Have you noticed any holes in the wooden parts of your home? There are a variety of reasons for this, but if you notice your furniture is now made from dead wood – AND it also has holes, it may be because of carpenter bees. But carpenter bees are pretty cute, so what harm can they REALLY cause?
Carpenter Bees:
In order to assess whether or not carpenter bees are causing damage to your household, you need to identify the bug itself. Carpenter bees look like bumblebees, but with a more-defined black color. They are also more shiny in texture and are skinnier in shape and size. However, unlike bumblebees, who nest on the ground, they can cause harm to wooden structures, especially to the unrefined woods of your house. The female carpenter bees also have stingers that can hurt you or your family.
Why Wood?
A common misconception about these bees, is that they eat wood as their main source of nutrients. However, this is a myth, because they are more interested in the other insects or larvae that are already living inside of the wood. In other words, they dig wood in search for food. Another reason that they do this is to provide the female carpenter bee a nest in to lay her eggs, because she can do so inside of the wood. The holes they bore can reach up to 18 inches deep.
What can you do?
There are a lot of things that you can do to remove these pests from inside of your house. First, you can kill them by swatting or using an electric swatter. This can be labor intensive, but can be an extremely useful preventive measure. If the situation has escalated, you can offer an alternative wood that they can swarm to, far away from your home. Finally, you can contact an expert to get rid of them in your household. However, killing them may be a last resort, since they are effective pollinators.
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