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Treat for carpenter bees


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!

How To Get Rid Of Carpenter Bees

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If you currently have a carpenter bee infestation, the time to treat is today. Follow these guidelines to Get Rid of Carpenter Bees safely.

Carpenter bees are a beneficial insect but they are also destructive to wooden structures. Female Carpenter Bees drill holes into any wooden structure they can find in order to lay their eggs. This article details the best ways to identify carpenter bees, prevent infestations, and stop them from doing further damage to your home.

How To Identify A Carpenter Bee

Carpenter Bees look similar to Bumble Bees - large, with yellow and black patterns.

They are about 1/2 to 1 inch and may have some metallic reflections ranging from dark blue, yellow, green, or purple tints. Their abdomens are bare and shiny, compared to the Bumble Bee. Bumble Bees are not a wood boring insect. You’re more likely to find them sitting on flowers in the yard. They are highly beneficial and we suggest leaving them to tend to pollination.

Carpenter Bees are commonly found in the spring. They hover around eaves, porch rails, and under decks and any other unpainted wood around your home. Sometimes carpenter bees are called "wood bees" because they bore into wood.

For More Information:

Difference Between Carpenter Bees and Bumble Bees

Carpenter Bee vs. Bumble Bee

Signs of Carpenter Bee Infestations

Carpenter Bees make holes about 1/2 inch in diameter. They prefer unfinished wood, but are capable of drilling and creating tunnels in seasoned hardwoods, softwoods, and decaying woods. Frass is the result of already damaged wood. It looks like sawdust around the drilling areas.

Female carpenter bees bore channels (also known as a main corridor in wood). The damaged area will be 6" to as long as 4 feet wide. The female lays her eggs in areas called "galleries" or "cells". She deposits eggs into these galleries and brings feeds them with a mass of pollen for the newly larvae to feed. She then seals them off to ensure their development before she repeats the next egg process. This is one of the reasons it can be so hard to get rid of carpenter bees.

For More Information:

Carpenter Bee Signs/Identification

Carpenter Bee Frass

How To Get Rid Of Carpenter Bees (3 Steps)

1. Spray A Residual Insecticide to Kill Carpenter Bees

If you have an active infestation, spray the areas where carpenter bees are boring into wood with:

Their holes are usually located on the underside of wood surfaces, We recommend spraying twice during the spring months at intervals of 3-4 weeks to most efficiently prevent carpenter bee damage.

When protected from the elements like rain, residual insecticides will last 2 to 3 months. If applied in late winter, the treatment will stay active through most of the carpenter bee season.

Severe Infestations

You may need to repeat carpenter bee treatments more than twice during the spring. We suggest an interval of two weeks for spray treatments. After each spray treatment, apply D-Fense Dust or Tempo Dust to all possible carpenter bee nests, holes or entry points.

2. Use Dust In Carpenter Bee Nests

To get rid of an active Carpenter Bee infestation, apply Tempo Dust in every carpenter bee hole that you find. Use a recommended duster such as the JT Eaton Hand Bellow Duster

Although the initial damage to wood appears as a small hole, only an inch or two deep, it usually extends at a 90-degree angle. The female will turn 90 degrees and bore a channel from 6 inches to as long as 4 feet. This channel serves as the main corridor from which she will drill small chambers. These chambers serve as egg nests. She deposits eggs. Brings in food, and then seals off the area to ensure the egg's development.

Carpenter Bee entering hole

3. Plug Carpenter Bee Holes

Carpenter Bee Holes

(Optional Step)- A Non-Chemical Natural Approach

Carpenter Bee Traps and Natural Repellent

For those considering a non-chemical approach to carpenter bee control, we recommend carpenter bee traps such as, Best Bee Trap or Citrus Carpenter Bee Repellent

Carpenter bee traps are designed to attract and trap the bees. If you have an existing infestation, hang the trap directly over the carpenter bee holes. If you do not have a current infestation, hang the traps at the peaks and corners of your home, preferably on the sunniest side of your house.

How To Prevent Carpenter Bee Infestations

Successfully preventing carpenter bees is determined by the time of year. You can prevent carpenter bee infestations if you tackle the situation early in the season.

Key Takeaway

Prevent holes by spraying insecticide concentrates. Treat existing holes with insecticide dusts.

Residual Insecticides (For Active Infestations Or Prevention)

These residual insecticides will make several gallons of finished product and can also be used to treat a broad variety of insects. Apply them for carpenter bee prevention, or if you have an active infestation.

Bee Traps and Natural Solutions

Carpenter Bee Traps offer an addition to your carpenter bee treatment or a stand-alone natural treatment method.

Citrus Spray Carpenter Bee Repellent is a natural repellent against carpenter bees.

Carpenter Bee Kits (Combines residual insecticides and Dusts)

Written by our resident pest control expert Ken Martin.

How To Discourage Woodpeckers

Key Takeaway

Woodpeckers may peck into carpenter bee tunnels in the wood trying to eat the bee larvae. Spray a residual insecticide into the carpenter bee holes and on the wood in the spring. This will discourage the carpenter bees from attacking the wood. This, in turn, will discourage woodpeckers.

