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Should i kill carpenter bees


How to get rid of carpenter bees without killing them

Carpenter bees are some of the largest bees native to the US. They resemble bumblebees, but you’ll be able to tell them apart because they will burrow in fences, telephone poles, dead trees, and other types of wood. These insects are major pollinators, but they’ve earned a bit of a bad rap thanks to the damage they do to human structures.

If these bees have decided to call your home their home, it can be tempting to simply exterminate them, but you should take a more peaceful route. Because of how hugely beneficial they are to local ecosystems, many beekeepers say it’s important to safely move them instead.

Where to find carpenter bees and how to identify them

Unlike honeybees, carpenter bees do not live in large groups. They tend to make individual nests in which to lay their eggs and nurture new generations. Although there are some ground-dwelling species, most do what their name suggests: they burrow into soft, untreated wood like redwood, cedar, and pine.

The female bees start crafting these nests in the spring, laying their eggs inside for the males to visit and fertilize. The hatchlings emerge in late summer and leave the nests in search of flowers, before spending the winter inside the nest tunnels. You can identify a carpenter bee’s nest by the sawdust around or below it.

[Related: City gardens are abuzz with imperiled native bees]

The bees themselves are generally larger than bumblebees, often between a half-inch and 1 inch long, and do not have yellow stripes. You’re more likely to see the male bees, especially during mating season because they’re extremely territorial and hover around the nests. They can be intimidating, but they have no stingers and are unlikely to hurt you—the aggressive buzzing is all an act to protect their nests. Female carpenter bees, on the other hand, do have stingers, but won’t attack unless confronted directly.

Because they create tunnels, and may come back to them year after year, these bees can cause structural damage to load-bearing fence posts and other wooden constructions. They may also cause indirect damage, as woodpeckers like to go after carpenter bee larvae and can splinter the wood in their search for food.

How to safely remove carpenter bees

Despite the issues carpenter bees can cause, they are extremely effective pollinators. Nick Hoefly, a beekeeper at Astor Apiaries in Queens, New York, says that thanks to their size, these hefty bugs are excellent “buzz” pollinators. “This is a type of pollination where the insect vibrates the blossom to dislodge pollen, allowing it to fall onto the female parts of the plant,” he says. “Many vegetables and fruits, including tomatoes and some berries, rely on this type of pollination.”

That’s why it’s best to get carpenter bees to leave without hurting them. Hoefly recommends applying a drop of almond or citrus oil inside any nest holes you find. Since they don’t like the smell, they will most likely vacate and search elsewhere for a less-stinky place to build a nest. After they leave, you’ll need to fill the holes with wood putty or steel wool. If you have wood the bees haven’t found yet, take some time to sand it down, wipe away any excess sawdust with a wet sponge, and then paint it. Carpenter bees are attracted to unfinished wood.

If you have no interest in keeping these pollinators around, Hoefly suggests using wind chimes. The bees don’t like the noise and the constant jangling might convince them to seek other accommodations.

But if you do want them to stay, you can provide homes specifically for them. This will keep them around, pollinating your garden and local plants. You can place simple blocks of wood around that you wouldn’t mind them burrowing into, but Bruce Shriver, a beekeeper at the Gowanus Apiary in Brooklyn, New York, prefers “insect hotel-style habitats.” 

You can find these at any home goods or hardware store or even make them yourself out of scrap wood and naturally hollow material. “As long as the habitat includes a block of soft wood in addition to the reeds, bamboo, straw, and other materials… it should serve well as a decent carpenter bee habitat,” Shriver says. You’ll have all the benefits of these super-pollinators without them hovering around and burrowing into your fences.

WHY WE NEED NOT KILL CARPENTER BEES

WHY WE NEED NOT KILL CARPENTER BEES

by Whit Gibbons

March 22, 2015

I received the following question about a fascinating insect more than a decade ago. The answer bears repeating as I am asked the question every spring.

Q: We have an unpainted back porch we like to sit on. About this time in the spring, sawdust begins to fall from the underside of the roof where black bumblebees actually burrow into the eaves and wood frame. Also, one will occasionally threaten me by hovering in front of my face. How can I get rid of them?

A: The short answer is don't. Instead of eradicating the shiny black wood-burrowing bees on our own back porch, we watch them, listen to them and otherwise enjoy them. They are carpenter bees, which get to be about an inch long but do not have the fuzzy yellow appearance of bumblebees. Carpenter bees can sometimes sport a two-tone look when carrying a supply of yellow pollen.

