Home » Misc » How to get rid of big black bees

How to get rid of big black bees


Black Bees: Treatment and Prevention

Black bees are a common sight around Raleigh in the summer. With their large, fat bodies and black markings, most people confuse them for bumblebees, but what you’re really seeing are carpenter bees. If you’d like to spend time outdoors without these large pests buzzing around and even ruining your wooden fencing, furniture, or playsets, our pest control company in Raleigh is sharing how to treat and prevent carpenter bees around your property.

Identifying Black Bees

First, let’s look at the difference between a carpenter bee and a bumblebee.

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees are large, often an inch long and fairly fat. They are generally all black, though some may have yellow markings around their head, which is why they’re often mistaken for bumblebees. Unlike their fuzzy counterparts, carpenter bees only have a small amount of hair around their abdomen, and while you may not get close enough to see them, female carpenter bees have large jaws used to drill holes into wood.

Carpenter bees are fairly solitary and burrow into soft wood, including fence posts, porches, or old trees, rather than build nests. Over time, this can cause damage, especially when there are several bees that make their home near one another. Their tunnels can weaken the wood and cause structural problems. While male bees are territorial, they are unable to sting, instead of swarming and buzzing loudly to deter threats. Only females sting and this is generally only when threatened, but because it’s hard to tell the difference between a male and a female, it’s best to be cautious.

Bumble Bees

Bumblebees are fat, black and yellow striped bees with fuzzy bodies, and you’ll most likely see them clumsily bobbing around flowers and plants. They’re prolific pollinators and play a vital role in the ecosystem. Unlike black bees, these bees nest near the ground, often in old trees, piles of leaves, and holes in the ground.

Like carpenter bees, bumblebees can sting multiple times, but again, they’re not aggressive so the threat is not high, though it’s still important to take caution, especially if you have an allergy.

Treating and Preventing Carpenter Bees Around Your Home

Black bees are a nuisance, even if they aren’t particularly threatening, and if you have a lot of wooden structures around your home, they can cause damage. To safely treat your home to get rid of the bees and keep them from coming back, try these natural steps:

Call Us for Wasp and Bee Control Around Raleigh

If you want an effective way to get rid of bees and keep them gone from around your home and property, we can help. Reach out to Stomp Pest Control to learn more about our pest control packages, wasp and bee control services, or to schedule a time for a pest control technician to come out to your property for an inspection. Call us at 919-231-3292 or fill out our form below to get started.

8 Ways to get rid of Carpenter Bees

The safest way to get rid of Carpenter Bees would be to call a professional bee removal team, such as Bee Serious Bee Removal because when it comes to the safety of your family, you only want the best.

With over 20,000 different species of bees in the world, there are bound to be a few of them that are more of a hindrance than a help. One of those bees is the Carpenter Bee. They look similar to Bumblebees in size and general shape but whereas Bumblebees usually nest in the ground, Carpenter Bees nest and lay their eggs in wood that they have drilled into for protection. If you notice these wood dwellers living in your home, here are 8 ways you can get rid of Carpenter bees on your own.

Although Carpenter Bees are typically docile, they can still cause big problems in your home. The male hovers just outside the nest to protect and fight off any intruders or other bees by engaging in physical combat, albeit without a stinger. The female, who actually does have a stinger, acts as a last line of defense for those who enter the nest. The real problem with Carpenter Bees is what they do to the wooden features of your home. These little insects bore holes out of soft wood and create a series of tunnels to lay their eggs and seek refuge from the weather and danger outside of the nest. Even though this doesn’t seem too bad, over time it will do a lot of damage to your home. Carpenter Bees are looking for raw or untreated wood, damp wood and older outdoor furnishings such as tables and chairs. This means the most common places you will find them is door frames, windows, the siding of your home, patio furniture and exposed wooden beams.

If you have realized that you have a Carpenter Bee infestation, here are a few simple ways to get rid of them or protect your home before they come around looking for a new place to build a nest:

1. Paint or seal any exposed wood around your home.

These little bees are looking for easy to drill wood, therefore, if your deck, door frame or windows are left untreated, they are the prime candidate for a bee infestation.

