Kworld Trend / How to get rid of carpenter bees home remedy

How to get rid of carpenter bees How to get rid of carpenter bees home remedy

This page is an expert guide to getting rid of a carpenter bee infestation using products and methods suggested by our experienced pest control professionals. Follow this guide and use the recommended products and we guarantee success in eliminating carpenter bees from your home.

Have you noticed holes in the wood on your property? Whether it’s in your fences or siding, the dug holes may be the work of supersized bees known as Carpenter Bees.

Unlike honey bees, Carpenter Bees are not aggressive so you don’t have to worry about them getting out of their way to sting you, but they are notorious for the damage they do to wood. Female Carpenter Bees will create holes in the wood and form galleries where they will create a nest to lay eggs.

If you fail to intervene, the problem will only get worse over the seasons because Carpenter Bees will return to those same holes and expand their galleries. In this guide, we’ll show you what you can do to get rid of carpenter bees and what natural remedies you can use to stop them from targeting your precious wood.

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Before you can implement a remedial approach, you need to make sure that the pest you are dealing with is actually  carpenter bees . Here are some notable traits and tendencies to help you properly identify carpenter bees on your property:

• Carpenter bees are similar to bumblebees in that they are larger than smaller honey bees. While bumblebees have more yellow on their abdomen, Carpenter Bees have a bright black coloration that dominates their abdomen in the back section.
• Male carpenter bees have a noticeable white mark on their head while females do not. Smaller digger bees usually nest on flower stems and scavenge pollen, while larger digger bees nest in the woods.
• Digger bees dig and chop wood to create a tunnel for their colony. Carpenter mites can damage and stain furniture, the baseboards of doors and windows, buildings, and fences.
• Carpenter bees prefer damp, moist areas for nesting outdoors and have a queen just like any other insect colony. Unlike male carpenter bees, female bees can sting when provoked.

Where to look

Carpenter bees are usually active in the spring between April and May and can be found around home eaves, porch rails and under roofs, looking for a place to dig a hole and establish a nest.

What are you looking for

The main thing to indicate where Carpenter Bees are active is the holes they have dug which are about 1/2 inch in diameter. If you were to unscrew and notice a damaged piece from the side, you might notice a sharp 90-degree turn after making the hole to create a gallery to lay eggs and bring nectar and pollen to the eggs.

Treatment

If you confirm that Carpenter Bees are harming your buildings, you will need to perform a treatment using professional products. Before performing chemotherapy, make sure you are prepared for the job with appropriate personal protective equipment (gloves, goggles, etc.). To protect yourself from bee stings, you can also wear a professional bee suit before applying.

We recommend using Fipro Foaming Aerosol to treat the holes and then seal the holes with wood putty.

Step 1: Treat with Fipro Foaming Aerosol

Fipro Foaming Aerosol contains the active ingredient Fipronil and is lethal to carpenter bees and the fact that it foams, helps ensure that it reaches deep into carpenter bee exhibits and kills any bees and eggs hiding within. Place the straw rod tip on the Fipro can and spray into the holes on the eaves, railing, and posts directly into the drilled holes.  

Step 2: Seal the holes with wood putty

Once the galleries have been tackled, use wood putty to seal the holes to prevent redeployment. There is a possibility that you could be stung by Carpenter Bees during your treatment, so we recommend that you take appropriate precautions to ensure the greatest safety.

protection

After your carpenter bee holes have been treated and sealed, you’ll want to make sure the carpenter bees don’t come back. Our top recommendation for keeping Carpenter Bees away is the Dominion 2L App. 

Dominion 2L is a concentrated insecticide designed to control various wood-destroying insects such as Carpenter Bees by creating a non-repellent barrier that pests won’t detect. Once the carpenter comes into contact with them, they die soon after. Best of all, Dominion 2L remains valid for up to 90 days after application.

