How To Effectively Manage Carpenter Bees And Protect Your Home

Carpenter bees are excellent at burrowing into wood to make their nests, which can mean a big headache for you if they choose your home to dwell in. Carpenter bees can eventually eat away at the structural integrity of your home, and generally act as a nuisance. That's why it's important to know how to prevent these bees from entering your home in the first place and properly treat them if they're already there.

Carpenter Bee Basics

Carpenter bees are known to be especially large, growing up to an inch in length. The male carpenter bees usually resemble bumblebees to most people, but the females tend to take on a shiny black appearance. The males can't sting and the females rarely sting unless provoked, but the sting can cause an allergic reaction in some people much like wasps and other bees. The carpenter bee also happens to produce a very loud buzzing sound that's very similar to bumble bees, which means an infestation can be extremely annoying for this reason alone for some people.

The Damage They Cause

Carpenter bees can bore into wood and siding of your home in order to make a nest, which can lead to structural damage. Although the structural damage is rarely severe, these bees can ruin the look of your home and eventually cause real problems if the infestation is left untreated over time. The good news is that these bees avoid hardwoods, but unfortunately attack timber from trees like pine, redwood, ash, mulberry, cedar, and Douglas fir.

How To Prevent an Infestation

Prevention is generally considered the best method for dealing with carpenter bees, partly due to the fact that carpenter bees are seen as beneficial insects due to their pollination activities. However, it's also far easier to keep these bees out of your home than treating them once the problem gets worse.

As a result, it's usually recommended that the you utilize hardwoods for exterior of your home, which will prevent the bees from getting a foothold in your home's wood. However, for those using softwood, it's important to add layers of varnish or paint to your wood, as the bees are less likely to penetrate protected surfaces. You should also fill any cracks or holes with caulk to prevent bees from entering these areas.

Treating With Insecticide

For severe infestations, you may want to use insecticide along with the other preventative methods already mentioned. Due to the nesting cycles of carpenter bees, the best time to apply insecticides is in early spring or in fall. In late spring or summer, each nesting chamber is sealed with wood particles, which means insecticide has little chance of penetrating to reach carpenter bees.

Due to fact that the insecticides used for treating carpenter bees can cause serious lung problems, it's recommended that you have a pest control specialist from a company like IPM - Intelligent Pest Management apply these insecticides for safety reasons. 

Ultimately, carpenter bees may be beneficial for pollinating a wide variety of plants, but it's important to keep your home protected. Contact a pest specialist for more information on how to handle carpenter bees if they're presenting a problem for your home.