2. Vacuum the bees out with a wet-vac.

This method is best if the nest is fairly new and if you have a high powered wet-vac. The best time to try this is to wait until the evening because the bees will be back in the nest for the night.

3. Make a lot of noise.

Carpenter bees enjoy the quiet so if you find yourself with some unwanted guests, set up a radio or speaker right next to or on top of where the nest is. Not only does the music disorient them, the vibrations will cause them to evacuate their nest. Often times, once a severe problem has happened in their nest, they will not return to that same place anymore.

4. Make a citrus spray.

Carpenter Bees are naturally repelled by the smell of citrus. in a small pot of water, slice the citrus fruit and boil it in the water for 10-15 minutes to release the juice. Let the citrus water cool down and pour it into a spray bottle with a “stream” nozzle and spray it into the nest site.

5. Boric Acid.

This common household item can be used for a bevy of different DIY insect-removal projects. Mix 3 parts water with 1 part boric acid in a spray bottle and spray inside the entrance hole. This is very poisonous to the carpenter bees and will exterminate them within an hour.

6. Aerosol Carburetor Cleaner.

Although this is not the most natural remedy, it works. Whether they are inside when you spray it inside or not, it will either kill them or make their nest inhabitable.

7. Essential Oils.

Carpenter Bees are very sensitive when it comes to scents inside their nest. Peppermint, tea tree and lemon essential oils are excellent for making their nest unbearable thus making them leave for good. Although this isn’t a permanent solution, it will buy you a little time to safely get them out of the nest without hurting them so you can properly seal the entrance site.

8. Pyrethrum Spray.

Pyrethrum, also called Tanacetum, is a flower that is used a lot in natural pesticides. It is one of the strongest natural insecticides that is allowed in organic gardening.

If you notice a carpenter bee hovering around your house, you can bet there is an entrance to their nest nearby. Although home remedies seem easy and foolproof, you should always wear protective gear when handling chemicals as well as disturbing an insect nest.

If you need help with bee removal, please do not hesitate to contact us today!

Carpenter bees - what are dangerous and how to get rid of them? Photo — Botanichka

Once at an old dacha we noticed some interesting "neighbors". These were unusual dark-colored insects, similar either to large flies, or to bees, or to bumblebees. And they lived directly inside the canvas of the front door to the house. The door was old, it had several holes of incomprehensible origin, from which these insects periodically flew out and flew in. They've obviously set up accommodation there! I don’t know what damage was done to the country door, which already required replacement, but, as we later found out, such tenants can cause significant damage to new buildings. What are these insects and how to deal with them, I will tell in this article.

Carpenter bees - why are they dangerous and how to get rid of them? © Elena Kreuzberg

Features of carpenter bees

Carpenter bees ( Xylocopa valga ) live on all continents except Antarctica. They have a body length of 12 to 25 mm. The color is black, greenish-black, dark blue with a metallic sheen or purple tint. The wings of these insects are black with a blue-violet sheen. Antennae black above, reddish below. There are yellow areas on the head near the eyes, and yellowish hairs are also present on the legs, chest and abdomen (but not as bright or numerous as in bumblebees).

Carpenter bees have a large, dense build and are sometimes confused with bumblebees. To unmistakably identify such a bee, look at the upper abdomen of the insect. While the abdomen of a bumblebee is densely covered with hairs, the upper abdomen of the carpenter bee will be hairless, black, and shiny.

These bees are solitary, they "dig" tunnels in wood to make a home, especially preferring the bare and weathered surface of the tree. They gnaw their moves with their jaws, and the length of the moves is from 30 cm to 1.5 m, the entrance diameter is from 0.7 mm to 1 cm. thrown out by insects.

Each larva is in an individual cell located inside such a passage. Although these bees do not form a swarm, several females can live together in the same nest, with one female breeding while the others guard the brood. Bees often block the entrance to the nest with their own abdomen.

Males and females overwinter in nesting passages. When it gets warm enough in spring, the adults emerge from the nests and mate. The males die shortly after mating, and the females begin to dig new tunnels or expand old buildings. Carpenter bees, like honey bees, feed on pollen and nectar. Females provide their larvae with food by placing balls of pollen and bee bread in the cell in advance, after which the bee lays eggs in each chamber and soon dies.

