Wood Carpet Bees

Get rid of carpenter bees yourself in just two steps.

Wood carpet bees.

To identify early damage to buildings homeowners should regularly inspect the perimeter of the home and surrounding property for the presence of these holes and hovering bees. They don t actually eat wood though. Nearly all species burrow into hard plant material such as dead wood or bamboo. The holes carpenter bees create may seem small on the outside but the galleries are much bigger and more damaging than meets the eye.

Plug existing holes to prevent a future worker bee infestation. Carpenter bees do not feed on wood but bore into it to create nesting galleries where they lay eggs in the spring and take shelter in the winter. Painted wood is slightly better at discouraging infestation than stained wood but the difference is effectively marginal. Use a carpenter bee spray to kill active wood boring bees combined with an insecticide dust application in the holes.

Carpenter bees are species in the genus xylocopa of the subfamily xylocopinae the genus includes some 500 bees in 31 subgenera. And unlike honey or bumble bees carpenter bees nest in wood rather than in the ground matts says so they leave behind round drill like holes. The most common signs of a carpenter bee infestation are the round smooth holes that carpenter bees bore into wood. Paint or stain with varnish any untreated wooden surfaces outside that may attract carpenter bees.

Although carpenter bees can attack all wood surfaces they tend to prefer untreated wood.