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With the recent warmer temperatures we seen significantly more activity by carpenter bees. The initial activity you're seeing is primarily by the males who are busy buzzing about waiting for the lady bee of their dreams to make her appearance. The males can be territorial and may harass people sitting on wooden park benches, porches or near other areas where the bees were active last year. You can spot the males quite literally because they have a white spot in the middle of their "foreheads". This spot is actually quite noticeable if you stare at a bee as it darts about. Over the next few weeks, people are likely to see new holes being bored along with some old galleries being cleaned out. The key sign of activity (other than the bees themselves) is the coarse sawdust-like debris found on nearby surfaces, along with some splatterings of carpenter bee poop on siding or other wood surfaces. Damage by the bees is mostly aesthetic. However, repeated activity in the same vicinity can result in more significant damage over the years. There is also the problem of more serious secondary damage from woodpeckers hunting for the bee grubs.
Unfortunately, there is nothing new to report on the control front. Pesticides applied to exposed wooden surface MAY provide some contact control or repellency, but my expectation is that this is very short-lived in its effectiveness. Again, the major problem is twofold: a) having a chemical residue that remains effective throughout the entire period of bee activity, and b) being able to apply any pesticide to all of the surfaces that need protection, particularly overhead on soffit and fascia boards. People need to be extremely careful about spraying over overhead areas since chemical will drift back down onto them and onto nearby objects. They need to remove or cover children's toys, barbecue grills, etc. before spraying areas where pesticide drift is likely. The pyrethroid insecticides such as permethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, bifenthrin and cyfluthrin which are among the active ingredients in the products made by Spectracide, Ortho and Bayer Advanced, are the chemicals most frequently applied in these situations.
Other than swatting the bees, your next best option is to apply a pesticide into active galleries. Dust insecticides, such as Sevin Dust (or permethrin dust) can be quite effective. Wait about 24 hours before sealing up the holes to make sure you get bees entering the treated openings. This is likely not done by many people since it means a second trip up the ladder on successive days. You can wait longer, but it's a good idea to seal the holes to keep out moisture. A small wad of aluminum foil stuffed into the hole and sealed with putty is usually a good deterrent to the bees. Another option is ignoring them and they'll eventually leave.
An Insect Note on carpenter bees is located on the Web at: http://insects.ncsu.edu/Urban/carpenterbees.htm.
Employment and program opportunities are offered to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.
Last modified on April 18, 2005 by Stephen J. Toth, Jr.