DIY carpenter bee treatment just doesn't work for this Wall homeowner

Challenge

I was dispatched to a Wall Twp., NJ residence to treat a swing set that was infested with bees. Upon arrival, I saw that these bees were, in fact, carpenter bees. Carpenter bees are distinctive in both appearance and behavior. If you see large shiny black bees hovering around and there are perfectly bored holes nearby, you very likely have an infestation of wood-boring bees nesting in the wooden part of some structure. That structure may be a home, an outdoor shed, or even a swing set. The tell-tail sign of a carpenter bee infestation is sawdust, commonly known as sass, collecting below the holes where the bees have been boring into the wood. As with many insects, the female is the one who does most of the work. The female carpenter bee burrows into the wood to lay her eggs while the male acts as the security detail, flying around to protect the queen from any predators or other males. 

Unfortunately, this was yet another job demonstrating that homeowner DIY projects are often ineffective, delaying treatment and causing more property damage. In this case, to my surprise, the homeowner tried to resolve the infestation herself – and did not even use over-the-counter insecticides. Instead, her treatment method over the course of years was to spread her own concoction of general household chemicals over the swing set and fill the carpenter bee holes with putty. Needless to say, her method was completely ineffective. The carpenter bees returned year after year undeterred by the chemicals or the putty. And each year they caused more and more damage. She was fortunate that this damage was only to a swing set and not to her home. 

If the cumulative carpenter bee damage weren’t bad enough, carpenter bees attract woodpeckers. Carpenter bee larvae are noisy and woodpeckers will drill holes along the bee holes to reach and feed on the larvae. This activity results in long trenches and holes along the wood. After years of carpenter bee and woodpecker activity, the swing set suffered quite a bit of damage. 

Solution

The homeowner finally realized that her DIY strategy was not working and contacted Cowley's to properly resolve the infestation. We treat carpenter bee burrows with either a liquid chemical or dust, depending on the particular area that is infested. Either application is highly effective and will quickly resolve a carpenter bee problem. Finally, we let her know that if any woodpeckers return, she should contact us. We have various types of bird deterrents that keep woodpeckers away. Woodpeckers peck holes for three reasons: drumming holes to make noise as part of their territorial and breeding behaviors, roosting and nesting holes, and foraging holes in search of insects as was done here with the woodpecker that “attacked” the swing set to feed on the carpenter bee larvae.