Termites and carpenter ants can attack your house from the ground up, but did you know there’s an insect that can damage it from the air? Carpenter bees, commonly confused with bumble bees, are large, black bees that burrow into wood, causing aesthetic and, if untreated, potential structural damage.

So, how can you prevent wood bees, otherwise known as carpenter bees, from destroying your home? The first step is to understand how to identify carpenter bees.

Carpenter bees , also known as wood bees, are often confused with bumble bees because yellow or white hairs cover the thorax (the middle body section) of both insects. There are several noticeable differences, however.

Carpenter bees have no hair on the top of their abdomens (the third body section farthest from the head), while bumble bees do have hair on their abdomens. Also, carpenter bees are usually larger than bumble bees.

It’s easy to identify a carpenter bee infestation. Carpenter bees burrow holes about the size of your finger into wood, under which you may find brown and yellow stains from bee excrement that the insects have pushed out of their nests. The excrement is not only gross but will stain paint and siding, etch glass, and mar wood grain. Also under the holes you’ll find coarse sawdust.

You also know you have an infestation because you’ll see the large bees hovering around and crawling in and out of the holes. You might even hear the bees tunneling, too, if there are enough of them.

If you want to know how to protect wood from carpenter bees, the best way would be to prevent them from infesting your home in the first place.

How to Prevent Wood Bees

To prevent carpenter bees from digging into your eaves, framing, and lawn furniture, you’ll have to prepare the wood. Because carpenter bees prefer bare, unpainted, or weathered softwoods, especially cedar, pine, redwood, and cypress, the best way to prevent them is to build with and paint over pressure-treated wood. If the furniture or framing is already built, paint is your best option to keep away the pests.

Another way to prevent wood bees is to keep your garage and shed doors closed in the spring and early summer when the bees are looking for nesting sites. This will keep the bees from finding any interior wood.

If you have already found carpenter bee holes, you should plug the hole with wood putty, then paint or treat the wood with citrus oil or almond oil to prevent further carpenter bee damage.

If you are worried about an extensive wood bee infestation, then you will want some extra help to kill those pesky wood bees.

Get Rid of Carpenter Bees Fast!

Carpenter bee nests filling homes with holes and causing structural damage to wooden structures and wood surfaces is no small thing. As wood bees eat the wood in your home and drill holes in your structure, they are causing damage that can result in serious safety concerns. 

If you want to get rid of wood bees quickly, your best bet is to call a professional.

Keep Carpenter Bees Away With Yes! Pest

If you already have a carpenter bee infestation, the best thing to do is to contact your local pest control professional and then fill in the holes and paint over the wood. Carpenter bees reuse and enlarge their nests over time, so you’ll have to get rid of the holes to keep the bees away long-term.

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