The ecology of carpenter bees is relatively straightforward. During spring, throughout much of the country, carpenter bees emerge from holes in natural or man-made wood and seek mates. Males sometimes appear aggressive; they may even seem to threaten someone by buzzing loudly and flying in front of the person's face. But it's just an act. Male carpenter bees are completely harmless. Like other bees and wasps, only the females have stingers. This in-your-face behavior of the males may just be curiosity instead of aggression. Male carpenter bees have a distinctive light-colored spot on the face.

Female carpenter bees literally chew a tunnel into wood. I know they work at night as well as day because I recently watched a steady stream of sawdust trickle from the ceiling an hour after dark. The females often choose an already created hole, but additional excavation and reorganization may be part of the process, much like someone moving into a new apartment might paint the walls or rearrange the furniture.

Having a visitor sit in the chair beneath a carpenter bee reconstruction project can be entertaining - at least to the host.

Carpenter bees are valuable pollinators - females gather pollen, store it in the burrows, and lay their eggs so that the pollen serves as a source of nutrition for the larvae. The adult bees die during the summer and the recently born ones spend the winter in the previously completed holes.

The response of some people to carpenter bees confirms that the control mentality of humans is sometimes unnecessary and unreasonable. Many cooperative extension units associated with universities provide information on how to control carpenter bees with pesticides. Come on! Haven't we learned by now that pesticides never kill just the target organism but many other harmless creatures as well? Besides just how harmful is a carpenter bee?

Sure, bad things might happen. A female carpenter bee could sting you. But a person generally has to grab one to be stung. Of course, the possibility exists that a female carpenter bee could fly up someone's shirt sleeve or get under another piece of clothing and sting when it gets trapped. But is that enough of a problem to take invasive action and destroy the species in the area?

It's also possible that enough burrowing over the years could cause structural damage that might weaken a porch roof. But since carpenter bees tend to make it simple on themselves by using holes that have already been constructed instead of making new ones, demolishing an entire structure would take a lot of burrowing.

Maybe our porch will eventually fall down from the annual attack of the carpenter bees, but we will have gotten considerable entertainment from these fascinating creatures before that happens.

To me the potential hazards of carpenter bees, and a lot of other animals that some people are paranoid about, are not worth eliminating, especially with pesticides. Why lose the opportunity to watch and hear a live-action nature show produced by an industrious pollinator just because of a little sawdust?

If you have an environmental question or comment, email

(Back to Ecoviews)

 

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 their home, especially preferring the bare and weathered surface of the tree. They gnaw their passages with their jaws, and the length of the passages is from 30 cm to 1.5 m, the entrance diameter is from 0.7 mm to 1 cm. It is important to note that carpenter bees do not feed on wood throughout their entire life cycle, and sawdust 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.

How to get rid of bees in the country house under the roof

: They pollinate most plants. However, their excessive amount becomes dangerous. Although insects are not aggressive and rarely attack, their bites are very painful and cause severe allergies.

Getting rid of hordes of bees is not an easy task. Methods are selected taking into account the number of pests and the location of their nest. If the bees arrive from a neighboring area, it is enough to scare them away. If insects built a nest in the wall or on the roof, then the participation of a specialist will be required.

Where can bees settle?

Bees live in swarms. As soon as the second queen appears in the formed family, she leads a certain number of working insects and drones and moves to a new place of residence: in the hollow of a tree, in a crevice, in the ground, but also in a window frame or under a roof.

The bees that tried to "capture" the summer cottage can be both wild and domestic. In the latter case, you should notify the neighboring beekeepers: the swarm, for sure, escaped from the apiary.

Under the roof

The roof of the building has a complex structure. A bee nest can be placed in any suitable size cavity and is sometimes hidden in such a way that it takes a lot of effort to find it and neutralize it.

Typical places are:

Important! A bee nest is often confused with a wasp nest or with the habitat of hover flies. Before doing anything, you need to establish which insects live under the roof.

In the wall of the house

The walls of the building provide a convenient base for nest formation. Most often, bees settle in wooden buildings, however, brick houses are also suitable for them.
Typical places are as follows:

Getting rid of bees in the walls and roof of a wooden house requires non-trivial solutions. Experts recommend first luring out insects, since it is very difficult to destroy their nest, hidden in the depths of the timber.

