Carpenter Bee FAQ’s

What is a Carpenter Bee?

Carpenter Bee is a type of bee that is known for its ability to Bore into Wood to make their nests. They Resemble Bumblebees, but have a shiny, Hairless Abdomen (rear end of the bee). Carpenter Bees are Typically Mostly black in color or have some yellow on their thorax (mid-section of their body).

How do Carpenter Bee’s Make their nest?

Female Carpenter Bee’s use their powerful Mandibles (Mouth), to drill a perfectly round hole into the wood, then making it into a cavity in the wood to lay their eggs.

Do Carpenter Bees have any specific type of wood they tend to nest in?

Carpenter Bees tend to focus on Exposed unpainted/ stained wood. Typical areas they tend to nest on a structure are Facia Boards, exposed exterior Rafter boards, Deck Joists, wooden deck railings, Pergolas, arbors, and exposed bare wood.

What do Male Carpenter Bee’s Do?

Male Carpenter Bees have 2 Main purposes in the Carpenter Bee world.

To guard the nest from possible intruders

To procreate

Do Carpenter Bee’s Sting?

It is extremely rare for a carpenter bee to Sting. They may fly by you or try to intimidate you by hovering in front of you. Typically, though they do not sting unless they feel extremely threatened. One example of them feeling Extremely threatened is if you had one on the palm of your hand and you tried to squish them and if they feel there is no way to fly or escape, they may sting. We do not recommend this action at all, but it is the best way to explain Extremely threatened. Specifically Male Carpenter bees cannot sting, Female Carpenter bees do have the capacity to sting but as stated rarely do.

How Do you Treat Carpenter bees?

Every Situation is a little bit different depending on where they are located and how high up, they are. The Typical ways we treat Carpenter bees’ nests are a Dust applicator device to directly apply a dust product to the nest or close to the nest opening. We will also use a liquid product either in conjunction with the dust product or on its own to deal with Carpenter bees.

What should I expect from a Carpenter bee nest Treatment?

A Carpenter bee treatment if curative will eliminate the ones making the nest and any that may hatch from the nest within approximately the next 30-60 days depending on weather and environmental conditions. If a new Carpenter bee enters the area and tries to make a nest where we treated, the product will stop them from completing the nest. You can also still see Carpenter bees flying around after we treat as Male Carpenter Bee’s will still fly toward where the nest once was even after a treatment is performed. We cannot stop them from doing so. Our Treatments only deal with the nests.

What is the time frame for the treatment to start working?

The treatment for Carpenter Bee nests can sometimes work fast or can take a little bit of time. We normally ask all your clients to allow 14-21 days for desired results and if they see fresh saw dust after that or Fecal Marks let us know so we can return if needed.

Can they return after you do a treatment?

Carpenter bees can return after treatment. Male Carpenter Bee’s can travel long distances looking for Female Carpenter Bee Nests and do hover around old inactive nests at times. Carpenter bees can return the following season and try too renest as well.

What should I do to prevent Carpenter Bee’s Nesting?

We do offer preventive Carpenter Bee nest treatments, but the best long-term method is enclosing or replacing all exposed exterior wood with other materials such as vinyl siding, Azek or PVC board. If you only cover the front part of a facia board but the back side is still exposed to wood the carpenter bee will still nest in the facia board.

We also ask if you desire to fill the nest entrance with wood puddy or other material to please allow 30-60 days to pass with no activity after our treatment before doing so.