Rethinking our relationship with Carpenter Bees

Hello dear reader! Today we are taking about Carpenter Bees.

These cool little doodles get such a bad rap! People complain that they eat the siding on their house, or destroy their decks. So what do they do? They buy these horrible little torture chambers called bee traps. If you look at the front porch of a house and you see what looks like a little wooden box with a jar of some sort hanging from the eaves, that’s a bee trap.

Please, never ever use these! These photos are only to let you know what they look like. 

The bees aren’t actually eating the wood, they are building a place to lay their fertilized eggs to hatch. What they do like to eat however, is pollen and nectar, and they are predominantly herbivores. They’re favorite pollen and nectar is from Clover, Rose and Sunflowers. They also quite enjoy Hibiscus and Azaleas. There are several ways that Carpenter Bees can be deterred, while giving them a safe place to hibernate and lay their eggs. Their nests don’t actually do structural damage to your home, that would be the work of Woodpeckers going at their nest holes trying to eat the bee larvae. Natural wood rot is also a factor in structural damage, and Carpenter Bees will choose the softer (rotted) wood to bore. Again though, it’s not the act of their nest building that contributes to the structural damage. Carpenter Bees bore with the woodgrain so that their nest lasts a long time without collapsing.

Where do they like to nest?

So, first, Carpenter Bees don’t typically like hardwood. They prefer Cypress and Cedar or any soft wood. If possible, replace the wood where you see them with hardwood (preferably when the hole is empty). If it’s not feasible to replace the wood, you can leave some weathered softwood around the areas where they like to bore. When you see that the hole has been sealed (after the female lays her eggs) you can then move that wood to a spot in the back of your yard. When the new bees emerge, they will build their new nest in that area, or reuse the hole they came from. Alternatively, you can buy a pre-made bee hotel and set it out in the area where you see them nesting. This one is cute, and so is this one!

Keep the trees

Another reason you may be seeing these cutie pies making nests in your house or deck, is that you probably don’t have the trees they need in your yard. Clearcutting for construction has greatly diminished the Carpenter Bees preferred home, so they use yours instead. By keeping trees such as Cypress, Cedar or Pine in your yard, not only are you contributing to a healthy ecosystem, you’re giving important native bees a home! They like to nest in the trunks and branches of standing dead trees (which is probably how they developed their method of boring). Another solution to keeping them from choosing your home, is to have some dead wood somewhere on your property away from your house or deck. Some people may think this would not be an esthetically pleasing option, but with some creative landscaping it could look really cool! If you have a tree that has to be taken down, think about having it cut to a size that has enough room for the bees to nest instead of grinding the stump. In doing this, you are not only giving them a habitat, you are helping to maintain the mycorrhizal network that the tree has established with the others around it.  (we will discuss this interesting phenomena in a future blog)

Hang wind chimes

Carpenter Bees hate noise and vibration, and if there is any around their nest they will move into new digs. Some people have suggested playing loud music, which is fine if you don’t have neighbors and just love to jam at 11 all the time. However, there are alternatives that are much more peaceful. Wind chimes fit the bill perfectly! We love hanging wind chimes around our porch and hearing them when there’s a nice breeze. We’ve found the best ones (with the prettiest sound) are the larger sizes. Here a couple that we like, and you might like them too! These 36″ copper wind chimes are wonderful! Copper is always a lovely addition to any porch. It adds a hint of reflective light, almost magical like a fairy garden. If you prefer a bit deeper of a tone from your chimes, these 44″ black wind chimes are a must. We suggest hanging either of them from your eaves, around where you find the nest holes.

Wait, Carpenter Bees serve a purpose?

Carpenter Bees are very important pollinators. There are certain plants that need them to cross pollinate, because of the way these bees gather pollen. Their method is know as “buzz pollination”, which means they vibrate the flower so the pollen falls off onto other flowers. If you like Tomatoes, Blueberries, Eggplant and Passionfruit, you can thank the majestic Carpenter Bee for them!  Honeybees don’t pollinate in this way, and are responsible for pollinating things like nuts, Apples, Melons, Broccoli and Squash.

Native species

Unlike Honeybees, who were imported from Europe in the 17th century, Carpenter Bees are a native species. Here in the Southeast US, we have two species of native Carpenter Bees. The Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica) and the Southern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa micans). They are mainly docile in temperament, the males don’t even have stingers! Only the female possesses one and she only uses it if she is in extreme danger (like being swatted at). The males hang out outside the nest and protect the eggs and larva, and if danger approaches he will fly top speed directly at the danger in question. Mainly this is a scare tactic but they will go into full Wrestle Mania mode and head butt predators.

Cute and intelligent!

Another difference in the make and female, is that the males have white markings on their head that look like a face, and females have solid black heads. This just adds to their cuteness! Males are very inquisitive, as they are always on the lookout for danger, and they will follow you around just to see what you’re doing. If you’ve ever had one hover in front of your face, you know how adorable they really are! Both have the ability to remember faces, and will recognize you after a few times of interaction.

Solitary in nature, Carpenter Bees don’t have hives. They only build their nests for their fertilized eggs, and to hibernate in Winter. They have a smaller community than Honeybees, but mainly nest alone unless nesting sites are limited.

We hope the we’ve helped shed some light on these awesome bees! Remember, every living thing has an important role to keep a healthy ecosystem. If we don’t help these little guys, it will be horribly detrimental to our food supply. We have to learn how to live in harmony with the creatures we have taken homes from in order to have our home. By living in harmony with every living creature (including humans) we can ensure a healthier future for everyone.

Share this post with anyone you know that needs to know how important it is to not kill these wonderful little workers!

Peace,

Love, Spider and Rain