Our contractor mentioned putting linseed oil on our cedar. Does it have the ability to repel carpenter bees? This is a new home under construction in Arkansas. Thank you.
Linseed oil will not stop carpenter bees. Linseed oil is a good way to treat unfinished wood like cedar and it can help prevent early wood degradation (like cracking and rot). But don’t mistake the use of linseed oil to replace traditional, proven methods that work on carpenter bees. The fact is that wood bees love cedar and any home that has cedar siding, cedar trim or any cedar components on the outside is likely to be attracting all kinds of pests including wood bees.
The good news is it’s easy to repel wood bees – even from cedar. And you review our Wood Bee article, you’ll learn we have two sprays that can be used.
The first is Cypermethrin. This is a concentrate that’s mixed with water and can be sprayed over siding, overhangs, soffits and basically anywhere female carpenter bees are scouting looking to build a nest.
Cypermethrin: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
Treatments can be done as frequently as needed but most applications will provide 2-4 weeks of repellency.
We also have a paint/stain additive that can be applied when using either. You can add it to linseed oil too if you’ll be using it on your home.
NBS won’t kill anything but it uses plant oil extracts for an active ingredient that have been found to repel insects and when used on a homes exterior, NBS will repel wood bees too.
Basically you’ll add one jug to every 5 gallons of linseed oil applied and it should help deter bee activity for a year.
NBS Repellent: https://bugspray.com/exempt/additive/nbs-paint-additive-16-oz
NBS can also be mixed with water and sprayed over the homes siding and any plants where wood bees are active.
Lastly, if you do ever get wood bee nests, be sure to dust their holes with the Drione Dust listed in our article. Using Cypermethrin or NBS to treat existing nests will NOT work at all.
CAROLYNN says
I’ve been told linseed oil sprayed on grass will keep tics away. How much linseed to water do I mix?
Tech Support says
Before “real” pesticides were brought to market, people would try most anything to control insects. No doubt natural and essential oils were used. These oils all seem to have natural insecticidal qualities. This is true because most will smother insects so you’ll see fast results. But these options have always been costly and since they don’t provide any kind of long lasting residual, the targeted pest is able to return quickly. For this reason, most of these “alternative” options are no longer used; they don’t work well, they can be way more dangerous to use compared to the newer, organic options being formulated today and they cost a lot to use around the home.
But because these oils are natural and can kill insects, the government recognized it would be good if chemical companies tried to develop these actives and somehow formulate them into concentrates and sprays which could be brought to market. This way we’d have a spray that would kill unwanted pests and not be a problem for the local environment, people or animals.
And with that in mind, the government put together a list of federally “exempt” active ingredients. So any ingredient found on this list can be packaged for insect control and because it’s exempt, the product won’t have to undergo the normal rigorous testing and registration process. Among these actives is linseed oil. In fact, you can see it being referenced on page 13 of this federal government document which discusses treatment options for ticks.
EPA TICK TREATMENT .PDF
Now since this list of federally exempt products was put together, chemical companies have been able to identify the best of the lot. And at this time linseed oil is not considered to work all that well so it’s not commonly found in any exempt concentrate. In fact we’re not aware of it being packaged for insects in any form.
But rosemary, geranium and peppermint oil have been found to be very active on ticks and we sell a concentrated form of these actives designed to be sprayed in the yard which works very well for ticks and other insects. Known as Essentria IC, this product can be used in a hose end sprayer and will both kill and repel ticks from the yard for weeks.
So if you’re looking for a safe, “green” type product to use for tick control, this would be the best way to go. It not only uses the best natural actives that work on ticks but it’s formulated in a way that makes it okay to use in the yard and home. You see, regular linseed oil you’d find at any hardware store has so many contaminates and by products that it would be a big problem to use on plants. But Essentria is designed for this kind of application and won’t hurt grass, shrubs, flowers, you or your pet.
Essentria IC3: https://bugspray.com/exempt/liquid/eco-excempt-gal
Give us a call if you need more help. Our toll free is 1-800-877-7290 and we’re open 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Mon-Thur, Eastern Standard Time.
Jonathan
Customer Care
http://www.bugspray.com
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