In the garden

Wild bees often settle in the garden, as this option is closer to their natural habitat. The most likely locations are as follows:

Important! Insects create their habitat near a permanent source of water. Therefore, they move to garden plots.

Harm and benefit

Before you poison bees, scare away or relocate to another place, it is worth assessing the benefits and harm that insects can bring. Both wild and domestic honey bees are the main pollinator of horticultural and horticultural crops. Their presence is a guarantee of a good harvest.

However, too many insects or poor placement of the nest, eg inside a wooden wall, are dangerous. Domestic bees rarely attack first, wild bees are much more aggressive, and their poison is stronger. If the swarm lives right in the window frame or in the wall, such a neighborhood is a threat.

Methods of struggle

Getting rid of bees involves 2 main solutions: scaring away and destruction. If the insects arrive from the neighboring area where their hive is located, the simplest means are sufficient. For example, an unpleasant smell causes most bees to fly around the area. However, the substance must be selected taking into account the "taste" of honey collectors. Such an effective insecticide against pests, like birch tar, almost does not scare bees.

If the nest is found on the site - a mink in the garden, a beehive in a wooden wall, more drastic methods are used. It is best to lure the bees out of the nest and transport the swarm to the forest. At the very least, they are destroyed.

Folk remedies

There are many ways to repel or poison insects. Their habits are well known, so it is not difficult to find the most affordable and safe way. Do not immediately try to destroy them: there are many ways to get bees to leave their hive.

Mint and clove ester

Insects are very sensitive to odours. The simplest folk remedy for getting rid of bees in the country is the essential oil of cloves, mint, mustard. They can't stand these scents.

Along the fence, from which insects fly, aroma lamps generously seasoned with essential oil are placed. An alternative option is to place pieces of fabric impregnated with an aromatic substance on the fence.

Citronella candles provide the same effect. Burning candles are placed along the veranda or on the table where they spend the evening. The aroma repels not only bees, but also mosquitoes.

To protect yourself from their attention, just drop mint or clove essential oil on the crook of your elbow and in the hole between your collarbones. You can use a repellent that has similar essential oils in its composition.

Mothball bags

The smell of mothballs also irritates insects. Linen bags are filled with mothballs and hung on the fence, on fruit trees, on the walls. The aroma is so unpleasant to the bees that it can make them leave the hive if they have settled, for example, in the hollow of an apple tree.

Vinegar solution

If honey collectors are interested in the source of water in their summer cottage, then you can get rid of them by setting up water traps. To do this, cut off the top 1/3 of the plastic bottle and insert it upside down. The container is filled with a solution of vinegar: 15 ml of ordinary essence per 2 liters of water. Traps are hung along the fence on carnations.

If you replace the vinegar with 2% salt solution, the bees in this trap will die. This remedy is resorted to if the beekeeper neighbor refuses to take action: move the hives away from the fence so that the bees fly less into the area.

Basil

The smell of basil repels insects: bees, wasps, mosquitoes. However, only fresh living leaves have this property. To protect themselves from invasion, basil is planted along the fence or around the veranda. The plant is well received, but needs abundant watering, and most importantly - the warmth of the sun. Basil will not grow in the shade.

Onions, garlic

The pungent smell of plants irritates the human sense of smell. For bees, it is unbearable. A bed of garlic or onions, planted along the fence or just in the garden, will scare away almost all insects.

Interesting! Feeding bees with onion and garlic as part of sugar syrup increases immunity and prolongs their life.

Mint

Live mint or lemon balm repels insects no worse than essential oil. The plant easily takes root on almost any soil, does not require care, although it prefers a sunny area. The bed is broken along the fence or next to the house.

Citronella, a lemongrass, has the same effect. They grow it more often in pots than in the garden, and in the summer they take it out into the street, set it along the veranda.

Lavender

Beautiful undemanding flowers repel wasps, bees and mosquitoes. The plant is not afraid of common pests, so lavender can be planted right under the window or near the veranda. Dried flowers, either whole or in sachets, for example, are not as effective.

Wormwood

Not only irritates wasps and bees, but can also poison, as the plant's sap contains toxic substances. Not everyone likes the specific smell of wormwood, so they try not to plant it near the house. But a few bushes along the fence or near the garden will force the honey collectors to fly around the summer cottage.

