Are you confused about the many types of bees that visit your lawn and garden, or maybe even concerned that some might be nesting in your home?Sure, they all buzz around and collect pollen.But many species look alike
06.06.2023 - 18:31 / gardenerspath.com / Lorna Kring
How to Stop Carpenter Bees from Attacking Your Home XylocopaAh, springtime!
Don’t you just love the glorious profusion of new life as gardens and landscapes wake up from their long sleep? The days get longer, flowers and trees blossom, and birds, butterflies, and cute critters return from their winter respite.
And, oh yes… so do the pests.
Pests like carpenter bees. With their giveaway, dime-sized holes that they chew in your wooden structures to build nests.
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Now, it’s hard to get mad at these little insects, because they’re important pollinators. They’re docile as can be, and rarely sting, doing so only when forced to. In fact, the males don’t even have stingers – although they put on a good show of buzzing intruders.
But they do like to nest in dead wood. And structural components like beams, eaves, posts, and siding are all fair game.
To be fair, they don’t actually eat the wood and won’t devour a building like carpenter ants or termites do. And damage is usually minor and cosmetic in nature. But if left unchecked, over time the damage can worsen and lead to more serious problems such as decay, moisture retention, and rot.
So, if you think carpenter bees have set up shop in your shop, please read on.
We have everything you need to identify a possible infestation and how to be rid of it – naturally if possible, but we dish on chemical warfare too!
Identification and BiologyCarpenter, or borer bees, are in the genus Xylocopa of the Apidae family, with hundreds of species in several subgenera found around the world.
They’re aptly named for their nesting behavior of burrowing into dead wood to establish tunnels in order
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