Carpenter Bees-Friend or Foe?

Carpenter Bees-Friend or Foe?

Although they are big and fearsome looking, carpenter bees don’t sting people (as with other Native bees, the males can’t and the females don’t). But they are great pollinators who will double the amount of food and flowers in your gardens. AND they rarely—if ever—cause any real damage to wood. The bees are just starting to build this year’s nests in preparation for mating. If you act quickly, you may be able to ‘move’ them without killing any wonderful buzzers-to-be. Wait till they’re all out looking for flowers on the next warm sunny day, and quickly plug up their holes with steel wool or metal screening stapled overtop. You could also spray or brush some almond oil around the area—Cornell researchers found that it repels carpenter bees. Just don’t spray the bees! (You can find almond oil in bulk anywhere massage therapists buy their supplies.) Then drill some ‘starter holes’—same size as the bees make—into big unfinished blocks of cedar, pine or other soft wood and hang them in a protected area facing South or East near the deck for the bees to use instead. Long term, you’ll need to paint, varnish or replace (with metal or fiberglass) unfinished softwoods like cedar and redwood on the outside of your home. Yes, I know you used those woods because you thought you wouldn’t have to do those things, but they are very attractive to wood-boring bees. Again, these big buzzing puppies are beneficial in the garden, don’t sting, and don’t cause structural harm. Honest. Reference books note that homeowners almost always overreact to the non-threat they pose. So take a chill pill and enjoy the extra flowers.