What Are The Signs Of Carpenter Bees?

So how can you tell if you have carpenter bees in or around your property? Carpenter bees look a lot like your average bumble bees. The difference is they have a shiny abdomen while bumble bees are completely covered in hair. Male carpenter bees have a yellow or white face, large eyes but are actually incapable of stringing. The female carpenter bees can sting, but will only do so if they feel threatened.

These small details can be hard to distinguish from a safe distance. A safe way to identify carpenter bees is to look for a few different signs of carpenter bees. Female carpenter bees will bore small holes in wood to set up a tunnel nest for her eggs. They normally choose old or unfinished wood to create their nests. Carpenter bees do not actually eat the wood like a termite, they discard bits of wood outside of their nest or they use it to build partitions within the nest. While the female bee is busy inside the nest, the male bee will stand guard swarming outside of the hole in the wood. The males are the ones that act aggressive even though they cannot actually sting. So, when it comes to carpenter bees what you will be looking for is:

• A small hole in wood that looks perfectly drilled
• Deposits of leftover wood outside of the hole
• One bee swarming outside of the hole in the wood

Carpenter bees are more of a solitary insect and do not have huge hives with thousands of bees. This makes them a little harder to spot, but easier to eliminate. Now that we have identified the signs of carpenter bees, you are probably wondering how to get rid of carpenter bees. Your best and safest option is to call a professional Pittsburgh exterminator. Though carpenter bees do not have a huge colony hive, the females can sting you and that can be dangerous. Pittsburgh exterminators will help identify your problem and set up a quick and easy solution. There are a few things that you can do around your house to stop carpenter bees before they create wood damage.

• You can make sure all wood in and around your home is stained and finished.
• You should treat any old holes in wood with a wood finisher.
• Remove rotten or old wood from your property.

These simple steps can help keep your home and property free from a carpenter bee infestation. If you think you may already have an infestation call a professional Pittsburgh exterminator to help you eliminate your carpenter bee problem.

Interesting fact: Many times the most significant wood damage in regards to carpenter bees actually comes from woodpeckers seeking the carpenter bee larvae.