The offspring of the eggs hatch after a few days, and the young larvae begin to feed on the food left for them by the mother. Within five to seven weeks (depending on the temperature conditions of the environment), the bee pupates and reaches an adult state. A new generation of carpenter bees emerge in late summer to feed on nectar before preparing for winter. The life span of a carpenter bee does not exceed one year.

These insects, like common bees, are good pollinators, but only for flowers with an open corolla. But plants with deeper nectar are a problem for them, and insects treat them “barbarically”. To get to the sweet nectar, the carpenter bees cut the side of the flower, penetrate into the center, and deprive the flower of its juice without providing any pollination services in return, since they do not come into contact with the anthers.

In order to collect pollen grains for food for larvae, carpenter bees practice a very interesting technique called “buzz pollination”. It looks like this: when a bee lands on a flower, it uses its pectoral muscles to create vibrating sound waves that shake the pollen off the anthers.

Carpenter bee or wood borer bee (Xylocopa valga). © Vlad Proklov

Why are carpenter bees dangerous?

Carpenter bees can be a real nuisance for summer residents and owners of country houses. They often build nests close to humans: in front doors, decking, porches, cornices, stair railings, garden furniture, wooden fence posts, and other similar structures. Every year they cause massive damage to the tree by tunneling in various designs.

Carpenter bees are certainly not termites or carpenter beetles, they do not feed on wood, and their nest tunnels are limited in size. However, after a few years, the damage to the wood can become quite significant as the bees widen old tunnels and "dig" new ones. If carpenter bees are allowed to tunnel through a wooden structure year after year, the cumulative damage can be significant.

In addition, they also spoil the appearance of wooden structures, leave stains with their feces. Since such bees are used to recovering at the entrance to their dwelling, yellow spots can be seen on the surface of the tree, just below the entrance to the nest.

These insects can also be aggressive, especially during the mating season, which occurs in April-May. At this time, male carpenter bees usually fly around the nest holes in search of females. During such a period, aggressive insects may well fly very close to people and animals, even deliberately crash into them and dive overhead.

It is the males who show the greatest aggressiveness, but they are not able to bite, since they do not have a stinger. But females can already sting, but only if they are seriously provoked. In particular, don't swing your arms too much, catch bees or press them hard, it's better to just ignore their buzzing and aggressive flights over your head.

Read also our article How black wasps helped us in the fight against pest larvae.

Bee trap

How to get rid of carpenter bees?

The best defense against carpenter bees is, as in many cases, preventing them from attacking. These insects prefer to damage woods such as pine, fir, cypress, oak, and mahogany, especially if the wood is not barked, stained, or treated.

Sometimes bees also colonize painted wood, especially if the paintwork is old and peeling. Therefore, you can prevent carpenter bees from nesting in the first place by painting the exterior of the house or other woodwork, or by resurfacing an old coat of paint. A fresh coat of paint or varnish is unattractive to the carpenter bee.

Close as many cracks in the wood as possible. Carpenter bees look for cracks that will make their entrances less visible to woodpeckers, so they prefer to populate such wood. Therefore, as soon as the installation of the structure is completed, be sure to seal all cracks and crevices.

If carpenter bees have already inhabited your wooden structures, it is better to try to simply expel insects without destroying them, since in Russia and Ukraine these insects are listed in the Red Book.

You can suspect that you have such unusual neighbors by the following signs:

Read also our article Firefighter beetles - how useful for the garden and can they harm?

Bees really dislike vibration and loud noises near their home. Therefore, in order for the bee to leave its nest, it is recommended to periodically turn on the perforator, or listen to loud music with low bass. It is believed that after some time (on average, after 2-3 days) the bees should leave their nest in search of a quieter place.