Determine how much Dominion 2L you will need to mix by calculating the square footage of the treatment area (Length x Width = Area in square feet). Apply a 0.05% to 0.1% (0.3 to 0.6 fluid ounce) solution in a gallon of water to treat 1,000 square feet. To mix, fill a hand pump sprayer halfway with water, add the appropriate amount of Dominion 2L based on your calculations, then fill the remaining half with water and agitate the sprayer to ensure the product is well mixed.

Spray the wood with Dominion 2L mix until wet and spray it in or around the holes they made. Repeat the application during the active season for carpenter bees between spring and early summer.

How to get rid of carpenter bees naturally

If you wish not to use chemicals to prevent Carpenter Bee, we have some natural preventive options you can use below:

Spray citrus scent on carpenter bees

Use any kind of citrus fruit. Such as orange, lemon, grapefruit and lime. Squeeze the juice or use the peel of the fruit and place it in a bowl of water. Leave it to boil for a while. Pour the citrus solution into a spray bottle and spray the citrus scent all over. The refreshing scent of citrus leaves an ethereal scent for the home while chasing bees away. The insect cannot stand the smell of citrus.

Bee lubrication

Some oils have the property of repelling carpenter bees and keeping them at bay. Mix some lavender oil, tea tree oil, jojoba oil, and citronella oil in a bowl. Pour the oil mixture into a spray bottle and spray the entire area with this essential oil mixture. The essential oil freshens the house and keeps carpenter bees away from the house. The organic spray does no harm to others and acts as a carpenter mite repellent.

Use almond oil or its essence to repel scale mites from your home. It contains benzaldehyde, which acts as a pimple repellent. Pour it into the holes to deter caterpillars and bees. The oil works for 3 to 4 months.

If only tea tree oil is used. Put 1 tablespoon of tea tree oil in 8 ounces of water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and place it in the tunnels to get rid of the bees.

Put 20 to 30 drops of natural eucalyptus oil in 1 ounce of water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and shake well. Spray it in all tunnels and wood surfaces where bees can be found. The mixture acts as a natural repellent. The scent of eucalyptus makes bees flee from the tunnels.

Fermentation of garlic, oil and vinegar

Add a few cloves of garlic in a pot or pan of cooking oil for a few days. Then add some white vinegar in the bowl. Make sure white vinegar is more acidic in nature. Spray the solution around the tunnels and check them regularly. If you still spot a few carpenter bees, keep applying until all the carpenter bees have been expelled.

Put garlic powder directly into the holes of carpenter bees to eliminate the insects. Using garlic powder is more effective. How to get rid of carpenter bees home remedy

Use of borates and wood preservatives

If the area is uncoated or patchy, consider applying a long-term solution of carpenter bee products, with  Borakere . Boracare applied directly to the wood acts as a repellent and makes the wood indigestible to bees and other wood-destroying insects.

Mix a potion to make the bees disappear

Add 1 tablespoon of pure (99%) rubbing alcohol, 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, 5 to 6 drops of lavender essential oil and 6 drops of tea tree oil into a spray bottle. Close the lid and shake well. Each of the ingredients will work in different ways as the oils act as repellents and keep carpenter bees away while the rubbing alcohol and apple cider vinegar kill the bugs. Spray the solution into the hole directly onto the bees. This will help drive them out of your home.

Close the tunnels with woven wire

Spray some vinegar on a block of steel wire and soak it well enough. Seal the nest opening with steel wool. The vinegar will act as a deterrent, and the steel wool will block the tunnel and make it difficult to get through. This strategy prevents carpenter bees from invading and returning to the nest in the same tunnel. Put on gloves before doing your job and use scissors to cut the steel wool according to the size of the hole. Carpenter carpenters will not be able to chew through the steel wire and thus keep them from invading the tunnels.

