Be they bees or hornets, you needn't worry
Q. I have carpenter bees, and I don't want to use pesticides. They look like small bumblebees and are going into a gap in the wood of my soffits as a part of the eaves. How can I get rid of them without getting too drastic?
ELIZABETH, from Malden
A. Carpenter bees never go into gaps in wood, but rather drill holes in wood, then turn the corner inside to lay eggs. With that in mind, I wonder if you are looking at yellow jacket hornets, which are not as hefty as carpenter bees but will gladly go into any gap in wood, it seems. People often confuse bees with hornets and vice versa. Especially my brother-in-law, a PhD physiologist who took great umbrage when I corrected him.
But whether they are carpenter bees or yellow jackets, the treatment is the same: Fill in that gap with a solid piece of wood, or rebuild the eaves to keep both out. Of course, be very careful, because bees and wasps will leave you alone unless you disturb them. If you trap any insects inside the patched area, they will probably find another escape hole, or die trying.
Q. How much on average can you expect to pay for replacement windows? I have 22 windows about 34-by-52 inches with grilles.
FRED, in Hotton's chat room
A, I'm glad you asked that because I have been trying to figure out the vast range of replacement windows. And remember, replacement windows are just the movable sash, with a small framework, not the entire window. Your windows are bigger than average, but that should not apply in the big scheme of things.
The gamut of cost is huge, and quality is hard to judge. Most replacement windows are double-glazed, meaning they have two layers of glass, plus some kind of gas, plus low-emissity glass.
Google "Replacement Windows." There is a lot of information there, but I would take a lot of it with a grain of salt. As for price, Andersen Renewal seems to take the cake at $1,000 for replacement windows and installation, which they do themselves. You are not allowed to put them in yourself, even if you know how. This is awfully high, in my opinion. More realistic is a quote of about $700 each installed for some Harvey windows. I also have heard that some Harvey windows can be installed for $450. Getting lower and lower, with what seems to be the nadir, one advertised in the Globe for $267 installed. Whooee! What the sashes are made of also enters into the cost factor. Each company claims it is the be-all and end-all.
Guarantees are an important part of replacement windows, and too many manufacturers guarantee the double glazing only for 20 years or so, way too short. They have to do better than that to give a lifetime guarantee.
Unless you find a real critique on costs, you will have to take your chances, and your own good instincts.
And finally, if you have well-weather stripped, single-glazed windows and a high-quality storm, you are doing nearly as well in saving fuel as many new, double-glazed windows. Some installers say you don't need storms with double-glazed windows, a silly argument if you have good ones.
As for claims of saving 25 percent of your fuel costs with replacement windows, the manufacturers would be hard pressed to prove it. And they almost always say, "up to" 25 percent.
Q. Spiders, spiders everywhere, in my electrical switches. All over, and I keep sweeping them away, but they come back. What can I do?
FAITHFUL READER
A. Keep sweeping them down, and they will be back, to help keep bugs out of your house, basement, and elsewhere. They are there because other bugs, their meals, are there. If there are no bugs, the spiders will leave for better hunting grounds. If you kill all the spiders, the bug population will explode. The spiders will leave you alone; you are too big to eat. So be happy they are there; when they get to be a little too much, sweep them down. The only place you don't want them is hanging by a silken thread just above your pillow at night. Over the years, I think I have actually converted some people into keeping their spiders.
There are very few deadly spiders in northern climes. The black widow is rare, and even rarer is the brown recluse. In warmer, southern climes, they are more common, so extra care must be taken to keep them away.
Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is also in the g section on Thursdays. He is available 1-6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on house repair. Call 617-929-2930. Hotton also chats online about house matters 2-3 p.m. Thursdays. To participate, go to www.Boston.com. Hotton's email is photton@globe.com 
