How to Keep Carpenter Bees Away

Carpenter bees are enjoyed in most parts of the world, more so during spring and summer seasons. Although they appear to be boring, their presence can be a great threat to wooden houses. Unlike honeybees or bumblebees, these kinds of bees do not cluster in colonies or produce honey. Only this time instead of making honey, they make tunnels in wood, which can be quite devastating to the structure itself after some time. Preventing and managing carpenter bee infestations is something that needs to be addressed by homeowners wishing for the safety of their structures. This document will provide you with strategies on how to control and eliminate carpenter bees from your home.

Extreme Behavior of Carpenter Bees: What’s Their Deal?

Before looking at factors that help in the preventive measures on carpenter bees, it is essential first to look at some of their characteristics that make them a problem. Tree bees are large with an appearance similar to that of a bumble-bee but has a black shinning abdomen. Carpenter bees are quite different as they do not live in colonies. To reproduce female carpenter bees, they burrow into wood and create nests in which they deposit eggs. Eventually, these holes can add up and cause damage to the structure of timber supporting leeves, fence, and the structure as a whole.

Contemplating the Ingression of Carpenter Bees to Wood: What Makes Them do So? For example, untreated or weather-beaten wood is a favorite for their nesting activities. It is commonly the case in such outdoor wooden installations as decks, eaves, siding etc. They favor the softwood over the rest of the wood such as the pine, cedar, redwood, and cypress. Neglected carpenter bee damage results in ugly holes, piles of sawdust, and rarely, compromised safety of a structure.

Recognizing Carpenter Bee Infestation

For carpenter bees prevention from establishing your home as their habitation, you must be able to determine the early stages of the infestation. There are some telling signs to watch out for, which include the following:

Wood with small, round holes: This is a sign of an infestation by a female carpenter bee, these small round holes are entrance holes made by the female carpenter bee enlarging her burrow. The average size is that of a dime.

Sawdust piles: The bees in the process of carving out the wood to make the nests create and leave sawdust that you will find in the vicinity of the wooden structures.

Bee activity: In warm weather try to avoid areas with large bees flying around wooden structures as these carpenter bees could be nesting in that area.

Buzzing sound: There are also chances where there is bee activity and buzzing could come from the wood in use. If the bees are nesting then it would likely be ‘inside’ the wood.

Preventing Carpenter Bees: Essential Steps

Once you’re entirely sure that carpenter bees are making an assault on your house or other areas, the next step is to look for ways to get rid of them. Here are few effective ways of repelling carpenter bees from gaining some ground:

Use Hardwood or Treated Wood

Soft, unpainted timber is favored by the carpenter bees. To keep them from making a nest, use only pests resistant materials like hardwoods or oak for outside fittings. Treated wood is impregnated with chemicals which are not so appealing to the carpenter bee. To deter these wood eaters, the bonding of softwood with treated or painted wood is effective.

Seal Cracks and Holes in Wooden Surfaces

Look around your house and see if there are any cracks or holes on wooden surfaces that exist. Carpenter tented bees return over and over again to the same place they made a nest in the previous year and hence if any such holes existed such as unfinished plugged holes one such hole limiting bits need to be closed. Such cracks and holes can be sealed with wood putty or cabin and more extensive holes with dowels or other wood fillers. Patching the areas using sand and paint would also help avoid bee access to the areas sealed within.

Paint or Stain Wooden Surfaces

Untreated or bare wood is inviting to many visiting carpenter bees. A fresh coat of paint or stain thoroughly prevents wood from being tarmacked for nesting. While some clear stains work, wood which is painted wood is likely to be uncalled for by the carpenter bees. Ensure that such surfaces are painted over or re-stained so as to cover the exposed part in the wood.

