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How Concerned Should I Be About Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees are an interesting species of bee to discuss; unlike other species of stinging insects, they don’t pose much of a threat to people – the females have a stinger but are extremely passive, and the overly aggressive males can’t sting. However, they do pose a threat to wooden structures, including your home! Female carpenter bees have the unique ability to bore holes into wood and tunnel through it in order create nesting galleries, potentially causing serious damage to the structure of wood that they are invading. Here are some tips and tricks to help you identify these destructive bees, prevent them from choosing your property to nest on, and ensure that your property is carpenter bee-free zone!

The carpenter bee is a species of bee that looks very similar to the easily identifiable bumble bee. Carpenter bees and bumble bees have some notable differences, however. Both these bees have yellow and black markings, but carpenter bees are mostly black in color. Another difference between these two is that the bumble bees are fuzzy all over, while the carpenter bee’s abdomen is smooth.

If carpenter bees are living and nesting on your property, in addition to finding large, black bees buzzing around your property, you may notice the following things:

  • Holes in the side of your home, or in fences, porches, eaves, wooden shingles, decks, play structures, or outbuildings
  • Wood shavings on the ground beneath the holes
  • An increased number of woodpeckers on your property – woodpeckers love to feed on carpenter bee larvae

Preventing carpenter bees from choosing your property to nest on is important because of the structural damages that they can cause. Carpenter bees are a solitary species of stinging insect, with each female creating their own nest. Now, you may be thinking, how much damage could one carpenter bee female possibly cause? It’s true that one carpenter bee isn’t going to be a huge problem. The problem with carpenter bees is that, while female carpenter bees nest alone, many of them tend to nest in the same area; and that, coupled with the fact that carpenter bees come back to the same area to nest year after year, means that they can cause a lot of costly structural damages to a property over time! The best way to avoid problems with carpenter bees on your property is to paint, stain or treat wooden structures. Carpenter bees prefer to nest in wood that is old and has not been treated.

If you discover carpenter bees on your property, contact the pest professionals at Spencer Pest Services immediately. Our pest control team is trained to address carpenter bee problems in a safe manner that is effective and will prevent their return. To learn more about our residential pest control services, give Spencer Pest Services a call today!

 
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