Wormwood is dangerous not only for mosquitoes or wasps, but also for plants. Garden crops or flowers cannot be planted next to it.

Citrus juice

The smell of lemon and orange is unbearable for honey harvesters. Citrus juice is rubbed on wooden parts: window frames, doors or even walls. If the swarm has settled inside the timber, lemon juice is dripped directly into the bee passages.

Dried orange or lemon peels will help repel insects. They are laid out in living quarters, on the veranda or in places where bees and wasps are seen.

Special bee repellers

If it was not possible to manage with folk remedies, they resort to various kinds of repellent devices. Some of them are used inside the house, some - on the street. Repellers work on electric current or batteries.

Anti-mosquito lamps

Device that not only repels, but kills insects. The lamp emits ultraviolet radiation that attracts bees, wasps, mosquitoes. They sit on the grid and die from the discharge of current. Devices are selected by power and range. Lamps are used only inside the building, they are usually placed near the place where food is stored.

Ultrasonic Repellers

The device emits ultrasonic waves that repel bees. Insects are very sensitive to sounds: they are afraid of even the usual loud noise. But the latter is also unpleasant for a person. A person does not hear ultrasound, but it acts on mosquitoes, wasps, hornets, rodents.

Universal device for indoor use. The repeller works on salt or solar batteries. A significant minus of the device is that it only lasts 2-4 weeks.

Anti-mosquito lamp

The device works like anti-mosquito lamps, but emits both ultraviolet and visible radiation. The radius of action is 50 m. The lamp is powered by electricity, therefore it is used only in the building.

Disadvantage: the device has a deterrent effect only when it is on. During the day you will have to use another tool.

Chemical agents

In this way it is easier to poison the bees than to scare them away. Chemical agents are used when they want to expel insects. It is impossible to use them constantly, like essential oils or plants: the substances are also toxic to humans:

Traps

If the bees have settled in the wall, it is useless to scare them away - you need to lure them out of the house. For this, traps are built. By design, they resemble a birdhouse, but with a very small entrance.

Make a narrow hole in the bottom of the bait. Cut off the neck of the bottle and cut the upper part in the form of petals. Then the container is fixed in the hole at the bottom so that the petals go inside and fix the bottle. Water is poured into it with washing liquid or saline solution. The trap is fixed on a tree next to the hive.

To lure the bees, they put jam, pieces of sugar, honey in it. Insects flock to the smell, penetrate inside and fall into a bottle with a poisonous solution.

Smoke grenades

Universal agent against many types of insects. It is used both indoors and outdoors. The main advantage is a wide range of action.

The smoke bomb is selected according to the desired effect:

Plus smoke bombs - the ability to treat the most inaccessible areas. Smoke penetrates into any cavities and cracks. Using checkers, you can drive insects out of wooden walls, from the attic, from under the roof.

Prevention of occurrence

It is unreasonable to completely get rid of bees: they are the main pollinators of plants. To prevent them from entering the house or to prevent a re-invasion, do the following:

Destroying honey collectors is not desirable. Even if a swarm of wild bees has settled under the roof, first of all, you need to turn to an experienced beekeeper. He will be able to lure the swarm and relocate to a more suitable place.


Conclusions

  1. An excessive number of bees in the summer cottage, and even more so a swarm that settled right in the wall, is dangerous. Insect bites cause allergies and are extremely unpleasant.
  2. To scare away the bees, plants with an intolerable smell are planted, aroma lamps are installed along the fence, and dried flowers are hung on the balcony.
  3. If it is necessary to expel insects from the hive, they resort to more effective means: fill the nest with gasoline, spray it with sprays.
  4. Special devices help to get rid of insects: aroma lamps, ultrasonic repellers.
  5. If a swarm needs to be driven out, contact the beekeeper. The specialist lures insects and transports them to a safe place for them.

How to get rid of bees

In this article:

Stop! Before doing anything about removing bees or bee hives, you should first try to contact your local beekeeper. They are kind people and can solve your problem as easy as pie... and they will be happy to help. Plus, bees aren't the bad guys - we'd rather not see you kill them.

