Confessions of a Compulsive Organizer

Identifying And Removing Wood Boring Bees From Your Home

by Ricardo Hart

Unfortunately, termites are not the only insect that will damage your home. In many cases, wood boring bees are the culprit. To deal with this problem, you need to know how to identify the threat and then remove them before they do a lot of damage to your home.

Identification 

Wood boring bees, which are also called carpenter bees, resemble very large bumblebees. Aside from their size, these bees do not have a uniformed coating of hairs. This means that the wood boring bees have a bare abdomen, which looks shiny and black.

Identifying these bees as the culprit for damaging your home is essential to eliminating them. If you notice small holes, which can be around 1/2 inch in diameter in the wooden surfaces of your home, then wood boring bees are usually the problem. For those who have had this type of problem in the past, you can help prevent them from damaging your home by dealing with the adult bees first.

Deal with the Adult Bees

Prevention is one of the easiest ways of dealing with the adult wood boring bees. Limiting the amount of wood they can damage is more about preventing them from making a nest.

Some pest control companies recommend a thick layer of finish, which stops some of the bees from making holes in the wood to begin with. Placing the finish on any wood surface such as porch railings, siding and steps can help stop the bees before they make a home within the wood.

One finish option is a varnish that protects the wood from moisture, but can also stop bees and other insects from damaging it. Using this with an insecticide can help you combat the adult bees that dig holes and make pathways through the wood for their nests.

Eradicate the Nest

If the bees happen to make a home within the wood, you need to eradicate the adults and the nest. You do not want the larva to become adults, which will damage your home further when they grow bigger and need to make a nest.

Once of the most effective insecticides for dealing with wood boring bees will be a chalk-based product. This type of product looks like loose chalk, which you spray into the holes of the nest. The chalk covers the adult bees, which then kills them. Once the larva emerges, they are also covered with the insecticide and then die.

When you are trying to deal with wood destroying insects, you need to first identify and then deal with this issue. If you are unsure about the type of insect you are dealing with, it is best to consult a pest control company—such as State Pest Control Inc—so they can help you with your issue.

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