This article is about CARPENTERBEE control.
It will explain why they are a pest and what
needs to be done for controlling infestations.
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The following article will explain some basic
biology of the carpenter bee, describe how to
treat infestations and then list the products
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Spring has sprung! Ornamental trees are
blooming, flowers are growing and insects are
awakening. This is an exciting time of year. Mother
nature gets to show us that she is omnipotent -
nothing can stop her. And one of her creatures
which is active now is the carpenter bee.
Carpenter bees are prevalent throughout the
United States. Although there are different species,
the most common is big and resembles a bumble
bee. You may find it foraging around flowers,
shrubs and under the eaves of buildings. This bee is
unique from most because it will bore into wood to
make its home. They are a nuisance and can cause
damage to any wood part of your property.
They also bother homeowners by "attacking" them.
To keep your building free of carpenter bees, you
must know their biology and habits.
Carpenter bees bore holes into wood
overhangs, fence posts, and trees. They will crawl
between cracks of siding and roofing. When they
bore in wood, the hole they drill is about 1/2". This
hole will go straight an inch or two and then turn 90
degrees. This new portion of the nest becomes an
egg chamber. Eggs are laid at the end of these
chambers. Food is placed alongside the egg
and then sealed tight. It is common for an egg
chamber to be two or more feet long. It may have
numerous egg chambers branching out from the
main chamber.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THEIR NEST.
The female carpenter bee will stand
guard at the nest entry hole. She will defend the
nest aggressively. Once the drilling has been
completed, she will spend her days foraging for
food. You may find her working Azaleas,
Bradfords, Daffodils, Pansies and any plant which
will provide pollen. Male bees will be hanging
around these same plants hoping to find a receptive
female. The male bees are curious and will buzz
around people. This buzzing scares people into
thinking they are being "attacked". In fact, the male
bee does not have a stinger! He has a distinctive
yellow face, which may be seen while he is in flight.
Female bees have no interest other than collecting
food. They have a stinger and their face is black.
Carpenter bees are commonly mistaken for bumble
bees. There are two differences. 1) Carpenter
bees are generally larger. 2) Carpenter bees have an
abdomen which is shiny, metallic and black in color.
Their abdomen has no body hair. Here is short video
showing you what carpenter bees look like as they
fly around a home.
In addition to "attacking" residents, carpenter
bees are a problem because they tend to return
where they were born. Old nests are used year after
year. If the original nest is occupied, other female
bees will drill new ones. A single nest one year will
become two or three the next. Problems rapidly
escalate and soon you may have hundreds of holes.
When you have numerous nests, you will have
numerous larva. The larva of carpenter bees is
large and noisy. They make enough noise to attract
woodpeckers. Buildings which have woodpeckers
damaging exposed wood are doing this to feed on
some insect. This insect is most likely carpenter bee
larva.
To control carpenter bees, you must think long
term. The nuisance male bees are easy to kill
with PT-515 WASP FREEZE. Try to get as close
to them as possible and then spray directly
at them making sure to keep the spray on them as
long as it takes to kill them. This is usually
3-5 seconds. If you have a lot of females which
are boring or hanging around looking for a place
to bore, they can be a little tougher to kill.
Use the BEE AND HORNET KILLER which seems to work a
little faster with less waste. Unfortunately,
killing the male bee will do nothing to stop the cycle.
You must treat the nest with some material which
will last a long period of time. If you spray liquid
residuals in their hole, you may kill the female. The
eggs are protected, however, and six to twelve
months later the larva will emerge. Since liquids are
absorbed by porous wood, they will be gone when the
larva hatch. This means the larva have a strong
chance of survival. To insure complete control, use
a dust called DRIONE. It has a desiccant action and when
the larva emerge they will be dehydrated. It is
recommended that entry holes are treated with
Drione and then sealed using a special 1/2" CORK. This
will protect the dust from breakdown and enable it to
kill any emerging larva in the future. You also will
know which holes you have treated so new ones can be
easily identified. Since the holes can penetrate
several feet, you will need to use an applicator like
a HAND DUSTER. This tool will help you to
apply the dust with enough force to reach deep in
the nest where the eggs and larva will be living.
