Pest Control in Wall Township, NJ

Challenge

It’s that time of year when Carpenter Bees are very active! Recently, I went out on a service call for a homeowner in Wall Township, NJ who was having an issue with, you guessed it, carpenter bees! The homeowners mentioned that they saw carpenter bees hovering around their deck in their backyard.  

Carpenter bees may seem intimidating because of their huge size and loud buzz, but they’re actually very gentle. Unlike honey bees, they have no hives to protect. Carpenter bee females can sting in defense, but males, which may appear a bit more aggressive and territorial, cannot sting. Carpenter bees nest in wood and their galleries usually consist of tunnels half of an inch in diameter, 6-to-10 inches deep, and may include several brood chambers. Carpenter bees may buzz like saws when constructing nests (hence their name), but they do not eat the wood. 

Once I arrived, I began my inspection on the deck and immediately found a carpenter bee gallery in the railing. Continuing my inspection, I heard loud buzzing noises coming from underneath the deck. I investigated and found several carpenter bee galleries underneath the deck inside the joists. Once I finished with the deck, I thoroughly inspected the entire exterior of the home to locate any additional carpenter bee galleries, which I was unable to find. It’s important the I located every single carpenter bee gallery on the property. Once a carpenter bee makes a gallery they will continue to use the same gallery year after year, so missing just one gallery could lead to disastrous results. 

Solution

For treatment, I applied a residual aerosol application directly into each individual gallery. This residual application directly targets the carpenter bees and eliminates any returning bees as well as any newly-hatched carpenter bees leaving the gallery. Once finished, I spoke with the homeowners and gave them a complete break down of the treatment I applied and scheduled a follow-up inspection to monitor the carpenter bee activity and apply any additional treatments as needed.