Other alternative methods

Some other tricks to keep carpenter bees out of your way are as follows:  

• Polish or paint the walls and all wood surfaces in the house. It prevents the carpenter from chewing wood.
• Swat Bee Woodworking with Badminton Racket. Squash the fly immediately after it turns into an adult carpenter bee. This ancient technique works when you see them buzzing around your house you can take good aim and hit it.
• Use an appropriately sized vacuum nozzle that fits over the tunnel opening. Vacuum inside the hole to suck the bees out from inside the tunnels and eliminate the carpenter bee colony. Use this approach during the early stages of nesting and in the evening when all the bees are in the tunnels. It is the most effective way to get rid of carpenter bees.

main sockets

• Carpenter bees are a type of bee known for digging holes and damaging wood in siding, patio decks and other woody areas of a property or structure.
• Using a mixture of Fipro Aerosol spray to inject into the holes and then sealing them with wood putty is what we recommend to end the carpenter bee infestation.
• Prevent carpenter bees from coming back with natural home remedies such as using essential oils, using a wood preservative, or other non-chemical options to keep carpenter bees away. How to get rid of carpenter bees home remedy

Fall preparations to deter carpenter bees

• Seal any pre-existing wood holes or holes in the wood . Each spring when female carpenter bees begin their search for new homes, they look for flaws in the wood as ideal places to start nests. In the fall, use wood putty or  hand-soaked wood cork , specially formulated for carpenter bee holes, to cover nest holes and cracks so that your home is less attractive to these pests in the spring.
• Repair damage caused by old carpenter bee nests . Fall is the best time to treat carpenter bee damage. Mating season is over, and there are fewer bees to contend with. For easy preparation, we recommend the  Total Bee-Fense Kit . Includes a wooden cork to cover pre-existing holes and a Bee-Destroyer Stake to remove any debris in the nest tunnels. The kit can also be used in the spring, and the citrus spray will help protect outdoor woody areas that aren’t ideal for nesting (such as wood patio furniture).  

For easy preparation, we recommend the  Total Bee-Fense Kit . It includes wooden corks to cover pre-existing holes and a Bee-Destroyer Stake, to remove any larvae that hibernate in the nest tunnels. The kit can also be used in the spring and the citrus spray will help protect outdoor woody areas that are not ideal for nesting (such as wood patio furniture).

Spring Setting – Catch Carpenter Bees Without Chemicals!

• Hang carpenter bee traps every spring! Even if you don’t have active carpenter bee nests,  Best Bee Brothers carpenter bee traps  are a great deterrent. The traps will attract any carpenter bees that explore the area before they have a chance to nest. This is the best way to use a carpenter bee trap. Each trap has an action radius of 15 feet, so plan accordingly! Check out  our carpenter bee traps  and removal products  here !
• Now more sustainable than ever,  our carpenter bee traps are made from recycled ocean plastic  to make your natural approach to carpenter bee removal greener. To learn more about the pairing between  Oceanworks  and our  contract manufacturing partner , head over to Recycled Ocean Plastic. Read about how Best Bee Brothers uses  recycled plastic in surfaces and packaging .

Summer preparation for carpenter bee prevention

Even though the initial nesting season is over, you can still prevent future carpenter bee occupancy during the remaining summer months. The key to controlling carpenter bees is to treat any existing carpenter bee nests. Although mating season is generally over in northern states, carpenter bees continue to build nests and produce young throughout the summer. Any nest you see, old or new, should be addressed immediately. To successfully treat a carpenter bee nest, you must force the bees out and kill the larvae. How to get rid of carpenter bees home remedy

While we prefer not to use any type of pesticide to treat the nests of digger bees, you can use a natural mineral called diatomaceous earth. Digger bees, like any insect with an exoskeleton, will die when exposed to DE. However, Diatomaceous earth takes its name from the fossilized aquatic organisms that make it up, called diatoms. This silica-containing mineral, when used for pest control, comes in a powder form.

When the sharp edges of the fine particles come into contact with the insect’s exoskeleton, DE absorbs oils and fats from their bodies, drying them out and killing them .However, due to its silica content, the dust should be applied carefully and with appropriate personal protective equipment, including gloves, goggles, and a respirator to avoid inhalation. While DE is not toxic to humans, it is very dangerous when inhaled, and should not be used anywhere it may be encountered by pets or people, or where it can be released into the environment. Follow manufacturers instructions carefully when applying DE.  How to get rid of carpenter bees home remedy