There is a good chance they will get rid of your bees for free. Why? Because over the past few years, the populations of honey bees and other pollinators have declined significantly. Every year there is always some death of bees, but in recent years this figure has been 3 to 5 times higher than the norm. Such a downturn is unsustainable, and there are many people who would gladly get the bees out of your hands rather than see you take drastic action.

It's worth repeating: killing bees is not the best solution. Moving is always better.

Before resorting to the help of a bee killer, it is necessary to take measures to remove and move the bees in a peaceful way, without the use of chemicals. Ask at your local co-op; someone must know the beekeeper.

Articles about bees

Bees are really amazing creatures. They communicate through dance, and through dance, bees can identify food sources for other bees. I mean, if we're going to talk about the wonders of evolution, bees are definitely one of them. Of course, bees can be a nuisance too, especially when they start building their home next to yours. I understand why getting rid of bees might be a priority for you right now. Most often, bees are found under eaves and awnings, under porches and in the voids of walls - a particularly unpleasant place for the queen bee, who chooses it as a hive. Just this summer I got my first bee sting when the colony made their hive, right under the first step of my mother's second floor porch. It hurt, but I wouldn't say I hold it against the poor fellow. He left part of his ass (attached to the stinger) dangling from my ear and died, I believe, a very painful death - without part of his body. So, if you want to avoid getting stung when you're out and about, here's how to get rid of bees.

Bee identification

Honey Bee

This is a honey bee. Honey bees are great pollinators and we need honey bees in our world. This is a type of bee that only stings when defending itself and can only sting once.

Bumblebee

This is a bumblebee. Bumblebees are also excellent pollinators. They are large bees that seem to fly slowly but surely. They rarely sting.

Carpenter bee

Carpenter bee. Carpenter bees love to live in the forest like old rotten hedges. They don't actually harm humans, but they aren't pollinators either.

Best ways to get rid of bees

Identify

If you want to get rid of bees, you should try to find out if it's a bee at all. The wasp looks smoother than the bee; they are like the exterminators of the insect world. Wasps and their close relatives, yellow jackets, can sting and the stings hurt. These are the ones that come out often in autumn and like to eat sweet food or drink right away.

Bees are less imposing, less harmful and actually very important to our environment. If the pest in question doesn't look like this bee, then it's probably a wasp and you should skip to the article on how to get rid of wasps, yellowjackets, or hornets. If it looks like a bee, then you should move on to the next step. We don't mind if you try to kill wasps.

Find the hive

If you have determined that you are dealing with bees, it is time to find their home. To get rid of the bees, you need to find their hive. Because bees are diurnal (diurnal) insects, their hives are easier to find at dusk, when the sun begins to set, or late dawn, when the sun begins to rise. This is when you notice the flicker of wings at dusk moving towards one particular area. Often you will see a whole cloud of them surrounding the hive as they make their way indoors or outdoors.

Kill the bees

If you want to get rid of the bees, it's best to move the bees. However, only the beekeeper can safely do this. You don't want to be stung by 500 bees because you didn't have the right gear.

But perhaps you have decided that these bees need to be destroyed. Spraying Raid in the hive is your best bet (here's a product made specifically for bees and wasps on Amazon). This should be done in the evening or in the dark, depending on your preference. If you don't want to get stung, it's a good idea to wear long trousers and a shirt with elastic bands, as well as thick socks and gloves. I'd recommend a face mask if you're paranoid, but you can save your neighbors the confusion of seeing a thief. armed with an aerosol can, in the backyard.

BE SURE TO CHECK STATE LAWS . Due to the recent destruction of the colony, they may have made it illegal to spray the bees with insecticides. We can't write about every state law here - you need to check it out for yourself.

To make sure you really get rid of the bees, spray the hive again the next evening. You should probably keep an eye on the hive at dusk or dawn to see if any traffic is coming in or out of the hive. If you don't see bees, chances are you did everything right. If you see bees, do what I told you and spray the hive again. Check the next morning to make sure you are permanently rid of the bees. BE SURE TO CHECK STATE LAWS . Due to the recent destruction of the colony, they may have made it illegal to spray the bees with insecticides.

Remove Hive

Once you're sure the bees are dead, it's time to get rid of the hive. You don't want this hive to be replaced by different bees at the end of the season. To be sure you avoid the risk of being bitten, put on your stupid sweat again - sweat works well because its thickness acts as a buffer between your skin and their sting - and go knock that hive down. If it's a hive in the ground, be sure to fill the hole. in which you found it. If it is a hive in your siding, you may need to call a professional to remove it. Otherwise, you can read Peder's article on how to get rid of the hive.

