Carpenter bees cause millions and even billions

Controlling carpenter bees can be done by treating your wood with a spray or foaming agent. Another tool used is the carpenter bee trap. Carpenter bee traps are always, or should be light colored and made out of a soft wood such as pine or cedar to be most effective. The wood is constructed into a small box. The inside should have smooth walls. Small holes, one or a couple that are no larger than one-half inch, are to be drilled into the structure to entice and attract the bees to enter.

Carpenter bees usually drill straight into wood for a couple of inches and then proceed to tunnel at a 90 degree angle from that. Once they enter the hole you have provided, there is no tunnel to follow and the bee gets confused. Due to the confusion and smooth interior of the structure, the bees fall to the bottom of the trap. The bottom of the trap has a small hole, in which a bottle or jar opening is attached. The carpenter bees fall into this opening and eventually die, being stuck in the bottom and not able to get out. It is said that the scent of the dead bees inside attract other bees to enter.

Looking directly at a carpenter bee trap, it looks like a small birdhouse with a bottle or jar coming out of the bottom that collects the bees that enter and fall in. Some people like to line the interior of their carpenter bee traps with a sticking agent or adhesive. This ensures that if the bees do not fall, they will get stuck to the inside of the trap and die. Other people also like to add a poison to the inside of the trap to kill the carpenter bees as well. To clean out the traps, simply unscrew the bottle or jar from the bottom and empty out the dead bees. If properly constructed, carpenter bee traps can be very effective.