If you have noticed flying insects around your home, they could be carpenter bees. There are a few signs of carpenter bees to look out for:

Carpenter bees are a half to a full inch long and resemble bumble bees. They have shiny, black lower bodies. You might also notice evidence of their nests, such as piles of sawdust or circular holes in wood. Peculiarly, they have a habit of watching humans while hovering above them.

Don’t be afraid if you see carpenter bees; they are mostly harmless. To learn more about these wood-boring insects, read the rest of this article.

You might also be interested in reading these related articles: “How To Get Rid Of Cicada Killer Wasp (Ground Digger Wasp)” and “How To Avoid Attracting Wasps Into Your Home?“

Signs Of Carpenter Bees

One of the first signs of carpenter bees you’ll likely encounter is their holes. They bore perfectly round half-inch holes into wooden structures where they build their nest. Around these holes, you might see a yellow stain from the bee’s waste.

Besides their holes, you might find wood shavings or piles of sawdust on the ground. But, these signs alone could be from another wood-boring insect and you would need to find the half-inch holes to confirm the presence of carpenter bees.

Additionally, you might find a guardian carpenter bee buzzing around a wooden structure. They can be aggressive and might seem to attack you; fortunately, they have no stinger and won’t do you harm.

Identifying Carpenter Bees

First, carpenter bees are three-quarter to one-inch-long flying insects. Their heads are black, their middle section is yellow and fuzzy, and their lower body is shiny and black. 

Next, they make a loud buzzing sound when flying. Speaking of carpenter bee sounds, you might hear scratches, buzzes or vibrations from inside a piece of wood where one of these critters is drilling.

Confusingly, carpenter bees and bumblebees look similar in size, they both buzz, and may have similar coloration. The following chart lists the best ways to tell these two flying insects apart.

Characteristic	Carpenter Bees	Bumblebees
Body	Carpenter bees lower body is smooth, shiny and black or blue.	Fuzzy lower body with yellow and black stripe pattern. Appears fatter than carpenter bees. Possible white spot on tail.
Flight	Darts and dashes in random patterns.	Flies in straight lines.
Social	Solitary insect, often lives in male-female pairs.	Social insect that lives in colonies of 50 to 500 individuals.
Nest Location	Inside wood	Dug into the ground

Carpenter Bee Female vs Male

Female and male carpenter bees have different appearances when examined closely. For starters, the female’s head is completely black. Meanwhile, the male’s head has white or yellow markings. 

Because male carpenter bees guard the nest, they most often interact with humans. Famously, a male carpenter bee will dive-bomb a person who gets too close to the nest.

It can be a scary situation, but males don’t have stingers and can’t hurt you so bad. On the other hand, females have stingers but only use them if their safety is threatened.

Carpenter Bees Sting?

Yes, female carpenter bees can sting, like most other bees. Although, they only sting when provoked by touching, handling or poking a bare finger into their round nest hole.

Furthermore, males don’t sting but tend to scare people more by flying toward their faces. In the end, carpenter bees aren’t dangerous and want to be left alone.

Their stings are no more harmful than other bee stings but can be painful. Unfortunately, dangerous allergic reactions can occur in rare cases. Some home remedies for carpenter bee stings include:

• First, remove the stinger from your skin as soon as possible. This stops venom from flowing into your blood and causing further irritation.
• Next, wash the area with warm water and soap.
• Then, avoid touching the sting area and leave it uncovered.
• Finally, take over-the-counter pain medication or apply ice to ease the healing sensations. Be prepared, it could take a few days to feel normal again.

What Month Are Carpenter Bees Most Active?

Overall, spring months are when carpenter bees wake up from hibernation and start building nests to have babies. Additionally, the exact timing of activity depends upon your local climate and the weather in individual years.

Next, there could be further periods of activity during the height of summer when the new generation of carpenter bees emerge from their developmental stages. Altogether, carpenter bees spend the warmer months of the year flying back and forth from their nest to feeding grounds, collecting pollen and nectar.

