Need Help? Call the Carpenter Bee Control help line at 1-800-877-7290
by admin
Can carpenter bees sting you?
They can. As explained in our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, the females have stingers but rarely use them. Males are the ones most people see and they will aggressively fly around people and pets. Ironically they don’t have stingers so they can’t hurt you anyway!
by admin
we have carpenter bees at our new barn and when we are outside the home the male tries to ward us off. we can’t find where they are at the main home.
is there anything we can do to kill them at the house?
thank you
As explained in our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, the male bees will be aggressive this time of year. Fortunately they don’t have stingers but still they are annoying. More importantly, they tend to aggregate where females are either nesting or expected to nest. Seeing them around the barn and home tells me if you don’t have nests yet, you will.
To stop this from happening, apply some of the MAXXTHOR EC we have featured in our article. It’s easy to apply and the bees don’t like it at all. They’ll avoid anywhere it’s been applied so go ahead and treat the barn and house. Focus on the sides with all the activity and be sure to treat the shrubs, overhangs and siding of the home. Maxxthor works on many pests and will effectively keep them off the home and out of the house.
Here are direct links to the information and products mentioned above:
Maxxthor: bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/liquid/maxxthor-ec
Eliminator Pump Sprayer: www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/sprayers/eliminator-gallon-sprayer
Give us a call if you still have questions.
Technical Support
1-800-877-7290
by admin
We always thought they were bumble bees, I wouldn’t want to kill bumble bees, but what purpose does the carpenter bees have. They have bored into everything on the outside of our house, under our railing on porches, under the carport. Even under our porch rockers, which are made of cedar, there are several holes that are almost all the way through. What can we do. Help!!!
Carpenter bees, like many other bee species, serve us and the environment by pollinating plants. They feed on pollen and while collecting their food they cross pollinate plants which in turn enables the plants to reproduce and propagate. However, the vast amount of carpenter bees (99%+) exist in the wild and not on our homes. This means the ones which invade our homes won’t be missed if we decide to kill them. In other words, you don’t have to worry about controlling the bees actively boring out and drilling holes in your home. Dust all the holes you see with the DEMISE DUST for quick control. Next, seal the treatment with the 1/2″ CORKS and the nest will be shut down. All the details are nicely explained in our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE and you should read through it prior to treating so you understand just what this bee is all about.
Lastly, spray the surface of any exposed wood with MAXXTHOR EC to repel and keep away new activity. Doing this every spring 1-2 will usually keep them away for good. But for the spray to work properly, you must first dust the nests with the Demise.
Here are direct links to all the information and products mentioned above:
Demise: bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/dust/drione-demise-dust-6-oz
Crusader Duster: bugspray.com/equipment/dusters/crusader
Corks: bugspray.com/equipment/equipment-plugs/cork-12
Maxxthor EC: bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/liquid/maxxthor-ec
Cheers,
Jonathan
Tech Support
770-985-9388
1-800-877-7290
PS: Are you signed up for our informative twice a month Pest Report Newsletter? More info here: bugspray.com/bugspray_pest_report.html
by admin
Hello,
For the past 2 days i have Carpenter bees entering my kitchen. we have checked the door way the window and plugged up any spaces and cracks we think they my be entering to get into my kitchen. I also went ahead and have pest control come by and look and they can’t explain how they are coming in. can you please help.
thank you
K.
This is a common problem experienced by many homeowners this time of year. As explained in our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, these bees drill out holes in which they live and raise their young. Most of the time these holes are visible on the outside of the home. But other times they bore behind siding (aluminum, vinyl, etc.) or up under an eave or cedar shake and their nests are not so easy to find or see. In the spring the adults and pupae will attempt to emerge as it warms and if their nest has been plugged or blocked, they’ll drill new holes to escape. Many times these new holes lead directly inside the home.
In cases where the home has been painted, trim work around a structure is sealed and when this work is done, entry/exit holes are sometimes sealed. In fact you yourself state in your message you have “plugged up any spaces and cracks” on the home. When this happens, the bees cannot use their normal routes of passage back outside to open air. To get around this, they’ll drill new exit pathways and sometimes this leads to them getting inside. This would be one of the scenarios that could be happening and ironically, you very well could have the problem worse. In other words, I suspect your effort could be forcing them inside even more then normal.
The second time we see this problem occur is if the original nest isn’t built just right it can sometimes force young bees to emerge in the wrong direction. Nests which have separate egg chambers will allow emerging young a free path when they choose to come out. But nests with a single tunnel will get “stacked” with eggs and adults. There can sometimes be 5-10 bees all in a row which effectively creates a traffic jam through which none can pass or exit. If the bee in the middle is a female and she can’t get out when her time to emerge arrives, she’ll drill a new hole to escape. Sometimes these holes end up leading inside the structure. And once that hole is created, other bees will use the same path over the course of the next season. This too is a very possible scenario and could be happening at your home.
The good news is they should all emerge in another week or two. And I strongly urge you to watch the outside of the home intensely now on forward and try to locate where they might be nesting. Finding them now will be easy if you allow emerging bees the freedom to roam and locate where they want to go. Once found, you can dust and spray as explained in our article to keep them off your home and avoid the same problem this time next year.
Here is a direct link to our article:
jonathan
by admin
For several years i have had carpenter bees in my mail box post. do the offspring come back to the same nest as their parents?
why are these insects SO aggressive? do they sting??
If you read our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL article, you’ll learn in the spring the males are seeking females and tend to be aggressive. Fortunately they don’t have stingers so you don’t have to worry. Our article also details just what you think; they do come back to reuse old nests. Whether it’s a smell they detect or just a great place to make a nest; once you have some nests on or around the building, it’s likely they’ll keep returning unless you treat the area.
I suggest you dust any nests you can find with some DEMISE. Spraying with MAXXTHOR EC will also keep them away if you don’t see any nests. And be sure to do a good inspection around the house so you aren’t missing any damage that might be happening where it could really matter. A slow walk around your property in the middle of the day should show any if they’re present so it won’t be hard to tell.
Here are direct links to the information and products mentioned above:
Demise: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/dust/drione-demise-dust-6-oz
Crusader Duster: bugspray.com/equipment/dusters/crusader
Maxxthor: bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/liquid/maxxthor-ec
Give us a call if you still have questions.
Technical Support
1-800-877-7290