![]() The good news is that most of the time, carpenter bees are just a nuisance and rarely cause severe damage. “The males are territorial and may divebomb you, too, if you get too near a nesting site,” says Raupp. Meanwhile, the male carpenter bees like to show off, guarding the nesting site and battling it out with other males, swooping and grappling, with both bees falling to the earth before one gives up and takes off. She will create a series of brood cells where she’ll eventually lay eggs, and each tunnel takes more than a month to build, says Raupp. She drills into wood about a half-inch, then makes a turn and keeps tunneling parallel to the grain of the wood. After a female mates, she starts building a home by excavating a hole with her incredibly strong mandibles. Why do carpenter bees drill holes in my house?Īdult carpenter bees emerge in the spring, looking for love. “Females have stingers but it’s highly unlikely she will sting you unless you grab her and squeeze her,” says Raupp. They’re not drilling into your house.”Īhead, here’s what else you need to know about carpenter bees and what you can do to get rid of them! Can carpenter bees sting? “Bumble bees have a fuzzy rear and nest in the ground. “An easy way to tell the difference between carpenter bees and bumble bees is that carpenters have a bald abdomen, or a ‘shiny hiney’,” says Becky Griffin, pollinator health associate with the University of Georgia’s Great Southeast Pollinator Census. A carpenter bee is about ¾ to 1-inch long and nest in excavated tunnels in wood. She’s just doing what comes naturally to her.”Ĭarpenter bees sometimes are mistaken for bumble bees, which have a similar appearance. “She’s not at all interested in you when you’re in the garden. “The females are just a solitary mom taking care of her own babies,” says Mike Raupp, PhD, professor emeritus of entomology and extension specialist, at the University of Maryland. They’re native pollinators that are not aggressive. Another telltale sign is a trace of coarse sawdust on the surface beneath the hole.Ĭarpenter bees ( Xylocopa virginica) actually are amazing creatures. But it’s tough to be patient once carpenter bees enter start boring holes in the side of your house! If you’ve ever seen a perfectly round ½-inch hole in your deck, outdoor furniture, mailbox post, the kids’ playset, or even the cedar siding on your house, you may have carpenter bees. You love your garden, and you want to support pollinators (like butterflies and hummingbirds). ![]()
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