When we had the house, we had carpenter bees chewing holes in our deck. I used everything but nerve gas to discourage them. Finally, I figured the hell with it and let them munch their little hearts out.
Thereupon, I became a happier person. And the bees seemed contented, as well.
this is funny sure but you can ACTUALLY tell a Carpenter bee by looking at the discarded leaves below where they have built their hive; if they are green or red they are detritus from a bumble bee nest; but if all the leaves are brown
and the sky is grey...
Yes, we learned about Carpenter Bees as we watched them make perfect holes in the underside of our deck railing. Fascinating to watch. We figured it would take decades for them to do any significant damage so we relaxed and enjoyed their industriousness.
I see male carpenter bees out in the field a lot when I do research in the spring. It’s so funny how they are like “Am big scary insect and I am going to buzz at you” when they can’t even sting
Carpenter bees hovering around wooden parts of a house are a huge red flag that homeowners need to pay attention to. This is almost certainly a sign that your house has wood rot, usually from water damage, and you need to get a qualified contractor out for an inspection ASAP.
🐝👀🚨
It’s all well and good to tell them apart when they’re standing quietly next to one another in profile but in my experience they’re both pretty rowdy uncooperatives…
Fun fact about male carpenter bees, they're so territorial you can trick them into chasing tiny stones, really anything bee sized, that you throw by them.
Thank you! I'll do my best to remember this. I have one quetsion though: do real carpenter bees also look like they've had an extra morning coffee compared to bumble bees? 🙂