Here is a video showing just how easy it is to
treat their nests using a hand duster.
If you have a lot of holes to treat, you should consider
the DUST-R. This device holds almost a whole pound
of Drione and because of it's unique pump handle
design, requires very little effort to treat a
hole. For large jobs, it's a real help. Nests can
be treated in a couple of seconds. If the holes are
just out of reach, use the LONG REACH DUST-R which
is essentially the same device except it has a series
of extensions that lengthen the unit to over 7 feet
long. This means the average person standing on the
ground can treat nests over 12 feet high without the
use of a ladder! For really high nests, the DUSTICK
might be the tool for the job. This duster is over
20 feet long and can be used to access nests which
are over 25 feet up with little effort! It's also
a great tool for infestations where carpenter bees
are foraging under facia boards or siding which take
forever to treat using a ladder. See how handy this
tool is in this video.
To stop further nests from starting, you must
finish all exposed wood with a protective paint. A
hard finish may deter carpenter bees. However, the
author has had his own home attacked and the bees
didn't seem to notice the freshly painted surfaces
through which they bore! The Latex paint which was
just applied didn't seem to slow them down at all.
Furthermore, the author has seen them bore through
varnish, stain and just about any type of wood.
Since cellulose is where they want to call home, wood
used on any structure may become a target. If the
structure is a log cabin or one with natural wood
siding with shakes that are exposed, expect to be
attracting carpenter bees. All wood gives off a decay
odor which attract these bees and once found they
will start their nest making. To stop them from
boring new nests, spray CYPERMETHRIN. This product is
active against many pests including carpenter bees.
Mix it at the rate of 1 ounce per gallon and spray it
on any wood surface where carpenter bees may want
to bore a nest. One gallon can treat 500-1000 sq/ft.
This application rate works well when treating cedar
homes and log cabins. These structures are particularly
subject to carpenter bees. If you want to keep these
structures natural it means that you have to do more
spraying to keep away carpenter bees and other wood
destroying pests. Apply the cypermethrin once every
2-4 weeks in the spring when they are most active.
Once a month applications throughout the summer will
probably provide protection but you may need to increase
the applications to every 2-4 weeks in the fall as
well. Although rain and humidity will break down the
chemical, it is active enough so that even trace
amounts will chase these bees away and force them
to find and build nests elsewhere.
Since carpenter bees can bore their holes into just
about any part of the home, you will need to do some
inspecting to see just where they are most active.
Once found, you will need to choose a sprayer which
will be able to deliver the Cypermethrin where it is
needed. We have many SPRAYERS which can do the job. This video shows that a "pinstream"
spray is best suited for reaching those overhangs
and other high places where carpenter bees will many
times want to nest.
Now that you have the chemical and sprayer, be sure
to get good coverage when treating by spraying high
and wide. Remember that spot applications are not
suggested. In other words, if you have activity in
one section of an overhang, be sure to treat all of
it since the bees will probably just move to the
untreated section. Since they can sense the Cypermethrin,
they tend to avoid where it was sprayed and move
to areas which are not protected. Generally, after they
find it at several places on your home, they will
leave altogether. Remember also that old holes release
odors and smells that tend to attract new bees looking
for a good nest sight so be sure to treat them with
Drione and seal them up. This will insure they don't
become a current nest. If they are too high to access,
be sure to spray them with the Cypermethrin. This will
make it so the bees cannot use them and will also
help to mask the hole's odor so it can't attract as
many.
When spring has sprung, insects will rebound
from a long and cold winter. The carpenter bee is
one such nuisance. Treat their nests directly with
Drione to insure long term control. Use Cypermethrin
on decks, overhangs and fence posts to stop further
nests from starting. Carpenter bee awareness and
control will help eliminate these "attacking" bees
from harassing you and your family!
If you have any questions about Carpenter Bees or
any other pest control problem, please give us a call.
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