Another way is to watch the nest and close up all the entrances and exits to the burrows when the occupants leave them. As soon as you see that the bees have flown outside in the spring, seal the holes for the nests with putty. You can also putty the nest entrances in the fall, after the next generation of carpenter bees have hatched. Before puttying, it is recommended to spray inside a spray with citrus essential oil diluted with water, and also put a piece of a steel mesh sponge into the hole. Holes can also be covered with sealant or putty.

You can also make a bee trap that mimics a natural carpenter bee nest with angled entry holes. Inside, it has the shape of a funnel (for example, you can insert a cut off top from a plastic bottle). A bee, climbing into a hole, falls into a wooden chamber, after which it falls into a funnel from a bottle, which leads it into a container of water (bottom of the cut bottle). You can also add soapy water to the water to make it harder for the insect to get out. Once the carpenter bees start filling the trap, their pheromones will begin to attract other carpenter bees.

Where is the best place to place such a trap? If your wooden structures are already infested with carpenter bees, place the traps where there is a particular activity of insects, and in particular, right above the existing holes. If carpenter bees have not yet chosen your property, but you are afraid of their appearance, set traps in the corners and tops of buildings, preferably on the sunniest side of your house.

With regard to inhumane methods, involving the destruction of insects, the use of insecticides, which are sprayed or covered in holes, is practiced. The bee, penetrating into the nest, touches the poison with its abdomen. Also, boric acid and aerosol cleaner for carburetors, which are sprayed into the hole, will help against bees.

folk remedies and chemicals to get rid of wild bees

We live in a private house and one day we noticed that someone was buzzing above the ceiling. The sound was heard both on the first floor and from the attic.

The husband dismantled part of the cladding of the house from the outside and found a bee nest under it. We did not do anything ourselves and called a beekeeper from the village. He came in a special suit and pulled out the nest. The bees didn't show up anymore.

Since you are talking about other insects, where do bees come from in houses? And what if there is no beekeeper neighbor?

Andrey Nenastiev

drove the bees out of his house on his own

Author's profile

Bees and wasps start in the house because they are warm and comfortable there. If there are places where you can fly freely and where people do not go, insects settle in them. If there is an apiary nearby, then the probability of getting such neighbors is higher.

I will tell you how you can fight the bees on your own and prevent them from making nests again.

Why start with humane methods

Bees bring many benefits and are important for the ecosystem, so it is better not to destroy them, but first try to move the hive to another place. It's risky, but if you follow security measures, it's possible.

The bees can still return to their old place. To avoid this, beekeepers advise moving the hive to an existing one. For example, find wild bees in the forest or look for an apiary in the neighborhood. Then the families of bees will mix, and, perhaps, all will remain in one place.

But sometimes the situation is hopeless: bees are dangerous for the inhabitants of the house, especially for children. Then the insects need to be evicted as quickly and efficiently as possible. I will talk about all the methods of dealing with bees, but some of them cannot be called humane. If you know more efficient and gentle ways, tell us in the comments.

How to prepare for the fight against bees

There are wild bees - they fly in from the forest, as well as domestic ones, flown from the apiary. It is better to deal with wild bees at the beginning of spring: at this time there are fewer insects in the hive, and the risk that they will bite is lower. It is recommended to expel domestic bees at the end of winter, when the insects are as weak as possible due to the cold.

People come to bee nests late in the evening or early in the morning: at this time all the bees are at home, but the peak of their activity has not yet come or has already passed.

Before the operation to drive out the bees, you need to dress in such a way that there are no exposed parts of the body. Bees can bite through thin fabric, so you need a tight jacket and pants. If available, wear a hat with a mosquito net. If you use chemicals, the activity of the bees may persist for some time. Therefore, it is better to work not in shales, but in rubber boots.

Bees are sensitive to any smell. Before anti-bee activities, it is better not to smoke or drink, even for courage: bees can smell alcohol vapors or the smell of tobacco and attack first.

If the bee nevertheless stings, you need to check if there is a sting left in the place of the bite. If yes, then remove it with tweezers. The bite site should be treated with hydrogen peroxide or a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then apply cold. You can also take an antihistamine, such as Claritin or Tavegil, to relieve swelling.

