Carpenter Bee

[Spike2]

So it isn't enough we have the bunny and the killdeer, now we have a carpenter bee guarding the steps into the house. He? is hovering there and chasing flies and wasps. Any suggestions how to get him? to find somewhere else to hover?

[GrowingCoastal]

Move the stairs?

[Worth1]

Just leave it alone.
I have everything swarming around me and I am never bothered.
Just now I was up close looking at a bumblebee.
Worth

[Starlight]

I didn't think it would work til I seen it in action was this like little plain wood bird house with holes drilled on all four sides and down to the bottom of the bird house. At the bottom was a mason jar attached. Down the road had a nest of carpenter bees at the back door and their one dog was always trying to get them. They put up that jar bird house contraption and it hung for a couple of days and then the bees went in and can't get out. You can either let bees stay in jar or take jar and go empty in another area.

[My Foot Smells]

Originally Posted by Starlight

I didn't think it would work til I seen it in action was this like little plain wood bird house with holes drilled on all four sides and down to the bottom of the bird house. At the bottom was a mason jar attached. Down the road had a nest of carpenter bees at the back door and their one dog was always trying to get them. They put up that jar bird house contraption and it hung for a couple of days and then the bees went in and can't get out. You can either let bees stay in jar or take jar and go empty in another area.

I also got a carpenter bee trap (google) and once it gets a couple of bees in the jug, it seems to attract more.

They dont' bother me and I got hundreds buzzing around. Only time I ever got stung by one was when I picked up a box in the carport and it was between the box and my hand, squish. My dogs like to try and catch them flying, but are never successful.

I believe they are also pollinators, so not into genocide - but wouldn't be surprised if the carport fell down either. Lots of perfect round holes.

[oakley]

They won't hurt you, just warning you and protecting their home. You most likely have
a nest just above or near your door. It is the male that is warning you. They do not
have a stinger, only the female that is digging the hole and breeding. She will only sting
if provoked.
You could plug that hole or holes after spraying WD40 at sunset, then plug with wire
wool the next day. (or an hour later)
Unfortunately they are good pollinators so best to let them bee if not too many.

I had a massive amount that i needed to plug many of them. Especially around our
doors. We could barely sit on the deck as they were aggressive dive bombing us and a
pup at the time was allergic.
I check the deck area and the front door area every Spring. I've had a few this year.
Not planning to do anything yet. First choice is to leave them alone.
We did add some boards between the exterior beams with pre-drilled holes to give them
another option rather that eat our home but not sure if that worked.

My home is post and beam and exterior is cedar so painting is not an option.

It is unnerving to hear the chewing. One fell next to me on the couch one early Spring.
Chewed right through the eaves to the inside.

[My Foot Smells]

Though often confused with the bumblebee, carpenter bees can be readily identified by their black abdomen�a slick, shiny, black abdomen. The thorax of the carpenter bee (directly behind the head) is usually covered with yellow, orange, or white hairs.
Carpenter bees rank among the largest of bees native to the United States. There are numerous species of carpenter bees (Xylocopa) that inhabit a diverse range of habitats from tropical to subtropical to temperate. In the United States, carpenter bees occur across the southern United States from Florida to Arizona and in the eastern United States, north to New York.
As pollinators, carpenter bees are generalists in our gardens and landscapes�they may be found foraging on a number of different species. Like their close cousins, the bumblebees, carpenter bees are early morning foragers. Carpenter bees are excellent pollinators of eggplant, tomato and other vegetables and many types of flowers.
Carpenter bees have very powerful thoracic muscles�when carpenter bees land on flower blossoms they become living tuning forks and can �sonicate� the dry pollen grains out of the flowers� anthers. This type of pollen collection in known as "buzz pollination." Carpenter bees are reported as being excellent pollinators of many vegetables and flowers. Carpenter bees are even mass produced in the Philippines for farm-pollination services.
On occasion, carpenter bees can be quite ingenious in their foraging for nectar. Because of their large size, carpenter bees are not capable of entering long, tubular flowers such as those produced by salvias and penstemons. Instead they become nectar robbers. Using their mouthparts they cut a slit at the base of corolla and steal away with the nectar without having pollinated the flower. We have also noticed this to the case for flowers of yellowbells (Tecoma stans, also known as yellow elder and trumpetbush).
There are a number of natives species of the carpenter bee in the U. S. with X. virginica, in the eastern U. S. most common. Only the female carpenter bee is capable of stinging, but rarely does so unless handled or severely agitated.
Unlike the bumble bee that typically builds colonies in the ground, the carpenter bee is a solitary bee preferring to live and nest alone in wood tunnels. Carpenter bees do not consume wood, but their tunneling can be destructive to softwoods and hardwoods alike. Under normal conditions they are not very destructive; however, if several generations of carpenter bees have been tunneling in the same area, extensive damage is possible.
Weathered woods are a common target of carpenter bees; thus, they are often found tunneling into fence posts, lawn furniture, the roof and eaves of buildings, decks, window shutters, wood shingles and siding.
To deter this behavior, keep exposed wood surfaces, including nail holes and saw cuts, coated with polyurethane or oil-base paint. Consider using non-wood building materials, such as vinyl siding, to avoid possible damage by carpenter bees. If tunnel entrances are found in buildings, seal tunnel entrances immediately with caulk.

