Most folks who first encounter Carpenter Bees think that they are Bumblebees. Nothing is further from the truth. Bumblebees look very similar to a Carpenter Bee but that is where the similarity ends. Bumblebees are a social type insect, build their nests underground, and spend most of their lives gathering pollen for the community and returning it to the nest. They are predominately black and yellow. They usually prefer not to interact with us.

    Carpenter bees are definitely not social bees. They construct their nests in frame buildings or trees. Their abdomen is shiny and black in color and not covered in white and or yellow hair as is the Bumblebee. Carpenter bees will usually hover around the eaves of framed buildings (male bee) or be drilling into the eaves themselves (female bee).

     Only the female bee has a stinger. The male, even though it is more aggressive can not sting. Only the female can sting but usually won’t do so unless provoked. Her primary concern is drilling a hole in your home or outbuilding for the purpose of constructing her nest. The males will often approach us and may hover or do a diving run to panic us to leave the area. Waving to drive them off often provokes them even more. The easiest way to discover which sex you are dealing with is to observe their head. The males will have a white or yellow spot on their head while the female’s head is totally black.

     Carpenter bees can and will cause considerable damage to a building especially over time. You can easily tell if a drilled hole is active as they will defecate on the wall or directly below the hole leaving a white to yellowish stain. These bees do not consume the wood. The drilling is purely to establish a nest.

     It has been my as well as my customer’s experience that nothing short of these traps can really can protect you from these pests. I have observed them drill right through paint and stain. I have even had a particularly dumb one begin to drill in the trap until they saw the hole already made for them.  There is an additive that can be added to stain that may help temporarily but eventually the hole drillers return. They will even drill in treated wood. Nothing but metal, plastic, or vinyl seems to coral them. I have even had them drill into the wood of an open skylight that was at least 25’ off the ground.

     The larvae in the nest are sustained by a combination of pollen and regurgitated nectar left behind by the previous adults. Later in the summer they emerge from the nest and begin feeding. They will usually winter in their nest and emerge next Spring to start the process once again.