Carpenter Bees Hangout in Fair Haven, NJ

Here I am in Fair Haven, NJ where I am helping a homeowner who contacted Cowleys because of possible carpenter bee activity. I searched high, and low, for carpenter bee activity, and initially did not find any. Then I reached the homeowner’s porch and found the scene of the crime. As shown in the video, all of the major tell- tale signs of carpenter bee activity were there. 

Carpenter bees are wood-boring insects (unlike termites that are actually wood-eating). The females bore holes into wood to make chambers to lay their eggs. The most noticeable sign of a carpenter bee infestation are perfectly round bored holes in the wood that looked as though a crazed carpenter (hence their name!) went wild with a 1/2” drill bit.  You’ll also see yellow-brown smatterings (carpenter bee feces) on the wood as well. And this staining can be  a big mess. It can be tough to get off — even with a power washer! Finally, when the female bee is chiseling out the galleries to lay her eggs, you’ll see sawdust-like material (“frass”) collecting below the holes. Here, I found a lot of frass on the furniture right below where holes were built. 

Apparently, these particular carpenter bees had a warped sense of humor as well. In addition to the holes in the house, the bees also bored holes into a sign that said “Welcome to Our Porch.” Apparently, the bees thought that this warm greeting from the homeowners was meant for them!

To deal with these uninvited guests, I’ll use an aerosol treatment that will kill the bees and their larvae.