Best Bee Brothers Bee Blog — About Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees use their powerful mandibles to drill holes into the wood in circular motions. Over time, this results in a network of internal tunnels and chambers. But their reason for doing so may not be what you think. Learn why wood bees drill holes.

Over the years, we have heard a lot of customers say they tried to use WD-40 to kill carpenter bees. If you are familiar with us, you wouldn’t be surprised that we don’t advocate using WD-40 due to the chemicals in the spray. But does WD-40 actually kill carpenter bees?

A very common thing we here from customers is that they have been trying attract carpenter bees, typically away from their house, using sugar water. Does sugar water really work, or is it just another overhyped myth? Are carpenter bees even attracted to sugar? We’re going to answer all that and more.

While nature rarely bestows a vengeful disposition on any of its creatures, you might be surprised to find that there are a few natural predators of the carpenter bee, if not exactly outright enemies.  Carpenter Bee Predators  If you thought carpenter bee damage was limited to the proportion of how much chomping they can do boring their tunnels and nests into the wood siding of your home (among other places), think again! Though not necessarily their fault, carpenter bees invite even more structural damage to your home by their mere presence.  Let’s explore why... Carpenter bees attract pesky woodpeckers which...

The Queen Carpenter Bee: Mating and lifestyle differences between honeybees and carpenter bees. When someone mentions bees, the image of a large honeycomb bee hive with a big queen bee probably comes to mind. It’s no wonder then that honey bees are probably the most talked about and most popular of all the bee species. And for good reason - we love the honey and wax they produce and have been studying their intricate colonies for ages. In recent years, the growing research validating the vast importance of the honey bee in pollinating our crops to make more food has...