Carpenter Bees and The Damage They Can Do
Posted on Tue, Aug 30, 2011
Carpenter bees are very similar to bumble bees, in appearance, and much larger than your typical honey bee. Carpenter bees get their name from their ability to drill through wood and nest in it. Their drilling creates a nearly perfect hole approximately 1/2 inch in diameter and is usually located on the underside of any wood surface including siding, soffits, overhangs, decks, fence posts, fascia boards and window frames. Although the hole appears to be only an inch or two deep, in fact, it could be from 6 inches to as long as 4 feet. This channel serves as a main corridor from which the female will drill small chambers a few inches deep. These chambers become egg holders where the female deposits an egg, brings in some food, and then seals it off to ensure the egg's development.
Carpenter Bee Damage
The damage done by carpenter bees is usually quite superficial. However, given enough time and enough seasons spent in the nest, the carpenter bee can chew a simple, but prolific tunnel and gallery network through a house's timbers. Therefore, it is important to exterminate carpenter bees that have infested your home ASAP. Similar to termite damage, any damage from carpenter bees will not be covered by homeowners insurance. In the case of major damage to a home’s structure, you should call a professional exterminator with experience in controlling and exterminating carpenter bees.
Carpenter Bee Control
If you want to get rid of carpenter bees without using insecticide you may want to try plugging the entrances with caulk or putty and then paint over them. It'll save you money and time.
A bee killer such as Raid can be used to get rid of carpenter bees. Like any other bee infestation, make sure that you’re properly dressed and make certain that it's late enough in the evening to get all of the bees. Once you are sure all or most of the bees are in the nest, simply spray your bee killer into the nest, and wait to see if any bees come out. Go ahead and do this twice, just to make sure.
Once you have killed the bees, make sure you keep them away by replacing the wood or covering the damage with putty. If the bees haven't done too much damage and you're not going to spend any money on timber replacement, cover the entrances to the galleries with putty so other bees don't decide to take up residence there. Otherwise, if you have the money, it might be a good idea to replace any timber the carpenter bees have damaged.