CARPENTER BEES: HOW TO IDENTIFY AND DEAL WITH THEM

It’s been some time since we’ve discussed Carpenter Bees and the damages they can cause to log homes.  There are many species of carpenter bees, over 500! They are very similar in appearance to the bumblebee, an inch long and black and yellow in color. One big difference and a good rule of thumb, for distinguishing the two is to look at the abdomen – bumblebees are fuzzy, while carpenter bees are smooth.  Nearly all of the Carpenter Bee species, like to burrow into hard plant material like wood, hence their name.  This is why it is imperative for Log Home-owners to take special notice when these bees are present.  Here are some of the signs you may have an infestation:

• Large, round bees buzzing around outside your home, often hovering around porches, decks, eaves, or anywhere there is exposed wood.
• Similar to bumblebees, they are usually black and yellow, but unlike bumblebees their abdomens are shiny instead of fuzzy.
• Approximately one-half inch round holes appear to be drilled into wood parts of your home. There may be sawdust-like or goopy material accumulating at the entrance of the hole or underneath it.
• Faint, buzzing, drilling-like sounds coming from the wood parts of your home.

HOW CARPENTER BEES BREED

They are solitary insects and do not live in colonies like traditional honeybees. Instead, the female carpenter bee will drill a hole in dead wood that is approximately one-half inch wide at a rate of one inch every five to six days. She will use her large mandibles in combination with vibrating her body to create a drilling like action. In this process they do not consume the wood, they are simply excavating the wood to create a home for their future brood. The male Carpenter Bees will hover near the vicinity of the nest to help keep guard. Carpenter Bees emerge from their holes in the springtime around April or May. They are highly active during this period in which they enlarge existing tunnels or excavate new ones and gather food. They mate with one another, and the females lay their eggs in a series of sealed off chambers. Each chamber contains food called “bee bread”. This is a mixture of pollen and regurgitated nectar. When the eggs hatch into larvae, they will have food within their chamber to sustain them.  This is why it is so important to address treatment of these holes immediately.

TREATING THE HOLES

Carpenter Bees usually drill up a short distance and then make a ninety degree turn and continue excavating. You can use a coat hanger with a bend at the end or there are applicators available that may assist with this. Push the applicator in as far as possible then use a liquid treatment, an insecticide spray or even WD40. Spray directly into the hole, again trying to get the liquid as deep as you can. Alternatively, you can fill the entrance hole with steel wool that has been dipped or sprayed with insecticide. With this method, the bees will need to chew threw the insecticide soaked steel wool before they can emerge. Repeat this process for each entrance hole found.

REPAIRING THE HOLES

After the bees have been killed it is time to plug the existing holes. Use a plug or wooden dowel in combination with putty, glue, or caulking compound. For log and timber homes, once the holes are treated and dry, they can be sealed in a color that is close to the log color and then stained over.

PREVENTION

Unfortunately, a treated wood pesticide wouldn’t work in preventing Carpenter Bees, as they do not ingest the wood. The best prevention we’ve found is having a wood surface that is smooth and clean. Many Log homeowners have found and reported that homes finished with a gloss topcoat deter the bees. They are mostly attracted to rough and decaying wood.

PARTING THOUGHTS

The technique used to treat the holes in the example above works well if done in the summertime when the larvae are present. Nighttime is the best time as the bees are less active.  However, in the fall, winter or early spring perhaps the coat hanger would not be necessary since the chambers would be empty of Larvae. Furthermore, each hole would still need to be treated with insecticide or spray such as WD-40 and sealed off. If Carpenter Bees are not dealt with, you could potentially have additional problems such as Woodpeckers seeking the larvae for food. For more tips on dealing with Carpenter Bees, or to get a quote on repairing the damage, please reach out to the experts at 888-Log-Guys.