How to Stop Carpenter Bees From Attacking Your Home

Carpenter bees get their name from their unique ability to bore tunnels into wood. They are more destructive than their name suggests. These bees prefer the smell of the wood used in your home, and they can do a lot of damage to it. While these attacks are more common in the spring, carpenter bees can attack throughout the year. 

If you see a bee flying around the inside of your house or notice a bee nester on your property, then you could have a problem with carpenter bees. This blog will give you tips to keep these destructive insects from attacking your home.

Telltale Signs of the Carpenter Bee 

One of the telltale signs of a carpenter bee is the presence of small holes in wood. These holes are usually about the size of a pencil lead and are perfectly round. If you see these holes, there is likely a carpenter bee nearby. 

Another sign of these bees is the sawdust that they leave behind. When carpenter bees bore into wood, they create a lot of sawdust. This sawdust is often mixed with bee feces and can be seen around the entrance to their nests.

Bumble bees and honeybees live in colonies whereas carpenter bees build nests outdoors and on the sides of the building. Pest control for apartment buildings is necessary at regular intervals to avoid damage.

Can Carpenter Bees Cause Structural Damage?

Carpenter bees can cause damage to your home because they burrow into wood and lay eggs in the holes they create. They will then use these holes as nesting sites for their young, which can cause significant damage to the wood in your home.

The damage caused by carpenter bees can range from minor to severe, depending on how much of your home they attack. Minor damage includes surface cracks in the wood or small holes where they have bored into it. Severe damage includes large holes that go all the way through your home, causing significant structural damage that may require repair work from professionals or even replacement of some walls or other parts of your house.

Can Carpenter Bees Sting?

Carpenter bees are not known to sting people. However, they will sometimes hover in front of a person and try to chase them away from their nesting site. Also, if you happen to come across one on the ground or in your yard and try to step on it, it might bite you with its mandibles. Carpenter bee sting is painful and somewhat like bumble bees. The bite doesn’t hurt that much, but it will leave a small puncture wound that can take some time to heal.

How to Get Rid of Carpenter Bees: Prevention and Treatment 

1. Paint Your Wood

Paint is a good way to keep carpenter bees away from your home because it makes the wood less appealing as a nesting site. However, this may not be enough if there are other places for them to nest nearby or if you simply have an exposed wood surface that needs protection.

2. Use Dust in Carpenter Bee Nests

Dust is an effective way to kill carpenter bees. You can use diatomaceous earth or boric acid powder that is available from hardware stores or home improvement stores. The dust will clog up the bees’ respiratory systems, suffocating them. It’s an easy and effective way to get rid of carpenter bees for good!

To use this method, simply sprinkle some dust into the bee nest entrance. You’ll need to do this every few days until the bees are gone for good. But once they’re gone, you won’t have to worry about them anymore!

3. Use Citrus Oil As A Repellent

Citrus oil is an effective repellent for carpenter bees because it contains an ingredient called limonene. This substance is toxic to bees and will make them stay away from areas where it’s present. To use citrus oil as a repellent, simply combine it with water and spray it around the perimeter of your home. You can also soak a cloth in the mixture and place it near bee nesting sites. Also, adding pest repelling plants to your garden can be helpful. Certain plants like pitcher plants, lavender lemon grass, and others help in keeping bees and other garden pests at bay.

4. Chimes & Vibration

If you’re looking for a way to get rid of carpenter bees, consider hanging wind chimes around your property. It isn’t the sound the chimes make that bothers and distracts bees, it’s the vibration. Bees are more sensitive to vibration than they are to noise, so anything that will create a little bit of movement will help to keep them away. If you want to go the extra mile, you can even install outdoor speakers and play some music (just remember to turn them on regularly).

5. Trap Them

Trapping carpenter bees can be an effective way to control them if you notice them early enough in their nesting cycle. The main drawback of trapping is that it requires a lot of work on your part to locate all potential nesting sites and place traps at each location. You may need more than one trap per site because some carpenter bees will continue to use an old site even after they’ve been removed from it by a trap. One way to trap carpenter bees is to use a bee box. Bee boxes are specifically designed to lure in bees and prevent them from escaping. You can purchase a bee box at your local hardware store or online.

Another way to trap carpenter bees is by using homemade traps. Homemade traps can be made from anything that will hold the bee, such as a Mason jar or an empty soda bottle. Be sure to put some sugar water or honey inside the trap to attract the bees.

6. Pest Control Experts

If you think you have carpenter bees in your home, the best thing to do is call a pest control expert right away. These professionals will be able to safely remove the bees from your home and prevent them from causing any further damage.

Carpenter bee removal is often difficult and takes time and patience. We hope this blog post provided some useful information on how to stop carpenter bees from attacking your home. You should call an exterminator for the best results since they can inspect your home and advise you on the next steps.