Pesticides and bee killer

Almost every time I or others had to get rid of bees, it was done with Raid. Of course, Raid is not the best option for house spraying, but I trust Raid as a branded pesticide and bee poison.

There are other ways to get rid of bees; for example, boric acid (also known as borax, often sold as a fine powder) is a slow but sure remedy for killing bees that have set up a hive in your siding. The reason for using borax dust is that sprays may not reach the hive if they have built the hive deep enough into the wall. Borax works the same way with bees as it does with ants. The bees collect the dust on themselves and bring it back to the hive, eventually poisoning the entire colony. Other pesticide dusts can be found under the names Sevin and Apicide. Other pesticide sprays to kill bees are MicroCare and Baygon.

Many bee and wasp solutions also work well with aphids, which can be an added bonus.

Natural Best Practices for Dealing with Bees

Bee Trap

A bee trap made from a 2 liter soda bottle is a safe and natural way to get rid of fallen bees. However, this will not solve your bee problem if you have a hive. Bee traps are designed to reduce the number of bees in the yard, not to kill all the bees in the area. Simply cut off the conical portion of the bottle, flip it upside down to form a funnel, and staple it in place. Then fill the bottle with a few inches of juice or soda and hang the bottle in your yard. Most bees will find their way in, but they won't find their way out.

Borax

Borax is a completely natural solution to the bee problem. If you can find a way to sprinkle the powder into the hive, it will solve your bee problem in a matter of days. Boron or boric acid is a naturally occurring mineral that is mined, refined and then sold in powder form and is most commonly referred to as borax. It can be used to kill any number of pests as long as they come into contact with the powder. You can find Boride's 25 lb tub on Amazon.

Manage flowering plants

It's no secret that bees love flowering plants. Anything that blooms is good prey for bees in high season. If you don't want bees around, move flowers, flowering trees, and plants away from your living space. If your yard is large enough, move whatever flowers are in the backyard, away from the house. Manage dandelions and other flowering groundcovers.

While there is a lot of movement right now to create bee-friendly yards, we understand if you have a bee allergy in your family, for example, and need to keep bees away from your living space.

However...

Since colony disorder is still a big problem, please contact local beekeepers or see if a local exterminator can pick you up on one of them. It is better to save the colony than to kill it. We discourage anyone from killing bees, but understand that there may be times when this is the only viable solution. However, this should only be done in a small number of situations.

Bee stings

What to do if you are stung by a bee?

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How to Identify and Get Rid of Carpenter Bees

How to Identify Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees are large fluffy bees that fly around your house. Some of them can hover in one place and seem to be guarding something. They will harass you, harass you, annoy you, and you probably fear that they attack and attack every time you pass by.

They may look very similar to bumblebees, but they are not. If you look closely, you will see that carpenters have a smooth black abdomen while bumblebees have a furry one. But the most noticeable difference is their nesting habits.

Carpenter bees build their houses out of wood and sometimes their nests are hard to find. When you see several large bees flying in the same place every day, there is probably a nest somewhere nearby. Look under decks, picnic tables, stairs, or any unfinished wood surface nearby. The hole will be perfectly round and maybe half an inch in diameter.

You may notice wood dust on the ground under the hole where the bees dug, and you may see the bee periodically moving in and out of the nest.

Carpenter bee infestation can be a problem, but it's not as dire as you might think.

Are carpenter bees dangerous?

The bees you see buzzing around are obviously on duty, doing just that: they are males guarding the nest. Males are not armed with stingers, and although they may appear aggressive to any animal or person that approaches, they do not pose a threat to you.

If you look closely, you will notice that they drive away any insects that enter their airspace, and if you throw a small pebble in front of them, they will often chase it. Yes, male carpenter bees act tough, but they all do not bite.

On the other hand, the female is a different creature. She spends most of the day outside the house, often returning to the nest. This is the bee you see coming in and out during the day. She is , capable of stinging and can fall. However, female carpenter bees are usually docile, and unless you try to grab her or put your finger in her nest, she is unlikely to bother you.

It can be hard to convince someone who has a deep fear of insect stings, but there really is no reason to be afraid of carpenter bees. They can be big, loud, and annoying, but they won't hurt you unless you do something. stupid.