/list/insects/

6 insects that can ruin a trip to Russia

How to get rid of bees with folk remedies

Sulfur wick. This is a device that is used by masters of wooden barrels to disinfect them. This is an old and inhumane method of dealing with bees. The wick is set on fire - it starts emitting sulfuric smoke, from which the bees die.

The method will work if the burning fuse can be safely planted in close proximity to the hive. But, as a rule, this is not possible.

Sulfur wick can be ordered on the Internet, they are also sometimes sold in household chemical stores. These are the prices from the Bondarny Dvor website

Gasoline. Filling the nest with gasoline will kill the insects. It is poured out of a container or sprayed with an airbrush. Method unsafe: gasoline is toxic and flammable. In addition, it is difficult to get close to the hive even with a bucket of gasoline, because the nests are usually located high.

Recordings with birdsong. Bees are afraid of loud sound, and also the singing of birds. These two factors are combined. Speakers are placed next to the hive and recordings of bird voices are turned on as loudly as possible. Perhaps the bees will leave the hive voluntarily. True, it is possible that they will return as soon as the owners turn off the sound.

Smoke from fires. Bees do not like smoke, so the nest can be fumigated with smoke from a fire. To do this, you should set fire to dry branches, garbage or make a barbecue near the beehive when the wind is in its direction.

But if the hive is well hidden in a wall or in an attic, there is little chance that the smoke will penetrate there.

Vinegar, beer or juice traps. You can buy bee traps in stores or make your own from a plastic bottle: it is cut in half, and then the top is turned over and inserted into the bottom part with the neck down. A vinegar solution is poured onto the bottom at the rate of 7-8 ml per 1 liter of water. Instead of vinegar, you can pour beer, juice, compote or any other sweet drink. Drinks are taken by eye.

Drinks are designed to lure insects into a trap through which they can no longer fly back out. Traps are placed in places where bees fly. Bottles can be nailed to carnations or hung on a rope.

An amazing story 09/02/19

Neighbor trees, a fence and an apiary interfered with a woman. She got rid of them

Traps are placed in places where bees fly. Bottles can be nailed to carnations or hung on a rope.

Traps are effective for catching "scout" bees who sniff out where to make a hive. When the hive in the house is already working, there is little sense from them. Source: Podvorye website

Mounting foam. If you know exactly the places where the bees enter the hive in the house, you can seal the gaps with mounting foam. Thus, the bees are deprived of the road to the nest.

How to get rid of bees in other ways

Eliminate hives with smoke and insecticides.

Smoke-out. Professional beekeepers fumigate hives with smoke to reduce bee activity. When the bees feel the smoke, they tighten their stingers and go into the hive. Beekeepers get smoke with the help of a special installation - a smoker. This is a device similar to a kettle, inside of which burning wood chips are laid. There are smokers with hand bellows - they need to be pumped in order for smoke to come out. And there are electric ones - it's much more convenient.

When the hive is fumigated and the bees have calmed down, the nest is taken with hands in thick gloves and transferred to another place.

/ti-pchela-ya-pchelovod/

A short guide to beekeeping in the 21st century

A smoker with hand bellows costs about 900 R, but it is inconvenient to use. This one runs on batteries. Source: website "Beekeeper"

Use of chemicals. This is an extreme measure that we do not recommend. Bees are poisoned with universal insecticides. You can do it yourself or call an exterminator.

5000 Р

on average, the exterminator will take for the destruction of one hive

Get, Medilis-Ziper, Smelnet, Moskitol or ordinary dichlorvos are used against bees. The means are sprayed into the hive, after a day the procedure is repeated. Only after that the nest is removed and burned.

Insecticides can be sprayed with a spray gun or spray gun, or diluted in water and loaded into traps. To do this, a solution of poison and water must be mixed with 150 ml of honey. The mixture is poured into traps, which are placed as close as possible to the hive.

Fighting bees with the help of professional insecticides is expensive and risky: you still need to get closer to the hive. Source: Pesthunter website

How I drove out the bees

We encountered bees two years after we bought a private house. My wife noticed that insects often flew under the roof. Our roof is covered with ondulin, it is wavy like slate - bees climbed under the edges of the waves. Over time, they became more and more. A month later, I found another place where the bees flew - on the other side of the house.

