How do you get rid of a carpenter bee infestation using butter?

Butter can be used to bait a trap using permethrin to capture carpenter bees. When the bees land in the butter, the pesticide will work by soaking into their exoskeleton and killing them. It will also kill them if they ingest the butter.

1. Build the trap

   In a wide, shallow dish, mix together a quarter cup of butter and two tablespoons of permethrin. A disposable, aluminum pie pan works well as the receptacle.

2. Place the trap

   First, locate the cluster of holes where the carpenter bees are eating into your wood. Then, place the trap within 6 inches of it. The smell of the butter should attract them to it almost immediately.

3. Replenish the trap

   Check the trap every day to see if it needs to be replenished. If there are any dead or dying bees in the trap, carefully scrape them out into a plastic bag, tie it tightly and throw it away. Then, follow steps one and two to make another trap, and replace the old one.

4. Keep checking the trap for a week

   Every day for a week, check the trap. You should start seeing a decrease in the amount of dead bees, as well as their activity. After a week, you should be able to check and replace the trap once every three or four days.