How to get rid of carpenter bees?

[Anonymous]

We have carpenter bees hovering around our fence-enclosed back deck. At first I thought they were bumblebees, but I was wrong. My two-year-old son loves to play on the back deck with his trucks so I am not sure what we should do about the bees. Apparently, they are not aggressive, but they will sting. And our hopes of eating outdoors are diminishing as well. Any advice?

[Anonymous]

You need to call an extirmanator and have the area treated. We had them in the portico above our front door and they caused a lot of damage.

[Anonymous]

We have some every year and have never got stung, but they are scary looking things. The most important thing to do is go out and find any holes that they have dug in wood (the fence) and fill the hole in (I think my husband uses a caulking gun with some wood filler in it). This will cut down on the numbers (you still get a few stragglers, but not as many).

[Anonymous]

They really won't hurt you at all. They're huge, but don't worry about them. If they have a nest at your house though, deal with it. They only bore through unpainted wood and can do lots of damage if it's in your house, but otherwise, really, don't stress. they're ok.

[Anonymous]

We have what appear to be big bumblebees: they bored a hole in our fence. I hate to kill them, since bumblebees do good things, but don't want the kids to get stung. Is there a way to evict these bees and discourage them from returning???

[Anonymous]

if they are boring holes in fences they are carpenter bees not bumbles. You have to plug the holes with wood caulk which traps the nests inside - they won't bore out.

[Anonymous]

I have them too. They can damage your house. Try to figure out where the holes are (deck wood?). If it's not in the house, it's not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

They are extremely unlikely to sting, but they are VERY destructive and can be almost as bad as termites if you let it go on too long. They ate a lot of our deck and then started on the wood trim on our home.

I would get an exterminator to come and treat and plug up all the visible nests. Then I would get all of your untreated wood (like the deck) powerwashed and properly sealed. Any exterior wood trim on your home that hasn't been painted in many years is also vulnerable, so if you see them starting to bore into that, you need to repaint it. They don't bore into finished or painted wood so really the only way to keep them away is to make all of your wood unappealing to them for nesting.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone for your advice. I do feel the need to do something. Besides their destruction capabilities, it is very intimidating to go about one's business with huge carpenter bees hovering inches away. Thank you!!

[Anonymous]

They also attract woodpeckers. Between the carpenter bees and woodie it looks like Godzilla took a few chomps out of the deck.