I started with relatively humane methods: I went to a garden supply store and bought two bee traps for 50 R each. I also took a bottle of beer to pour it into the traps and lure the bees.

100 R

I spent on bee traps

We hung the traps on the approach to one of the proposed nesting sites. Three days later, a certain number of bees actually accumulated inside. I shook out the traps on the road. But a lot of bees still flew.

We forgot about this problem until I started building the boiler room. According to my plan, it was supposed to adjoin the house, and I supposed to attach the rafters for the roof of the extension to the upper beam of the log house. When I, climbing onto the goats, took off the lining, I felt a strong pain in my finger - I was bitten by a bee. A six-meter cladding board fell to the ground, and I managed to see a huge bee nest in the mineral wool. The bees attacked me. I had to jump to the ground from a height of two meters and flee in the house.

This is my house. The beehive was in the lantern area behind the white boards. The bees settled in insulation

. I smeared my finger with ointment and decided to defeat the bees immediately, because the rafters had to be put up today, otherwise the matter would be delayed. In addition, I could not allow the angry bees to bite the children, so I took an airbrush, poured White Spirit into it and began to water the nest from the ground. The stench was unbearable. The bees tried to attack me, but my wife prudently gave me a winter jacket. In the heat of +30 °C, I did not feel very good in it, but it protected from bites. In addition, I filled the entire space around me with white spirit in advance.

After chemical preparation, I again climbed onto the goats, knocked down the nest with a shovel, filled it again with a spray gun and carried it out onto the road.

Community 01/15/21

How to get rid of ants in an apartment or in the country?

I destroyed the second nest later, when I needed to climb into the attic. I planned to make a hood in the bathroom - for this it was necessary to lay pipes above the ceiling. When I tore off the lining from the ceiling, I heard a buzzing, and then I saw bees.

The nest was again in mineral wool, but this time we were separated by a vapor barrier film. This made everything easier, since the bees could not fly at me. However, I didn’t have access to the nest to somehow take it out and take it out.

I had to buy dichlorvos at a household chemical store for 90 R and spray it from below directly onto the film. The bees fell on top of her one by one. When I realized that they were no longer able to fly, I found the junction of the film, disconnected it, put my hand with the spray can into the slot and filled the nest directly. The wife screamed that a queen bee the size of a walnut had flown out of somewhere in the next room. We let her out the window.

After that, I was able to pull out the nest with a small spatula. I also took it to the road. We didn't have any more bees.

What to do to prevent bees from reappearing

If there is an apiary near the house, the bees will certainly cause problems. Even if they do not plant a beehive in the house, they will fly around the site and disturb the owners.

By law, a beekeeper must build a fence around his hives at least two meters high.

paragraph 4 of the instructions for the maintenance of bee families and the organization of beekeeping in settlements and summer cottages

The owners of the house can drive away the bees if they plant special plants on the site. Bees do not like basil, lemon balm, lavender and mint. They also help calendula, henbane, hellebore, wormwood, rhododendron. You can also plant hot peppers.

If the bees fly to the plot anyway, they can be concentrated in one place. To do this, take a bucket of water and dilute sugar in it. The bees will gather around this bucket. The disadvantage of this method: the bucket must constantly stand on the site.

You can scare away bees with an ultrasonic repeller. This is a device resembling a night light that is plugged into an outlet. The repeller generates ultrasound that frightens insects and rodents. There is no single answer about the effectiveness of such devices.

Ultrasonic repellers are mainly designed to work indoors: they need electricity and plus temperature. Outdoor battery-powered devices are more expensive.

Most ultrasonic repellers are positioned as universal - from all insects and rodents. There is no repeller from bees. These are offers on Yandex Market

What is the result

How to deal with bees in a private house:

  1. You need to approach the hive without foreign odors and in protective clothing. Instead of a beekeeper's suit, a thick winter jacket and pants, goggles, a respirator, and a winter hat are suitable.
  2. The easiest way to destroy a hive is to douse it with something caustic at a safe distance. Do not do this if you can simply move the hive to another place: bees are important to nature.

    Learn more