Stop Carpenter Bees From Making a Holey Mess of Your Home

Holes, holes, holes. They pepper your wooden awning, eaves, posts and beams. Where are these unsightly little holes coming from and how do you stop it before moisture retention or rot results?

You might have a Carpenter Bee infestation.

Before we get off on the wrong foot here, Carpenter Bees are important pollinators! We do not endorse using toxic chemicals for pest control. Instead, learn all about these busy little bees and how you can cohabit together without anyone losing out.

What is a Carpenter Bee?

These talented little guys like to live in wood. Females nest by burrowing into dead wood to lay eggs and make tunnels.

They are not dangerous to humans. They rarely sting and the male bees don’t even have stingers. 

Carpenter Bees do cause damage to wooden structures, although the damage is minimal. They may also attract woodpeckers, who are actually way worse when it comes to destroying fine wood with a mess of holes. 

How can you control Carpenter Bees?

Luckily, there are several methods to help keep Carpenter Bees at bay and save your wooden structures. 

• For one, you can put up a bee hotel in your backyard. These environmentally friendly wooden boxes provide plenty of nesting sites for female bees. 
• Carpenter Bees hate citrus oil! This is good news for you, because it is non toxic, yet will do a magnificent job as an all-natural repellent. You can easily heat citrus fruit peels in hot water, then pour the water into a bottle for use. Just spray it on the nest until the female bees relocate.
• Prevent Carpenter Bees by covering up raw wood. That means applying a coat of primer and paint.
• If a wasp nest is nearby, Carpenter Bees will stay away. Make a decoy wasp nest by stuffing a brown bag and hanging it up on your porch.
• When existing holes have been abandoned, fill them with caulk or another substance so they can no longer be used.