First, the Carpenter Bee facts: The Carpenter Bees are also known as wood bees or drilling bees.
- Male Carpenter Bees do not sting but female bees do if agitated
- Perfectly round bored holes usuall on the underside of the wood lead to nests for Carpenter Bee eggs
- Up to 20 Carpenter Bees return to the hole and its nest each night
- Bee stomachs are a shiny black (unlike bumblebees with yellow hairs)
- Specs of sawdust blowing in your eyes or small piles on your deck are the first evidence that Carpenter Bees are chewing on your wood
- Yellowish excrement nearby on a wall is also a indicator of Carpenter Bees
- Carpenter Bees are most active in the spring as they look for a mate and drill a hole to make their nest
Organic ways to stop Carpenter Bee boring and drilling essentially mean block the hole with something, or you can bat them down with a spiderman bat...just stand far away from the batter of the bees.
- Block the hole with duct tape...roll it and shove it in the hole
- Shove a stick or plug in the hole
- Fill the hole with caulk or wood putty or duck tape
Pesticdes that you can purchase locally also are effective but often are messy because the hole is usually on the underside of the wood area and so some of the residue easily drips out and onto the surface below...what a mess most time.
You can sometimes stop Carpenter Bee hole boring by using treated and/or harder lumber or painting the wood or (of course) use brick or stone to redo the outside of your house(duh).
