signs of carpenter bee infestation

Signs of carpenter bee infestation

How do you know you have a carpenter bee infestation? Bet that sound like a dumb question. They’ll be buzzing around the property, won’t they? Not quite. Most people cannot tell the difference between Bumblebees and carpenter bees. They both look very similar but they are incredibly different. For instance, bumblebees have no interest in your house. They are not going to be buzzing around your roofline or anything like that. They make their nests in the ground and they are constantly looking for nectar so you will only ever see them buzzing around flowers. Carpenter bees on the other hand are a very different species.

If you suspect a carpenter bee infestation anywhere near or on your property, contact carpenter bee removal Burlington for quick and safe removal.

Identify early Signs of Carpenter Bee Infestation

If you see bees hanging out by soffits, vents, or the roofline near the eaves then there is a very good chance you have carpenter bees. It can be hard to tell from far away but if you get up close to one you will see that it is not stripped. It is black and shiny and has a fussy yellow thorax that helps them fool people and animals into thinking they are bumblebees. These bees don’t care about your garden nearly as much, they want your wood, your deck, your roofline, your weep vents, and your gazebo. They want it all and they want it now. The female bees are the ones that burrow into the wood to make tunnels, they create almost perfectly circular holes and slightly larger than the female bee itself. They tend to bore straight up and then at an angle that follows or goes directly against the grain. You may even find a whole pathway of holes that lead to a miasma of tunnels and rooms. 

You can also hear these insects if you are on the other side of a wall they are drilling through, it can be very frightening knowing they are getting closer and closer to the inside of the house. When they start burrowing into the wood of the house they will make tiny holes, these holes are also a very good sign that you have a serious infestation. These holes will also have piles of sawdust beneath them that will tell you the bees are tunnelling deeper into the house. This can be combined with bee feces and bee parts and stick to the surface under the hole. Just like carpenter and frass.

The most dangerous way you can find out you have carpenter bees is when wood gives way. It’s also the most dangerous. If you step onto your porch and your foot goes through the board then you can be assured that something is eating your deck wood. And you better act fast cause the infestation is going to quickly take out the rest of you home, sooner than you think.