Oceanport, NJ Pest Control Services

As part of our residential service plans, Cowleys conducts periodic inspections of throughout the year to look for signs of insects or rodent activity. Often, homeowners are unaware of insect infestations, especially when they are in their early stages or the infestations are in non-living areas of the home or around the home’s exterior. During these visits, Cowleys also treats the home’s exterior perimeter. This is a great proactive step for homeowners to minimize the chance of pest infestations during those peak months of insect activity. Residential service plans go a long way to help homeowners keep their residences pest- and rodent-free thought the year. 

During my service plan inspection of this home in Oceanport, I observed staining on the siding of the home. I immediately recognized these stains as carpenter bee stains from their droppings. I was on the lookout for carpenter bees because, unfortunately for this homeowner, carpenter bees have been returning every year to the same area of this home. These bees leave a pheromone in the egg chamber that attracts other bees, so it is no coincidence that many homeowners find these bees returning to the same location year after year. Unfortunately for the bees, Cowleys is able to quickly identify and eliminate these infestations, so they don’t cause any problems for the rest of the year. 

Carpenter bees are large, intimidating-looking bees, but they rarely sting. The males don’t even have stingers, and the females usually only bite if aggravated. These resemble bumblebees, except they have large shiny black bodies instead of the familiar “fuzzy” bodies of bumblebees. During early spring, carpenter bees will emerge from their winter nesting holes and start to swarm, which is their ritual for finding a mate. Once mated, the female will find a nesting area to lay her eggs. The female looks for a place to bore into soft wood using her sharp teeth to create a chamber to lay her eggs as her life cycle comes to an end. You’ll see the new bees emerging in late summer to feed before crawling back into the holes as temperatures drop. 

These bees prefer to excavate their nests into soft, unpainted woods like pine, cedar, redwood, and cyprus. Treated lumber and hardwoods are much tougher to bore through, so bees tend to avoid them. They typically dig in for about an inch and then turn to follow the wood grain for another six inches or so. On houses, the area behind a facia board is a favorite spot for the bees because this area of the home offers a safe, dry haven. 

In the process of boring holes, the bees leave sawdust outside the hole (what we call “frass”) as well as fan-shaped staining secretions. If you see these signs of a carpenter bee infestation along with perfectly round holes about a half-inch in diameter that look like a vandal took a drill to your home. These insects can’t cause nearly the level of damage of termites, but they can certainly weaken wood and cause structural damage. Also, the holes can speed the rotting of the wood through water damage, and carpenter bee staining is visually unappealing. 

I treated all burrows with a residual foam. We use either a liquid or dust depending on the particular area infested. Either application is highly effective. The homeowner was not surprised the bees had returned to the same spot, and she thanked me for coming out and taking care of the problem for another year. After this treatment, carpenter bees won’t be bothering her or her family for quite awhile.