The real concern is damage to the forest in which they nest. Carpenter bees are not like termites or carpenter ants. They won't destroy your home and they won't eat wood. The problem is, they nest in the same area every generation, so if you ignore them, they can drill dozens of holes in your patio or wood furniture over the years.

One or two sockets won't do much harm, but you can see how ten or twenty sockets in the same piece of furniture can cause problems.

So what do you do when carpenter bees invade your home?

How to get rid of carpenter bees

If the bees have settled in a natural space or on an abandoned piece of wood that you are not worried about, just leave them alone. Bees are an important part of a healthy ecosystem and an integral part of the life cycle of many flowering plants. They won't bother you, and they might even be interesting to look at.

On the other hand, if the bees have taken up residence in your house or other important building, unfortunately they will have to leave.

That's how it was when my wife and I bought our house a few years ago. It was completely infested with carpenter bees! We have three windows in the basement, each with unfinished wood paneling on the outside under the siding. Three small pieces of wood, each measuring 30 inches by 18 inches, had dozens of holes made by carpenter bees. The former owner of the house ignored them, and they continued to expand their nesting every season.

Here are the steps I took:

  • Step 1: The first thing I did was kill the bees as best I could. The male bees flying around the nest during the day were easy prey for standard stinging insects.
  • Step 2: At night, when the females and other bees were in the nest, I treated each hole with insecticide. At this stage, it is wise to use a foaming spray made especially for carpenter bees. Some experts also recommend using a powdered insecticide that the bees will track inside the nest, but I only used a spray. I repeated this every night for about a week, trying to get a lot of them. My next step was to patch up the holes, so I didn't want to miss any of them, especially the woman who might burrow further into the house.
  • Step 3: After the activity died down and I was reasonably sure that I had killed all the bees, I sealed the holes with Plastic Wood putty. The plastic wood worked fine, but after a couple of days I realized I must have missed a couple of bees because one or two had dug right through the plastic wood! After a short ranting period, I repeated the bug spray exercise and sealed the hole again with plastic wood.
  • Step 4: The last and probably the most important part was painting the wood where the damage had occurred. Carpenter bees are more likely to nest in unfinished wood, so a couple of coats of paint discouraged new bees from relocating.

The results were pretty good. Until the end of the summer in my house, the bees did not dig holes. I had two or three security breaches the following summer, which I took care of by spraying, sealing and painting.

This was many years ago and I haven't had a major problem since. I keep an eye on my deck and house, and whenever there's a minor problem, I kill, flood, and paint. This will put an end to this immediately.

Carpenter Bee Traps

If you don't want to mess around with spraying and hunting bees, you might want to consider Carpenter Bee Traps. Install them near where the bees nest and the bees will be attracted to the trap. They fly in but cannot fly out.

You can place them near where you have carpenter bee problems, or be proactive and place them where you think the bees can get in. Usually people just put them where the bees swarm.

For many homeowners, swarming is the worst thing about carpenter bees. If your main concern is just getting those damn bees away from you so you can sit comfortably on your deck, then bee traps are a great option, especially if you're afraid of bees. Set the trap at dusk when the bees are inactive and the swarming problem should be gone in a few days.

However, be aware that if the bees break into an important property, you will still need to take steps to repair the damage they have caused. Traps will not prevent the bees from returning. If you do not repair and paint damaged wood, you will always be at risk of carpenter bee infestation.

What to do with those annoying bees?

If carpenter bees don't bother you, there's no reason to bother them. I never like to hurt animals, but if they trash your house, sometimes you don't have a choice. The best approach is prevention. Keep wood exterior surfaces well stained or stained and bees won't find your place as inviting.

I still have carpenter bees, but they have built houses in acceptable places. I like to watch them in spring and summer. I keep a close eye on my deck and house to make sure they don't get any ideas, but otherwise I leave them alone.

Like everything else in nature, they also deserve to exist.

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How to get rid of a bee nest in your home: different species require different treatment

The most common types of bees you can find in your home are bumble bees, tree bees, solitary or stone bees and honey bees.

Bumblebees are rounder, larger and furrier than any other bees and have different colored stripes at the ends of their tails.

Their nests are usually underground in abandoned burrows, poultry houses, under decking or in compost bins.

