7 Ways to Get Rid of Carpenter Bees Naturally

Carpenter bees are generally harmless to humans, but the real problem with these industrious bees is that they can cause serious damage to your property. Carpenter bees specifically target wood and drill through it to nest. Their favorite places around your home include decks, eaves, fascia boards, wooden shingles, and even outdoor furniture. So, how do you get rid of carpenter bees naturally?

The great thing with natural solutions is that they are relatively safer than traditional pest control methods that use pesticides and other harmful ingredients.

Without further ado, here are some effective ways to get rid of carpenter bees naturally.

1. Paint the wood around your home

Carpenter bees like untreated wood. So, if all the wooden structures around your home are untreated, you may be at risk of getting a carpenter bee infestation. Prevention is better than cure. Make your home unattractive to carpenter bees by painting or varnishing the wooden structures around your home. Give particular attention to the structures that are more open to the elements, such as the decks, eaves, fascia boards, and wooden shingles.

If you don’t like the idea of painting or varnishing your wooden structures, you can apply any kind of coating on them, like a clear sealer. The point is to not make your wooden structures too natural because nothing attracts carpenter bees more than natural wood.

2. Seal the tunnels

Use a wood filler or putty to cover the holes of the tunnels they have created in your wooden structures. But before covering these holes, make sure that the tunnels are actually empty. You don’t want to leave a few larvae there. These few larvae can start another infestation in the future and they may attract woodpeckers. These birds can cause damage to your structures as well as they try to reach for the larvae inside the wood.

You can also use a mass of steel wire to cover the holes. Consider soaking the mass in vinegar as an extra layer of protection against pests such as carpenter bees.

3. Spray them with a citrus solution

You can use citrus solutions for a huge variety of pests, such as ants and fleas. You can also use them for carpenter bees. Insects just can’t stand the strong smell of citrus.

To make a citrus solution, squeeze the juice out of a citrus fruit, like an orange or a lemon. Mix it with water in no particular ratio. But the citrus smell should still be powerful. Bring the solution to a boil. Put it in a spray bottle and spray around your home. Give particular attention to the areas near the carpenter bee nest.

Citrus solutions won’t just repel pests like carpenter bees. They will also make your home cleaner because citrus has antibacterial properties.

4. Spray them with an essential oil solution

You can also get rid of carpenter bees naturally with essential oil solutions. This is the same idea as citrus solutions. You simply mix some ingredients and spray the resulting solutions around your home.

You can use ten drops of eucalyptus oil and mix them with an ounce of water. You can use a tablespoon of tea tree oil and mix it with eight ounces of water. The great thing about these solutions is that they are not harmful to you or your family. But they have ingredients that serve as natural repellents for carpenter bees.

5. Scatter spices near their nest

Yes, carpenter bees don’t like strong smells. That’s why citrus solutions and essential oils are effective against them. Spices work just as great. Cinnamon, crushed garlic, and peppermint are some of the best spices you can use. Sprinkle them near their nest, preferably every day for about a week.

The great thing about repellents is that they don’t necessarily harm the carpenter bees. They just drive them away. But remember that repellents are not very effective against more advanced infestations.

6. Produce noises and vibrations

Carpenter bees like peace and quiet. They don’t do well in noisy environments because they are sensitive to sound and vibrations. Make your home unattractive to carpenter bees by blasting loud music, preferably with a bass for maximum vibrations.

Before doing this, make sure to inform your neighbors first or make measures so that you don’t disturb your neighborhood. Also, remember that this will only make the carpenter bees leave your property. You will have to do preventative measures so they don’t come back.

Once they leave, it’s a good idea to do the other entries on this list. Paint your wooden structures and cover the holes the carpenter bees left in your property.

7. Install a bee trap or bee lodge

You can buy bee traps from a lot of retailers, such as department stores, garden supplies, and pest control shops. Bee traps mimic bee nests. They are wooden blocks with holes on them and trap the bees inside. Just place these bee traps near the nest of the carpenter bees troubling your home. They will mistake these traps for their nest.

If you can’t find bee traps in stores, you can create one yourself. All you need is a block of wood, a jar, and a contraption to keep it hanging near the nest. Simply drill some holes in the block of wood. Attach the jar to the base. And use the contraption to hang the trap near the nest. The carpenter bees will mistake this for their nest and get lodged at the jar.

The great thing about this DIY bee trap is that it is non-lethal, unlike many of the traps you can find in retailers. Once you have collected a few carpenter bees in the jar, you can release them in the wild, but make sure you release the bees far from your home to avoid reinfestation. You could also buy or make a bee lodge.

It’s still better to get the help of pest control professionals

Sure, there are natural and straightforward solutions to your carpenter bee problem at home. But remember that they may not be as effective and efficient as the proven techniques of pest control professionals.

These natural and straightforward solutions may be enough for early and mild infestations, but you may have to use more reliable methods for more mature and severe ones. It’s best to use these solutions only as a supplement to more proven techniques.