Learn More about Bees & Hornets.

Carpenter Bees or Wood Bees seem to be more common and widespread in the United States. This is a pest that will burrow into wood to build their nest, resulting in unsightly damage of natural wood facades and exposed structural timbers. Wood Bees will often return to the same nest hole year after year, bring their friends and off spring.

Wood eating Bees will also attack humans or animals that get too near the nesting area. The males become quite active in an attempt to attract females. There is no threat of being stung by male Wood Bees are not equipped with a stinger. The female Carpenter Bee is armed with a stinger and can pack quite a wallop. But she is normally not aggressive and if you stand still she may fly slowly around you, checking you out. She can tell that you are vertical and motionless, she may think you are a wooden pole or fence post.

Carpenter bees resemble bumble bees but do not have yellow markings. The females of most species are black or blue with a metallic sheen and may be up to 1 inch long, males look very similar to the females. In some species, the males are covered by light brown, light green, or yellowish-green hairs. Carpenter bees typically fly long distances and visit many kinds of flowers. They can also maintain their body temperature when the air is cool.

When female carpenter bees construct tunnels in solid wood, their chewing of the wood can be heard from several feet away. Piles of sawdust beneath or beside the nest entrance and the presence of bees in the area are clues to start looking for nesting holes. Compartments for the offspring are constructed in the tunnels and called Brood Cells. The cells are separated by partitions made with a mixture of sawdust and saliva. Damage from carpenter bees is usually cosmetic at first, but they often reuse to the same holes form year to year. So it is in your structures best interest to limit the population. Carpenter Bees are an important pollinator though and there is no need to rid the world of them. Under natural conditions the Wood Bees will use dead trees and weeds with heavy stalks for nesting.

Paper wasps, hornets and yellowjackets construct nests of a paper-like material, which is a mixture of finely chewed wood fragments, and salivary secretions of the wasps. Paper wasps typically build their umbrella-shaped nests under eaves and ledges. These wasps are not as aggressive as yellowjackets or hornets, and can be eliminated rather easily with a wasp and hornet spray. This procedure works well at night. Do not stand directly below the nest, as insects tend to drop straight down when sprayed. Wait a day or two, making sure that all activity has ceased and then the nest may be scraped or knocked down.

Hornets are far more difficult and dangerous to control than paper wasps. The nests resemble a large, inverted tear-drop shaped ball, which typically is attached to a tree, bush or side of a building. Hornet nests may contain thousands of individuals, which are extremely aggressive when disturbed. The nests are often located out of reach and a professional pest control firm is the best choice for removal. 

This is another dangerous wasp family member encountered around homes and buildings. Nests are often located underground in an old rodent burrow, beneath a landscape timber, or in a rock wall. If the nest can is located, it can usually be eliminated by carefully applying a wasp spray into the nest opening.