Mike - Jasper, Ga.

One of the most common calls we receive is "What do I do about these bees?" This is a good question, but before we discuss how to attempt to control them let's look at their characteristics. The female carpenter bee is the bee that bored the holes. She does this to create a lair to lay her eggs in after breeding. She is capable of stinging when disturbed; however, she tends to stay busy preparing the holes. Males, identified by the yellow spot on their head, are the ones that are aggressive and they guard the holes. For being guards, they have little defense, as they do not have stingers. The eggs will become bees that will emerge as adults in late summer. Carpenter bees winter over as adults within abandoned nest tunnels, and they re-emerge in the spring. After mating, the females begin boring tunnels again for a new cycle. This can occur year after year.

Knowing their characteristics gives us a better idea on how we can approach controlling them. There are two options - extermination and repelling. We feel extermination is the best option, but if you want to try deterring them, there are repellents available to add to your preservative. In our opinions, these have a limited life span and effectiveness.

Extermination can be handled in a couple different ways. We suggest using a Drione dust or Borate dust and to focus on the holes they are using. These dusts cause the insects to lose body moisture and die. The chemicals provide quick control, and if the dust is undisturbed, each application will kill for up to six months. This is the characteristic that allows control over the present bees as well as when they hatch in the hole mid-summer. Application is simple...just inject the powder in the holes and caulk or plug the hole shut. The key is to do this when the bee is in the hole. This would typically be the female, which is the key to stopping the regeneration of more bees. The male can be caught while they winter over in holes, which will give the opportunity to treat them the same way in the fall. Drione dust has many other uses, such as a flea and tick treatment on cats and dogs. It also controls ants, cockroaches, silverfish, bedbugs, fleas, ticks, bees, and numerous stored-product pests such as flour beetles and weevils. We recommend that you always check local regulations on insecticides before utilizing them. If you're looking to purchase Drione or Borates, we suggest checking locally (at a farm and garden supply store), but these products can also be found on the Internet. Another option would be to give your local pest control company a call. Many of these companies will set up a plan for you and treat accordingly. We have had reports of owners having great results with this method.

We hope this information will help in your battle against Carpenter Bees. If you have any further questions on this subject, you're welcome to call our Technical Services department. We also like to keep up on new methods and products, so if you find something that works well for you, please call to update us - it may help someone else down the road.

Sprinklers

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Fire Sprinkler System To Be Required On New Homes:

January 1, 2011

Fire Sprinkler System To Be Required On New Homes:

On October 28, 2009, members of the International Code Council’s Residential Building Code Committee made it clear that fire sprinklers are destined to become a standard feature in all new homes.  The fire sprinkler requirement was added to the International Residential Code (IRC) last year, and it is scheduled to become effective  in states that adopt the latest version of this code.  Currently, 48 states use the IRC as a basis of regulating residential construction; although, some states lag behind in adopting updates.

What is the estimated cost of a fire sprinkler system? The latest survey information was collected in 2007 by the NAHB Research Center. They collected information on sprinkler costs in a nationwide survey completed by 102 builders who built 5,527 homes with fire sprinklers in 2006. The survey results show that the median cost of installing fire sprinklers in the 5,527 homes was about $5,573. The median size of the surveyed homes was 2,271 square feet, very close to the 2,248 square feet reported by the federal government for homes built in 2006. Estimated costs include the materials, design, installation, and inspection fees. Keep in mind that homes built on scattered rural building lots with private water supply may have increased costs associated with an installed fire sprinkler system.

While the installation of a fire sprinkler system will have an impact on housing affordability, some insurance companies offer discounts, most often in the form of a percentage off the basic premium. However, this discount only modestly offsets the increase in price of the sprinkler system for a typical new home buyer. Check with your home insurance company for further details on any discounts that may apply.

Want to avoid the increased cost of a sprinkler system? The time to build is 2010. Besides the dollar savings buyers can obtain on homeowner insurance policies, buyers may have other reasons for desiring fire sprinklers, such as an added sense of security it gives them. But if you are someone looking to avoid the cost of installing a sprinkler system in your new home, the time to build is prior to January 1, 2011, the commencement of the IRC fire sprinkler system requirement for all new construction.

Current mortgage rates are at historically low levels.  As the economy starts emerging from this long overdue recession, lending rates are on the rise. The financing industry doesn’t expect major spikes , but it’s realistic to expect rates to move higher into the 6% range during the year.  What does that mean in dollars and cents?  Current rates are in the 5.25% range.  On a 320k mortgage, a rate increase from 5.25% to 6.25% increases the monthly payment by $203.25. On a yearly basis that translates to an additional $2,439.00 and $73,170.00 over the life of a 30 year mortgage.

Home manufacturers and builders are currently offering incredible incentives in an effort to stimulate sales and keep their folks working.  Those incentives will soon evaporate as demand picks up.