Wood bees are a recent addition to the UK fauna and their ringing is unique among the British species.

Breast yellowish brown to reddish brown, belly black and tail white.

Some characteristics of tree bees can be worrisome, but in general there is nothing to worry about.

They usually build nests in bird boxes or parts of buildings and can be a concern due to the apparent high level of nest flying activity due to drone 'nest monitoring' as well as bee chirping/activity sounds heard through ceiling. all signs of activity.

Solitary bees, or stone bees, as the name suggests, rarely found in large numbers.

They have a reddish-brown bottom and a black body and you can usually see these little bees popping up and out of the wall or into very small holes in the ground.

They nest in a wide range of cavities and can build nests by tunneling through soft brick mortar or using pre-existing gaps left unrepaired, but they don't pose a structural problem to your property. Look.

Honey bees are a supplier of honey and are rarely a pest, but flocks of wild animals can settle in undesirable places such as chimneys and wall cavities.

They are small and very golden brown to almost black in color.

The most common scenario that can bother you is their accumulation. Usually, these intimidating packs first set up a temporary camp somewhere nearby, such as on a tree branch, fence post, and even cars.

In almost all cases the swarm leaves again within a day or two to take up the most suitable permanent home elsewhere.

Contrary to popular belief, bees are not protected and can be treated, but as they are endangered it is recommended to explore all other possibilities before considering eradication.

The British Pest Management Association offers a step-by-step guide to help.

  • Leave them alone - bees do not cause any problems to your property, and you are also not in danger of being stung if left alone and not provoked. After the summer season, the bees will leave and will not return to the nesting site the following year. By the time a colony becomes apparent, its activity will naturally decrease. Typically, colonies that form in the spring naturally shrink by the end of July, if not earlier. Therefore, if at all possible, always leave the bee nests alone for them to thrive, as their presence is really beneficial for gardeners and their crops.
  • Relocation - if the nest is outdoors or underground, there should be no reason to actually relocate it. In more common and accessible areas such as bushes, trees, and barns, you can contact your local beekeeper or pest controller to move the nest. If you suspect you have bees and they are causing you problems, the BPCA suggests you use swarm collector from the British Beekeepers Association (www.bbka.org.uk/swarm). In most cases, they will come and take the swarm for free. The next step can only be if the location of the nest is dangerous and removal is not possible.
  • Elimination - The decision to treat will depend on whether the nest entrance(s) can be closed after treatment. In this case, make sure you use the services of a trained professional. We strongly recommend that you contact a professional pest control company, preferably a member of the BPCA. A qualified person will have technical knowledge and access to a range of professional-use insecticides that are not available to the public.

Post-treatment requirements depend on the type of bee. For bumblebees and tree bees, blocking hotspots will prevent non-target bees from entering and infecting, as well as reducing the chance of other bees entering the same area in the future.

For solitary bees / rock bees, the only solution in the long run is to change over with a strong mortar. However, this must be done carefully, as nest-hunting bees will soon find the missing patches.

It is important for honey bees that entry points are blocked and if possible all combs are removed. If this is not done, the robber bees will find the infected honey and take it back to their hive, thereby infecting it.

The BPCA also notes that, for ethical reasons, not all press control companies will treat bees, so you may need to contact several companies.

Is your home suffering from silverfish infestation? THIS is how to get rid of them.

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How to get rid of carpenter bees: stings, information

What do carpenter bees look like?

Carpenter bees look like bumblebees, but they do not have yellow markings on their abdomen. Instead, the carpenter bee's abdomen is smooth and shiny, while the bumblebee has a yellow, hairy abdomen.

Physical characteristics of carpenter bees may vary slightly as there are seven different species of carpenter bees in the US and hundreds worldwide. on the chest. Other species, such as California bees and carpenter bees from the valleys, have more metallic and colorful bodies.

Signs of infestation

The most common signs of carpenter bee infestation are round, smooth holes that carpenter bees make in wood. To detect early damage to buildings, homeowners should regularly inspect the perimeter of the house and the surrounding area for the presence of these holes and hovering bees.

Because carpenter bees prefer bare wood, they are sometimes put off by staining and staining of the wood. However, sometimes they may attack stained or stained wood. To keep carpenter bees out of your home, seal cracks and crevices along building foundations and walls with silicone-based caulk, repair any gaps in screens, and keep doors closed at all times.

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