Use Carpenter Bee Repellents

There are many types of Carpenter Bee repellents made from natural and chemical sources so as to exude carpenter bees. Citrus is also a natural option because it has been shown that carpenter bees dislike the odor of citrus and prefers a citrus based spray. A home made spray can be done by boiling lemon, orange or lime peels in water and then cooled and used as a topical on wooden surfaces. Or it can spray over the area where the insect may make a nest using the indefinite use of insecticide.

Install Bee Traps

Carpenter bee traps are an effective and humane solution to a carpenter bee problem. These traps usually consist of a wooden box with an entry leading to a glass or plastic container. The bees enter the box and cannot get back out. Although traps may help with protecting your home from carpenter bees, they cannot be relied upon alone. Other methods should also be implemented to achieve the best results.

Regularly Examine the Monthly Property Report

Be ready to prevent and act boldly as prevention begins with watching your surroundings. For example, routinely check the wooden framework in your house or wooden structures for any sign of activity of these insects, particularly around the spring period when nesting is likely to begin. It is important to on the lookout for new holes, sawdust, or activity around where there seemed to be none before and rectify the situation immediately as there is no need to wait until it is too late.

Use Sound as the Method of Stopping Carpenter Bees in Your House

Carpenter bees do not like loud sounds and vibrations. Sound energy producing devices, such as ultrasound pest repellers, may be useful in deterring carpenter bees from roosting in targeted places through the production of sound waves. Although it may not be effective on all the bees, this strategy can be the extra heighteners to your carpenter bee prevention strategies.

Move right in and find Professional Pest Control

If the case is that don’t know how to get rid of the infestation of carpenter bees or it seems way to much for you to handle, consider employing a pest control service. Pest control specialists will first ensure that carpenter bees are safely removed from infestation and provide treatment of your home to reduce the risk of more carpenter bee infestations. They are also able to provide recommendations for some of the bee control methods that can be used in the future.

Removing Carpenter Bees in a Safe Manner

Carpenter bees are quite a nuisance but their importance to pollination is great. It is important to deal with them in the most responsible manner so that no pollution is caused. When people are trying to thwart bees, they should, if possible, avoid to kill mothballs, and other efficient, non-lethal methods. In the case where removal is imperative, the bees should be safely transported somewhere else as opposed to exterminated.

Safety notes for fighting with Carpenter Bees:

Wear protective clothing: As the female carpenter bee is capable of stinging, it is important to put on protective clothing such as gloves and long sleeved clothes when handling the insect.

Work during cooler times of the day: It has been observed that, it is easier to manage wild bees very early in the morning or late in the evening as they do not play active foraging roles.

Avoid using harsh chemicals: Insecticides are known to have negative effects on the ecosystem, especially pesticides on beneficial insects like honeybees. Use herb in low concentration as natural insect repellents where ever you can.

Long-Term Maintenance: Getting Rid of Carpenter Bees for Good

Excluding carpenter bees is not a one-time exercise. To manage them in the long run, ongoing maintenance practices should be embraced. Check out some of the long-term measures to take into account:

Paint and Seal Wood Surfaces: Ensure adequate coating and sealing of all wooden features to serve as a protective encasement. Maintenance should involve periodic repainting of wooden structures.

Replace Rotten Wood: Where you have any wood that has been eaten away by carpenter bees, it should be done away Forthwith. Such untreated damaged wood invites more of this nesting parasite.

Maintain proper cleanliness within the area: Trash and mess can also create extra places for carpenter bee nesting. Apprehend the yard orderly by lowering needless twigs as well as pulling down haystack which can fetch bees.

Conclusion

Carpenter bees are known to be helpful for pollination work, however, their behavior of nesting into wood can cause lots of damages on the wooden based structures. There is no need for destructive methods in preventing the invasion of the carpenter bee because appropriate steps can be taken. Usage of modified wood, filling openings, spraying repellants, and deploying traps can drive out carpenter bees without destroying the property. In the same manner, maintenance and evaluation of the structure take the larger part of the prevention measures in the long-term setting ensuring that bees are kept for a long time.