Pro Tips to Identify and Control Carpenter Bees at Your Home

You know them when you see them. Carpenter bees can often be intimidating to look at because they’re big, loud, and fuzzy.

Many people have written them off, thinking that since the male carpenter bees can’t sting you, there’s no harm to them. However, they can still be super aggressive when protecting their nests.

The bigger damage comes from what they’re doing to the wood on your home, deck, sheds; kids play places, etc. Not getting rid of them can be a detriment to your wood’s quality.

Here are several ways to get rid of carpenter bees once and for all.

1. Hire an Exterminator

The truth is that no matter what techniques you use on this list below, the fastest way to get rid of a carpenter bee infestation is to call in the professionals.

They have the experience and know-how to make sure your carpenter bee issue gets resolved within only a few short days. Plus, they know the tricks to bug extermination that you don’t.

For example, many people that face a water ant problem think that they should kill them with ant exterminator spray.

However, if you kill water ants, they’ll only come back stronger. Instead, you want to lay poisonous bait so that they bring it back to their nests.

These same types of tricks are used when ridding your home of carpenter bees. After one visit from a trusted pest service company, you may never see another carpenter ant for the rest of the season.

2. Use a Natural Citrus Spray

Like any other bug, carpenter bees have certain deterrents that you can use to repel them.

For carpenter bees, anything citrusy will keep them away. So what you want to do is make a citrus solution that you can spray on their nests.

First, start by cutting up citrus fruits such as grapefruits, oranges, limes, or lemons and boiling them in hot water on your stove.

Once that has had time to boil and cool, place it into a spray bottle and take it outside to be used. Look around and find any holes in your wood’s foundation, then spray the solution in and around it.

This method will not kill the bees of the nests that you spray. It will merely make them want to leave the area that you’ve sprayed. Carpenter bees hate citrus, so they may or may not decide to build another nest in your wood as a result.

3. Take Down the Front Lines

Carpenter bees work like most other bees in that the males are sent out for a majority of the work while the female stays inside the nest.

If you’ve noticed only a carpenter bee or two, then you might choose not to call in the exterminators just yet.

If so, then you’ll want to take down each carpenter bee one by one. Start by killing off the male bees you see roaming your house during the day. You can use a stinging insect spray or much more low-tech methods such as hitting them with a shoe or tennis racket.

Next, wait until the night time when the bees are most likely to be in their nest and fill all of the holes that you see with a foamy carpenter bee solution.

While that might seem intense to some of you, remember, the carpenter bees are doing more damage to your wood than what you can see.

It might not seem like a big deal based on the small hole in the outside, but the nest inside the wood takes up much more space. If they aren’t stopped, they can compromise the integrity of your wood.

4. Invest in a Carpenter Bee Trap

Once again, if you’re dealing with an infestation of carpenter bees, then you need to call in an expert.

However, if you don’t have a full-on infestation just yet, then you might consider trying a carpenter bee trap. You can find these at most home improvement stores or gardening stores.

Bee traps are non-invasive and allow you a solution without facing the bees yourself.

The traps are simply placed over the holes that you see in your wood. So before you go to the store to buy them, make sure to count the nests that you’re dealing with and purchase the amount that you find.

If it’s more than four nests, then call an exterminator. You’re going to need a lot more help than a few bee traps to prevent an infestation.

5. Playing Loud Music

Many bees are more hypersensitive to high frequencies than people realize. Because of that, they can be deterred by literally playing loud music by their nests.

This method is perfect for those of you that don’t want to harm the bees but want them to leave your home alone.

Simply place a speaker in the vicinity of the nests that you’ve seen and blast the loud music for a few days. You should notice that the bees start to move on as a result.

After that happens, be sure to fill in the holes so that they can’t come back after the music has stopped.

Get Rid of Carpenter Bees Once and for All

Now that you’ve seen several ways to get rid of carpenter bees, it’s time to act on your new knowledge! Knowing the resolutions for steering away insects is half the battle. If you don’t want to mess with them, be sure to contact an expert.

Be sure to read this article for more tips on warding of spring bugs around your house.

For more inquiries, please feel free to reach out via our contact us page and we’ll be happy to assist you further!