How to Get Rid of Carpenter Bees Fast (14 methods)

Introduction

Do you have carpenter bees, and/or do you want to get rid of carpenter bees? If so, you’re not alone. Carpenter bees are a common pest in the United States.

Although they are useful pollinators, they can be a real nuisance, and they can also do damage to your home or property. This article will discuss carpenter bee removal methods and strategies to keep them away.

We’ll provide you with a comprehensive guide on how to get rid of carpenter bee infestation.

What are carpenter bees, and what do they look like

Carpenter bees are important pollinators in the United States, but they can be a real nuisance if they make their way into your home or onto your property.

These bees are attracted to bare, unpainted, or weathered wood, so they can often be found around homes and other buildings.

Carpenter bees are large bees that are black and yellow in color. They look similar to bumblebees, but carpenter bees have a bare, shiny abdomen.

Only females have a stinger, but they are not aggressive and will only sting if they feel threatened. The males are more aggressive, but it is all bark and no bite as they do not have a stinger.

Carpenter bee damage they can do to your home or property

Carpenter bees are wood bees and get their name from the fact that they build their nests by tunnelling into wood and lay eggs. This tunnelling can cause damage to your home or any untreated wood. One tunnel is unlikely to cause any issues, but multiple tunnels can cause structural damage to your home or damage wooden structures.

If you have a carpenter bee nest, you may notice small holes in wood surfaces or sawdust around the area where they are nesting.

In addition to the physical damage they can do, carpenter bees can also be a nuisance. You might be able to hear them burrowing into the wooden structure of your home. Window sills often make attractive targets, and they can be quite active around their nests.

One entrance tunnel can lead to a nest that contains multiple carpenter bees – possibly as many as five or six female bees and their associated male.

Woodpeckers are attracted to carpenter bee infestations, and they can cause further damage to your home or property as they try to get to the bees and the bee larvae. What started as a few neat round holes can quickly become a mess of large, ragged holes.

Carpenter bee prevention methods

Prevention is always the best method for dealing with carpenter bee nests. Here are some tips and home remedies to deter carpenter bees from nesting on or around your property

Seal up any pre-existing holes or divots in your wood

In the fall, use wood putty, caulking compound, plugs or cork to seal off carpenter bee holes that are no longer being used. You can use steel wool with wood putty to make it even more resilient.

This will prevent the female carpenter bee from using these existing nesting sites and make it more difficult for them to create new ones.

Varnish or paint any exposed, repaired or unfinished wood

Carpenter bees will favour older, softer woods that are bare or weathered.

If you varnish or paint exposed or unfinished wood (including wood you’ve just repaired), this will make it less attractive to carpenter bees and make it more difficult for them to create new nesting sites.

Wind chimes

Carpenter bees dislike noise, and some claim that adding wind chimes near their nesting sites will discourage them from nesting and/or encourage them to leave.

We can’t say for sure whether this is true, but it’s worth a try!

Carpenter bee removal methods (without killing them)

As we’ve said, carpenter bees are important pollinators, so you may not want to kill them. If this is the case, there are some non-fatal ways to get rid of carpenter bees

Carpenter bee traps

Carpenter bee traps are devices designed to lure carpenter bees in and prevent them from getting out.

You can buy carpenter bee traps, or you can make your own from a wooden box.

There are a few different designs, but they all work on the same principle: carpenter bees enter the trap through a small hole or opening, and then they get stuck.

You can make the bee traps even more enticing with some non-toxic bee trap lure.

Once they’re trapped, you can release them far away from your home or property. You should do this quickly as they will dehydrate and die.

Citrus spray

Carpenter bees hate the smell of citrus. You can purchase citrus spray, but it is simple to make: you simply boil citrus peels for several hours and, once cool, pour the liquid into a spray bottle. Spray this around carpenter bee nesting sites and/or anywhere else you see them.

Essential Oils

Almond oil, peppermint, tea tree and lemon will repel carpenter bees. You can dilute almond oil with water and spray it around the carpenter bee nest entrance hole.

Play loud music

Carpenter bees dislike loud noise and we mentioned wind chimes under the prevention. If they are actively nesting, you might need to step it up a notch and play loud music near their nesting sites.

This won’t kill them, but it will encourage them to leave. You should speak to your neighbours first, though.

Carpenter bee removal methods (killing them)

Ok, so here we are. If you’ve tried the carpenter bee removal methods above and they haven’t worked, or if you simply don’t want them around your property, or you have a carpenter bee infestation, you want to know what kills carpenter bees.

There are a few different ways to do this, and the first couple are targetted methods, which are preferable to indiscriminate methods.

Vacuum carpenter bees away

If carpenter bees are nesting in an area that’s accessible, you can vacuum them away.

If you have a proper bee vacuum or a reduced suction wet/dry vac powerhead, this will not kill them. If you use your normal, powerful vacuum cleaner, it probably will.

Either way, once you have them in the vacuum, make sure to release them far away from your home or property

Hit them with rackets

If you see them flying about, you can try to hit them with a tennis racket or bug zapper racket. This will probably kill them, but if they’re simply dazed, you can euthanize them quickly by stepping on them. Only the female carpenter bees have stingers, but the male carpenter bees are likely to have been bothering you, making easier targets.

Diatomaceous Earth 

Diatomaceous earth is a fine, powdery substance made from the fossilised remains of algae. Chicken keepers most often use it to kill mites as it is abrasive and works by puncturing the exoskeletons of insects, causing them to dehydrate and die. Sprinkling this into carpenter bee holes will have the same effect.

Vinegar

Vinegar will repel the adults from the active carpenter bee nests, and it will kill the larvae and eggs inside. Spray the vinegar directly into the carpenter bee holes.

Insecticide spray

Can be sprayed into carpenter bee nesting sites or where carpenter bees are active. Do not spray this around indiscriminately, as it will kill other bees such as honey bees, bumblebees and other insects that are beneficial to your garden. You can use Pyrethrin/Pyrethrum/Permethrin Spray, Cyzmic CS, Demon WP, and FenvaStar EcoCap.

Although often marked as non-toxic to humans, it is still best to wear protective clothing when dealing with pesticides.

Insecticidal dust

Putting insecticidal dust like Sevin and DeltaDust in deep burrows kills current bees and carpenter bee larvae. It will also prevent any carpenter bees from nesting in those areas in the future.

WD40 / Aerosol carburetor cleaner

WD40 or Carburettor cleaner will each kill carpenter bees on contact. Use one or the other product separately, do not mix them.

This is not a method we particularly advocate as they are flammable oils, and carpenter bees often nest around the eaves of houses.

But, if you must use one of them, apply it in a well-ventilated area, do not smoke while using it and bear in mind that the wood you’ve treated with will now have an accelerant on it.

Conclusion

We hope this carpenter bee guide has been helpful. Remember, carpenter bees are a valuable part of our ecosystem, and the issues they cause are more of a nuisance than anything else. By following the carpenter bee deterrent and removal methods above, you should be able to prevent carpenter bee infestations, or if they’re already here, to get rid of them quickly and easily.

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