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Dear Dog,
Last year, my wife and I had a carpenter bee problem in our backyard. The exterminator came out and sprayed, and the bees are now gone, but their memory lives on, in the form of holes along the base boards of the deck. Is there something we can do to fill them? Or will we have to replace the full board?
Michael and Paulette in Salt Lake City, Utah
Dear Michael and Paulette,
Carpenter bees may be destructive, but luckily, their damage is typically easy to repair. Carpenter bees bore the same size holes, so when you buy filler, you don’t really have to worry about getting different sizes. Measure the holes you will be filling, then stop at your local hardware store and purchase dowel rods or cork with the same width. Be sure you don’t buy any that are too small, because you want them to fit snuggly. Coat them with wood glue and just tap it in the holes. It’s as easy as that! If you tap it in just right, the cork or dowel rods should become flush with your wood. If not, you may need to sand it down a little bit.