Written by our resident pest control expert Ken Martin.

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 the drill works. What kind of nests does a carpenter bee build. Society news

Bee matriarchy

“The carpenter bee is almost twice as large as the honey bee we are used to: the length of the male is 20 mm, the female is 25. It is distinguished by shaggy legs and powerful jaws, a completely black head is equal in width to the body of the same color , medium-sized wings have a blue-violet tint, - says Oksana Vorobyova, associate professor of the Department of Biology of BelSU . “In addition, representatives of this species prefer a solitary lifestyle, they do not even form small families, not to mention a swarm.”

The female carpenter bee is an exemplary mother and hostess. A vigorous and active male has a short life in spring: he is needed only for fertilization, and then dies. The female also needs to build a nest, and lay eggs, and protect the masonry - and she does all this alone , does not recognize her neighbors.

More recently, the carpenter was listed in the Red Book. Its small number was explained simply: the bee builds nests only in dry dead wood, preferring forests with dead wood or settlements with old gardens, poles, wooden buildings. And there are fewer such places lately.

“Today, thanks to conservation measures in natural parks in Borisovsky, Rovno districts, Graivoronsky district, the carpenter bee is no longer included in the main list of the Red Book, but requires careful treatment. In nature, it most often settles on forest edges, slopes of beams, in our region it is found in almost every area, ”says the biologist.

The main enemies of carpenters are people who are not at all happy to be next to bee nests and destroy them. Their populations are also negatively affected by the intensive use of pesticides and cutting down deadwood.

In our country, the carpenter bee has settled well only in the southern parts of Russia and the Caucasus, because it is extremely thermophilic. Therefore, most of all - up to 500 species - live in tropical forests.

Photo: fotokto.ru

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Family nest

When a carpenter finds well-heated dry wood, he, justifying his name, gnaws out long, up to 30–40 cm, branching and intertwining passages with powerful jaws. The tree for the future nest must be natural . If its surface is painted or treated with a protective compound, it will not touch it.

In order for the hard worker to cope with construction activities, nature has carefully endowed her with a strong skull with chitinous partitions and powerful jaws. The noise that the carpenter bee makes is similar to the operation of a circular mini-saw and can be heard from several tens of meters away. The insect pushes sawdust out with its hind legs.

“The nest entrance has such perfectly smooth edges that it seems that the drill has worked,” says Oksana Vorobyova. – Nest female divides into 9 cells0008, lays 9-10 eggs in each, and seals on top with a partition of sawdust glued with saliva and small particles of wood.

Offspring appears only after a year. After the eggs are laid, the bee jealously guards the nest, but after a few weeks leaves it forever. The larvae grow and develop independently. By the end of summer, they pupate, and young bees populate the nest for the winter.

“They spend the winter locked up, gaining strength. Only in spring, young bees gnaw through partitions and scatter, build their own nests and breed new colonies. But one of the females remains in the family nest. Dozens of generations can live in it, if no one interferes, year after year, until the wood deteriorates,” says Oksana Vorobyova. “Bees are active from May to September, and if the autumn is warm, they live until October.”

Photo: dompchel.ru

In any weather

In order for the larvae to develop, the bee puts a nutritious “bread” on the bottom of each cell - a special composition of nectar with pollen . In search of the right amount of pollen, she sorts through dozens of flowers, so she is deservedly considered a good pollinator. But it also has its own preferences, choosing linden, acacia, clover, sunflower. For their sake, she goes on a long flight.

“When choosing a place to live for a carpenter bee, it does not matter what grows nearby. With such powerful wings, she flies more than 10 km in search of the right plants, and even inclement weather does not interfere with this, ”says the biologist.

Bees use their own saliva to soften the pollen, and dilute the resulting composition with nectar. Further, it is stored in special honey grooves, and during long flights, the pollen does not crumble.

How the Krasnoyarzhsky beekeeper breeds good bees

Such a bee, which is not afraid of distance or bad weather to search for pollen, is simply a dream for beekeepers. And they repeatedly tried to tame her. But she still prefers her natural habitat.

Despite his formidable appearance, the carpenter is distinguished by a rare peacefulness . The female uses her only weapon - the sting - only in self-defense or danger to life. Its venom, like that of other bees, causes painful swelling or, even worse, anaphylactic shock. If you do not destroy her dwelling and do not tease her, the bee will not pay any attention to the person.

Due to their impressive size and durable housing, carpenter bees have fewer enemies in the wild than common honey bees. But it happens that they cannot dodge insectivorous birds, voracious hornets, sticky spider web traps and even frogs that catch them with sticky long tongues.

Interesting

The carpenter bee is a representative of a relic tropical bee group, one of the most ancient insects on our planet. Scientists say that she flew 60-80 million years ago, long before the appearance of man. At the end of the 20th century, in one of the mines in northern Burma, a prehistoric insect of this species was found frozen in a drop of amber. This find is about 100 million years old.

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