This article teaches people about carpenter bees, what they look like, and how to control them.
Ever wonder about those black and yellow, fuzzy bees you see hovering around the porch? They resemble bumblebees, except that their tails are black and shiny. They’re carpenter bees, so named because of their habit of excavating tunnels in wood using their jaws. You may want to think twice about those fuzzy creatures if you begin to see them lingering near your home.
Carpenter bees create round holes in wood, about one half inch in diameter, leaving a trail of sawdust in their wake. They target areas such as porches, overhangs, siding, and other exposed wood on the exterior of houses. Unlike termites, carpenter bees do not eat the wood they chew off, they simply create a nesting site for themselves. These entrance holes begin upwards for about a half inch, then they veer horizontally and follow the wood grain for six or seven inches, sometimes more.
These bees are unlike termites in that they do not cause serious structural damage, however, they may drill several holes over time and cause a problem for your home. Additionally, carpenter bees pose a threat because woodpeckers often try to enter the bee’s nest in search of larvae, furthering the damage to your wood.
So how do you control these carpenter bees? Pesticides and insecticide sprays are less effective on these insects because they are not actually eating the wood they are excavating, so they are rarely exposed to strong enough doses to be effective.
The most efficient way to remove these unwanted bees is to treat the entrance to the nest with insecticide. You’ll want to choose a chemical such as carbaryl, cyfluthrin, or resmethrin. Be careful when applying these chemicals as inhalation is very dangerous. Carefully follow the instructions on the insecticide and stand upwind from the area you are treating. Always seal the entranceway with aluminum foil or caulk to ensure treatment is effective. This also prevents nests from being reused by other carpenter bees next season. It is important to treat the whole before you seal it, or bees will simply chew out an escape route from the other side.
Recognizing and removing carpenter bees from your homes exterior can save you from unwanted and more costly damage later. Look for signs of sawdust and tunneling on the wood exterior of your home and recognize the signs of carpenter bees early on. In just a few simple steps you can treat your home and keep these bees from building their own architecture within the walls of your home.
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