carpenter bee life cycle
How long do carpenter bees live?
On average about one year. Here is the “expected” life cycle from start to finish.
Eggs are laid late spring to early summer in nests drilled out in dead wood. Nests may contain several eggs. Soon after being laid they’ll hatch and feed on pollen for a month or two before pupating to adults.
In late summer they’ll emerge as adults and spend the remainder of the year hunting for pollen. As fall turns to winter both males and females will hibernate till the following spring. They will use pre existing nests to hibernate and these nests will many times house several bees. Once it’s warm enough the following spring, they’ll emerge from their nests seeking fresh pollen and a mate. Soon after mating males will begin to die and females will both fill pre existing nests with new eggs as well as drill out new nests following their instinctive behavior to expand the local population. Females will live long enough to lay her eggs and maybe even most of the summer but usually not two winters.
As explained in our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, they’ll commonly use the same nest over and over which is why nests on structures need to be dusted and sealed. Failure to fend them off when you first see activity will usually lead to more and more coming around.
Hope this answers your question!
jonathan
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Comments on carpenter bee life cycle
jAMES HARDIN @ 10:36 am
yes we have try every thing for the carpender bees so was looking at this page where can we fine the drione and the cyoermethriem the pt 515 wasp freeze thanks james
admin @ 10:45 am
@jAMES HARDIN: We’re not aware of anyone in your region selling these products so you’ll probably need to get them direct from us. We ship same day and are located in Atlanta so I expect you’ll get the product in 1 day of shipping. Here are direct links for the key products:
http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page256.html
http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page259.html
All the Carpenter Bee Products can be seen here:
http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/carpenter_bee_products.html
jonathan
MARTY @ 4:43 pm
I HAVE A CARPORT MADE OF 4X4′S AND THE CARPENTER BEES ARE DRILLING INTO IT HOW DO I GET RID OF THEM ?
admin @ 10:24 pm
@MARTY: Treat established nests with the Drione Dust talked about in our Carpenter Bee Control article. The article can be seen here:
http://www.carpenterbees.com/carpenter-bee-control
Drione can be seen here:
http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page256.html
If they haven’t established nests yet and they’re only drilling, go with the Cypermethrin Concentrate. It will stop them pretty much instantly.
http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page259.html
J.
Heather @ 1:20 am
We have a large nest and we are not sure what kind of bee it is. Even the exterminators we called haven’t been able to identify them (they took samples back with them). We can hear them in the ceiling of my room, and I have seen them entering the outside of the house through the roof…at one point in time. The exterminators have been up in the attic and sprayed some of them (thinking they were the only ones there), but the ones that we keep hearing in the ceiling in my room are still there, and it sounds like there is a massive amount of them (they only make a “hive” noise when I bang on the ceiling…other than that I hear a strange buzzsaw noise that sounds like an occassional “drilling”). The exterminators have been back a couple of times, but we now can’t find where they are coming in from (because they just stopped flying in from the point in the roof that I had seen them go before) and are clueless on what to do next. My kids come in and sleep with me, but I am so terrified that these bees are going to find a way in somehow, or are doing damage to the house, that I can’t sleep at night. What should I tell these exterminators to do next? They have told me to call them when I see where the bees are coming in from…but I’m afraid that I won’t be able to find out that information, or that the damage will be more extensive by then…plus, I can’t keep going on with no sleep at night.
admin @ 8:05 am
For starters I think you should get another opinion. Remember, you are the customer and you’re hiring a service company because you are relying on their expertise to solve a problem you’re not able to solve. I don’t think it’s professional that they are relying on you to “call them” when you see where the bees are entering. Additionally, I’ve never heard of a company that’s not able to identify most any pest in a day or two. And when it comes to bees and wasps, there are only a handful of species most of which are treated the same way without their species really mattering.
At this point you should definitely get another company to come out and get their opinion on what the bees might be and how the problem can best be treated. If the second opinion sounds reasonable, I suggest you consider hiring them and stop using the first company.
guest @ 7:25 am
I’ve read the first five pages of your posts, but I’m still confused as to the carpenter bee life cycle and the appropriate timing for the different treatments. I have bees now. I know some (females?) are in the house, in the attic — I heard one gnawing away at the wood in my ceiling late last night, probably boring into a joist via the fascia board.
But what to do? Do I treat the many bore holes I see with Drione now? Is plugging with cork necessary? How long should the holes stay corked? Should I also spray in the cracks between the fascia board and the soffit overhang? What will this spraying kill — the living bees, or the larvae? Will I have eggs emerge later, and if so, how much later — weeks, or end of the summer? When, if ever, can I fill the holes or replace the compromised wood? Should I treat with Drione again in the fall, or just use a repellent? Can I fill the bore holes in the fall?
Apologies for so many questions, but while your site is tremendously informative, the exact chronology of when to do what procedure is unclear.
Thanks,
Keith
admin @ 7:42 am
@guest: Sorry for your confusion but I’ll try to answer all your questions as best as possible. As for reading posts; they can give bits and pieces to solving problems and many times will not present the complete answer. For this reason, I suggest you read our Carpenter Bee Control article which delves into a lot of detail the posts don’t detail. Now onto your questions…
1) “But what to do?” That’s an easy one. Dust all holes with Drione and leave them open for a few days. All the surrounding cracks and crevices should be dusted too. Cork the holes in 2-3 days and you’ll have it covered.
