May flowers are enjoyed by everyone. By this time it means Mother’s Day is here and most likely so are those dreadful Carpenter Bees.  Most people are unaware of exactly what a Carpenter Bee is. Often disregarded for a Bumble Bee, which is a harmless beneficial bee. Carpenter Bees, although do perform some form of pollination at the same time are a severe nuisance and considered to be a wood destroying insect.

Carpenter Bees will search out wooden areas of your home, usually up high near the roof. They will attack gutter boards and fascia boards drilling a perfectly round hole the size of a dime.  They enter these holes and then channel out the wood horizontally creating nesting chambers up to eighteen inches deep. They lay their eggs in these chambers for young to emerge the following season.

Although these bees are not known to sting, they are very intimidating and bothersome. The males which hover over nest entrance holes to protect the females can be very aggressive in warding even large humans off. Although they don’t possess a stinger they attack aggressively and bite their prey. The females which spend most of their time inside the nest do have stingers but are not known for their aggression.

These bees become very bothersome when they drill around homes and decks, especially children’s swing sets. Ignoring these bees will easily cause their populations to grow and make effective treatment that much more difficult.  All County Pest Control recommends a perimeter treatment consisting of inspecting for nesting sites, injection of nesting holes and perimeter preventative spraying.  These bees are seasonal and most active this time of year and definitely needs to be addressed at this time.

Left untreated the population will increase, and eventually wood peckers will find these nesting sites and tear apart these wooden areas of your home trying to eat the bees.  This results in severe unsightly damage to your home. Call All County Pest Control now, and start the protection of your home.