Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees are similar to Bumble bees in color and size. But bumble bees tend to sting, while carpenter bees are harmless insects. Just female carpenter bees have the capacity to sting, and they will only sting when threatened or irritated. The sting causes pain in the local area, but only in rare cases can the sting manifest into an allergic reaction.

Carpenter bees prefer wooded environments. They like to dig burrows inside wood and make their nests there.

Carpenter Bees – Pictures

How to get rid of

Presented below are different ways in which to get rid of carpenter bees.

• Take some drums or pot, pans, or other utensils and create a lot of noise. Carpenter bees have extreme sensitivity to noise; the sensitivity may be towards the vibrations caused by loud noise. You may also place a boom box next to the nest. It is a safe and problem-free way to get rid of carpenter bees.
• Spray the tunneled dwellings of the bees with petrol. This tried and tested homemade solution will kill the insects. You however need to be extra careful as petrol is highly inflammable and can harm the thing that you pour it on. Wear goggles, a respirator mask, and gloves when spraying petrol into the nests. This will help prevent inhalation of petrol fumes and protect the skin from contact with it.
  • In case you use a spray bottle to kill the carpenter bees, then label the bottle appropriately when storing it for future use. This will help avoid the use inadvertent use of the bottle for spraying water on plants.
• Check out all the pesticides available in the market. You may use products like boric acid or sevin/Carbaryl dust. Powders are considered to be most effective in getting rid of carpenter bees.
• Buy some carpenter bee traps from the market. Such traps lure the insects in and kill them. They are thus extremely effective in eliminating carpenter bees.
• Use aerosol carburetor cleaner and spray it in the burrows or on the bees. It may not be a kind method to eliminate the bees, but it really works. Buy the extension tube for the aerosol carburetor cleaner can, wear protection, take extra care to avoid the fluid from getting into your eyes or face, and thoroughly read all safety instructions before use. Some aerosol carburetor cleaner sprays will make the dwellings (or possible future nests) uninhabitable, while other types may immediately kill the bees in their burrows.
• Take a tennis or badminton racket and swat down the carpenter bees. The insects fly all around during spring for possible nests to lay their eggs and collect pollen as larvae food. The bees often tend to reuse old burrows. Hence, plug and seal them before spring. They tend to be real active and buzz all over for 2 to 3 weeks during spring. They have the habit of stopping for a bit and just hovering around. This makes them easy targets to swat and kill. You can swat them down with rackets and squash them with your shoes when they fall down on the ground.
• Paint or stain all wooden structures located outside the house. This will prevent infestation of carpenter bees as they have a preference for nesting in untreated wood. All wooden things are potential targets for the bees to burrow into and make their nests. The most common nesting places include fascia boards, siding, fences’ posts, window frames, decks, soffits, and overhangs. Stain or paint all these structures.
• Take steel wool and fill up the burrows with it. It is not possible for the bees to burrow through steel-wool. Thus, the bees and larvae are sort of permanently jailed in the hole. In case of unused burrows, patch them shut with caulk or wood putty. Ensure that the amount of caulk or putty used is equal to the total wooden area of the burrow.
• Use non-synthetic natural sprays like tea tree oil or citrus oil on different places which are affected by infestation of carpenter bees. Like most insects, these bees are also naturally averse to citrus oil. You may make the citrus spray at home, or buy some from the market that has been specially made for the bees.
  • In order to make the spray at home, you may cut out the rinds of lemon, orange, grapefruit, lime, and other citrus fruits and boil them in required level of water. Later, fill up a spray bottle with the homemade citrus solution and citrus fruits’ juice, and use it to get rid of carpenter bees.
  • Other kinds of natural products that ward off the bees are almond essence and almond oil.
• In case you do not want to kill the insects, you may wait till after the young carpenter bees have vacated the nests and flown away. Then seal the tunnels and the burrows with things that are more solid than wood. You may use wool, steel, asphalt, aluminum, or fiberglass. Then use wood filler to cover it up. Later, stain or paint the area to prevent any burrowing in the future.
• Put an end to the reproduction cycle of carpenter bees to permanently get rid of them. Killing the reproductive female bees or the adult bees is not adequate. It is important to destroy the larvae in the burrows so that they do not grow into adults and commence the cycle of reproduction once again.
  • In order to kill the larvae, go to each burrow or nest and apply/sprinkle dust insecticide. It is necessary to use dust insecticides as other dust insecticides may fade away before the hatching of the larvae or may get absorbed by the wood.
  • After the insecticide dust has been applied, do not seal shut the complete hole. This will cause the bees to dig new burrows, thereby increasing their chances of non-exposure to the insecticide.
• If you are unable to get rid of carpenter bees in an efficient manner, then you may contact pest control professionals or an exterminator.
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