In fact, the only months you won’t see these insects are during the winter when they overwinter. In many places, October is the month when carpenter bees go away into their overwintering hole for the season.

Do Carpenter Bees Damage Houses?

Houses with exposed wooden features can be damaged by carpenter bees. Fortunately, carpenter bees don’t eat wood the way termites do, meaning they don’t do such fast, extensive damage.

If many carpenter bees nest in a structure, they can weaken supporting boards. Over time, this could cause walls to warp, ceilings to sag, floors to dip, and total collapse.

Luckily, most homeowners notice the signs of a carpenter bee infestation before they have time to do critical damage. Then, preventative measures keep the wood-boring insects away.

What Attracts Carpenter Bees To My House?

Carpenter bees look for untreated and unpainted wood to make a nest in. The items that most attract these insects are:

• Decks
• Gazebos
• Firewood stacks
• Sheds
• Wooden Fences
• Wooden siding

What Can I Put On My Wood To Keep Carpenter Bees Away?

Carpenter bees prefer bare, weathered wood for nesting sites. Therefore, painting exposed wood and keeping it clean keeps these woodboring insects away.

If you want the natural wood look, you can put varnish or oils that show off the grains and features of the wood while protecting it. A few natural oils prevent carpenter bee infestation, such as:

• Almond oil
• Linseed oil
• Citrus oil

Are Carpenter Bees Good To Have Around?

On the one hand, carpenter bees are pollinators who help flowers, fruits and vegetables grow. On the other hand, they can do cosmetic or structural damage to wooden buildings, fences and sculptures.

Overall, carpenter bees are good to have around because they are part of a healthy ecosystem. You shouldn’t kill them if you don’t have to, and you might even create a habitat for them to give them a place to live that doesn’t cause problems.

You can create a carpenter bee habitat by placing old boards on your property, away from your house or other wood you want to preserve. This action will give the insects a place to live and help the plants while leaving your home alone.

Why Do Carpenter Bees Watch You?

Many people notice carpenter bees hovering over them, seemingly watching them. Actually, this is a classic behavior of the male who is scoping out a possible threat and showing you that he is there to guard the nest.

Of course, it can be frightening to have a large bee flying over your head and watching you, but there is almost no danger from male carpenter bees. Also, you might see one of these flying insects hovering over pets or children, but they are harmless.

Can You Make Carpenter Bees Leave?

There is no definite way to get carpenter bees to leave without killing them. A large infestation might require hiring pest control professionals to use pesticides on them to save your home.

Playing loud music near a carpenter bee nest could cause them to leave. These insects are sensitive to sound and vibration, making loud music irritating. But they may not be gone for long, and you should fill their hole before they return.

You might also try vacuuming the bees out of the nest. Try sucking the females out of their holes at night with the vacuum wand. If they survive, release them far from your house, then fill their nests.

Carpenter Bee Nest

The holes in the wood are the opening to the carpenter bee’s nest. They drill tunnels with their mouths, going straight in a few inches before making a right-angle turn.

After the turn, the female bee creates galleries to lay eggs. She stores a mixture of pollen and nectar with the eggs before sealing the entrance to protect the developing carpenter bees.

During winter, the male and female bees have a period of rest inside the nest. In the next breeding season, a bee might return to the same nest, enlarge it and use it again.

How To Seal Off Carpenter Bee Nests

Fortunately, sealing off carpenter bee holes prevents them from returning. Ensure there are no adult bees in the nest when you seal it, or else the bee could chew through to escape.

First, stick a piece of steel wool into the hole, then cover it with caulk or wood putty. Also, seal any imperfections in the wood that could be attractive for carpenter bees to start a new nest.

Leaving old nest holes attracts new carpenter bees to your home. It’s best to make your wood an uninviting place for these wood borers.

Getting Rid Of Carpenter Bees

To learn about getting rid of carpenter bees, check out my article on the subject. In my years as a pest control professional, I have helped many people get rid of carpenter bees, and I have shared all my knowledge on this site.