eat has to be pollinated. Keep your sights on the wasps and give the bees a break. Keep your powder dry.gun)

 

[RDM416]

Max Heat, Thats funny...... and brings back memories. When I was 12 or 13, my cousin and I used to shoot those things with our bb guns. My grandma's house had a long front porch with a porch swing at one end. We used to sit in the porch swing and shoot those bees. It was great fun and great memories!

 

[Max Heat]

Glad I could stir up some happy memories for you!


As for Mr. bee lover, I bet that if YOU had the carpenters doing unauthorized work (of the destructive variety) on YOUR buildings, you would be thinking differently.

 

[silvertip44]

Max, I'm with you. I sit on my back porch and shoot them with my old Sheridan .177.
Don't pick one up when you knock it down. They are not aggressive but they can sting.