2) “I treat the many bore holes I see with Drione now?” See answer to 1)
3) “Is plugging with cork necessary?” Yes.
4) “How long should the holes stay corked?” Indefinitely. This insures the dust remains active to “get” any hatching pupae or larvae.
5) “Should I also spray in the cracks between the fascia board and the soffit overhang?” See answer to 1)
6) “What will this spraying kill — the living bees, or the larvae?” All living insects including bee larvae and adults.
7) “Will I have eggs emerge later, and if so, how much later — weeks, or end of the summer?” Eggs will hatch throughout the entire summer and fall; some will overwinter and hatch next year. To get all these it’s imperative the holes are dusted with Drione and left unfilled but plugged with Corks so emerging young can move through the open space and come in contact with the dust. Corking insures the dust will remain active.
Eight) “When, if ever, can I fill the holes or replace the compromised wood?” 2-3 years after the initial treatment when you’re sure all activity has been controlled.
9) “Should I treat with Drione again in the fall, or just use a repellent?” This is a personal decision. If you watch our Drione video, you’ll learn this is a great product to use as a repellent. In fact, I would say it’s one of the best available period. But because it’s harder to apply compared to traditional pesticides, most people opt for the liquid spray. Of course, using both would be ideal.
10) “Can I fill the bore holes in the fall?” See 4) and Eight)
Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:
Carpenter Bee Control: http://www.carpenterbees.com/carpenter-bee-control
Drione Dust: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/dust/drione-dust
Keith @ 10:36 am
@admin: Thanks for the reply.
The 2-3 years timeline poses a problem for me, as I have some serious wood damage from our brutal New England winter that needs to be repaired this summer or fall at the latest. Hopefully by removing and replacing the infested fascia boards at that time I will also be getting rid of any remaining egg chambers.
Great Web site, by the way. You provide a lot of incredible information here.
admin @ 1:49 pm
@Keith: Two points. No doubt these bees can cause significant damage. That being said, unless you plan on doing the repair in the next week or two, there is no reason for you not to treat now. This way you’ll be stopping the current activity which will effectively stop any more damage.
Now if you decide to replace some wood 1-2 months from now, great. By removing the old wood, you’ll effectively be removing any eggs and/or pupae so they won’t be at threat anymore.
So for now, treating as much of it as you can would be ideal. And at some point doing repair work makes perfect sense and in the end, will cut down on their activity too.
Carrie @ 9:03 am
I have read all the articles and will have the Drione I ordered soon. Our bees have attacked our Rainbow playset. The kids can’t play on it right now, but I am wondering if the Drione is going to pose a health hazard after we fill the holes with it? We obviously don’t want the kids getting sick from it, but do need the bees gone. Thanks for all the info.
Carrie @ 9:20 am
Sorry for the second post, but more questions come to mind ad I am watching them buzz my platset. Why do we seem to have so many queens? We kill many more queens than we dialed and we have seen different females going into the same hole? This is the first year we have had the problem (waspand other bees usually stop all play in late August and September, but never this early). We are still early im the summer so I am assuming after the Drione application we will effectively stop their life cycle and none will last into the fall. Is this correct? I am also actively stalking my whole house looking for. Activity, but haven’t seen any yet.
admin @ 11:47 am
@Carrie: On the Drione product page here:
http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/dust/drione-dust
There are two videos. The “safety” video covers all you need to know regarding the safe use, handling and storage of this product. The simple answer is it will not pose any kind of hazard once applied and the holes are sealed. And if you keep the kids and pets away during the application, any immediate risk will be avoided. But you should most definitely review the video to learn all you need to know before treating.
As for your second question; nests will most definitely host several queens. As explained in our Carpenter Bee Control article, the first female will lay 5-10 eggs and these offspring will try to utilize the nest from whence they were born. That means it’s quite typical to see multiple queens using any one hole.
Now once you treat with Drione, you should be able to get rid of all the activity. Eggs hatching in the future will die from the dusts residual along with any hatching pupae. But as our article explains, failure to treat the exposed playset with either Cypermethrin or NBS Repellent means you’ll most likely continue to get more bees coming around starting new nests so don’t forget this key part of the program.
Carpenter Bee Control Article: http://www.carpenterbees.com/carpenter-bee-control
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
NBS Insect Repellent: http://www.bugspraycart.com/exempt/additive/nbs-paint-additive-16-oz
Carrie @ 4:57 pm
Thanks. I have watched the videos several times and am just awaiting the products so I can get started. I will apply the NBS repellant (also thanks to you for having that into your article) when I restain everything this year (gotta get rid of the suckers before I restain). I must have misread the articles because I didn’t catch that there could be multiple queens in one hole (I thought they would bore a new hole). Anyway, my oldest has fun playing tennis with the bees and thanks to all your info, we have learned more than I ever wanted to know.
the kids and I examine both female and males (dead of course) and now,they go around the neighborhood telling everyone about the bees.