Pest control is a huge concern to everyone, especially when faced with carpenter bees known for degrading the wood structures of your home. These bees look a lot like bumblebees and are often mistaken for one another. However, you can distinguish them by the yellow marks on their abdomen. As your trusted Port orange pest control company, we will share all you need to know about carpenter bee.
What are Carpenter Bees?
As said earlier, Carpenter bees look like bumblebees, but they have sleek and shiny abdomen with yellow hairs on it. Their entire hairless body is also black-colored, having an antenna, six legs, and usually ranges from 1.4 to one-inch in length. Carpenter bees chew into the wood, building “galleries,” which serves as their nests for storing eggs, and food supplies. These galleries will also serve as refugees during the winter.
Carpenter bees prefer old, soft, or untreated woods because they are easier to bore into. They might attack anywhere they find wood that is typically thinner such as doors, eaves, railings, and shingles. Nevertheless, they can make their galleries up to 6 inches deep, and you can distinguish these holes by the small heaps of sawdust around the region. If these bees find that their nests are safe and untouched, they will return in the future to stay in it, or even spread it up to about ten feet long.
Difference between Carpenter bees, termites and bees
Unlike termites, Carpenter bees only eat wood to create nests. They preferably eat nectar like the bumblebees and are crucial to pollination. During mating season, they can lay eggs and divide them into six to eight chambers in their nest galleries. Usually, they will add food to the chambers in the nests before laying the eggs on top. These food supplies are made of regurgitated nectar and pollen and popularly called “bee bread.” Finally, they seal off the chambers with wood pulp (made from chewing wood) to provide protection to the egg and kickstart the process of hatching into larva and finally adults. The transition process takes up to 36 days.
Carpenter bees do not also sting like regular bees. Their males do not have those attributes, but their females may sting if threatened. Therefore, you have nothing to worry about if they hover around you when you are trying to identify them. However, never try to place your fingers into their nests as they can sting in such events.
How To Prevent And Rid Yourself of Carpenter Bees
Carpenter bees’ infestations are a huge concern, so finding the right pest control solutions early on to deal with them is crucial. Usually, they prefer plain, bare wood. Using particular solutions to protect the wood is recommended. We recommend painting, sealing, or adding varnish to your doors, railings, and eaves. Ensure that all cracks, gaps in the wood, or anywhere outside your home are sealed or caulked. During springtime, Carpenter bees are usually active and may find their way into homes. To avert this situation, we recommend keeping your doors and all openings shut during Spring.
Beyond using simple preventive measures, make sure you watch for signs of infestations such as the presence of holes or hovering bees. Usually, these holes are round, smooth, and between 2 to 10 inches long. Ensure you inspect the perimeter of your home regularly to detect infestations as early as possible and avert damage to your property.
Be aware that Carpenter bees may also occasionally attack stained or painted wood. Therefore, regular inspection is essential. If you find signs of infestations, you can always reach back out to us so we can spray insecticides into the holes. After we treat, you could always seal off the holes using wood putty or wooden dowels.
This process needs careful and expert handlings of those dangerous chemicals. That’s why you need to call a licensed pest control company for proper extermination. At Imperial Pest Prevention, we have the knowledge and resources to inspect your property for carpenter bee infestation and find the right pest control method to deal with them. As one of the best pest control port orange companies, we can take care of your carpenter bee problems and help you identify ways to prevent them from reoccurring in the future. Still, looking to get rid of carpenter bees? Reach out to us for any of your pest control needs.