Are Carpenter Bees Beneficial?

Bumblebees are endangered, and that is causing many problems for our crops. While not everyone likes stinging pests, we know how beneficial bumblebees are. What about their destructive cousin, the carpenter bee? Are carpenter bees beneficial, too?

Are Carpenter Bees Beneficial?

Carpenter bees are also important pollinators. Native plants, gardens, and some crops benefit from this bee. When they visit flowers and get nectar, they pick up and move pollen around. They are particularly effective because they are “buzz pollinators.” They have powerful thoracic muscles, vibrating quickly when they land on flowers. They actually sonicate the dry pollen grains!

They pollinate eggplants, tomatoes, other veggies, nuts, seed crops and many flowers. Did you know we rely on insect pollination for nearly a third of our food? That makes bees, including carpenter bees, important pests.

Just because they’re beneficial doesn’t mean they can be around your home. They have a particularly bad habit: munching on wood to make nests safely inside.

How to Identify a Carpenter Bee Problem

Pest: Carpenter bees are between 1/2″ to 1″ in size. They resemble bumblebees, but the top of their abdomen is largely bare and shiny.

Nest: Unlike their relatives, carpenter bees bore into wood, where they make galleries for rearing their young. Carpenter bees tend to prefer decaying or weathered wood to new or painted wood. It is hard to identify where they are because they are very careful about not showing signs they’re inside the wood.

Destruction: Carpenter bees are a serious property threat, and can cause structural damage over time if they are not eliminated.

Personal Threat: Carpenter bees are not a very big threat to you, even if they put on a good show. Male carpenter bees can be territorial and may hover in front of one’s face aggressively, but they have no stinger and these actions are merely to ward off predators. Female carpenter bees do have a painful sting, which is rarely used.

Carpenter Bee Problem? Call Green Pest Solutions.

We can help. Contact the pest professionals at Green Pest Solutions. We know the safest way to remove carpenter bees and other stinging pests from your home—inside and out. Give us a call today at 855-312-7157.