[ContainerTed]

I use a fly swatter or an old badminton racket to swat them while they hover. However, after a couple of misses, they get harder to get close enough to the get a good swat going. I usually get about 15 per day. They live in old dead trees where they bore holes and den up. They are always looking for new wood. I've even had them bore into my tomato stakes.

[Worth1]

They love any hole about 1/4 inch in diameter.

Worth

[dmforcier]

The ones that are 'aggressive' are the males, and they have no sting. Just leave them be and all will be well.





Until your structure collapses many years from now.

[brownrexx]

I don't know why you would want to kill insects that live in old dead trees. They are excellent pollinators and are certainly not hurting anything in dead trees.

[ContainerTed]

Originally Posted by brownrexx

I don't know why you would want to kill insects that live in old dead trees. They are excellent pollinators and are certainly not hurting anything in dead trees.

As I said above, they bore holes in any wood they can get to and lay eggs. That's major damage to things like sheds, houses, porches, decks, greenhouses, fences, and some carports. Sorry, but I'm just not that far into "Save the Bees" on this particular species.

I feel bad that my way of taking care of this problem here meets with disfavor with some, but just how many 3/8" holes that are about 2 1/2" deep would you like put into your deck? How many would it take before you decided it was unsafe to be on? Just how many times must your carport fall on your vehicle before you say enough is enough?

I'm not being argumentative here. I'm just stating what I've decided for me and mine here at this point on the map. If I could catch these bees, I'd get a beekeeper to move them. But that's just not practical here. It may be because we don't have a deficiency of pollinators here. Get yourself a butterfly net and then stop by and catch a few.

[Worth1]

Just like the other day when I fired up my smoker.
I don't normally kill wasps but I am not going to deal with getting stung while smoking meat.
Worth

[oakley]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

As I said above, they bore holes in any wood they can get to and lay eggs. That's major damage to things like sheds, houses, porches, decks, greenhouses, fences, and some carports. Sorry, but I'm just not that far into "Save the Bees" on this particular species.

I feel bad that my way of taking care of this problem here meets with disfavor with some, but just how many 3/8" holes that are about 2 1/2" deep would you like put into your deck? How many would it take before you decided it was unsafe to be on? Just how many times must your carport fall on your vehicle before you say enough is enough?

I'm not being argumentative here. I'm just stating what I've decided for me and mine here at this point on the map. If I could catch these bees, I'd get a beekeeper to move them. But that's just not practical here. It may be because we don't have a deficiency of pollinators here. Get yourself a butterfly net and then stop by and catch a few.

You have my support. They were eating my home and deck.

[brownrexx]

You definitely can not have them eating into your deck or carport. I would not allow that either. As a matter of fact we have a log home in the woods so I know about carpenter bees.

However I believe that if you have painted wood that they will leave it alone so if I had an area that they were bothering I would paint it. Our deck is made of trex which is plastic lumber and they do not bother that.

We have an untreated post and rail fence that they bore into and that does not bother us. They can have it and it keeps them away from the house. If we see one trying to start a hole on the house I will kill it. I am not nuts about it but I do think that you are fighting a losing battle if you are trying to kill ones in dead trees. I have found that if they can find a good location other than the house that they will use it. If they are away from my house then I am happy to leave them alone.

Carpenter bees are solitary insects and new ones will just move into the territory of the ones that you are removing.