Carpenter Bee Extermination Richmond VA

Carpenter bees are a common sight in Richmond VA during the spring and summer. While they might look like typical garden bees, they are actually one of the five major wood-destroying insects in our area. At Optimal Termite & Pest Control, we help homeowners protect their property from the unique damage these bees cause.

In Virginia, you will start seeing these bees as soon as the weather warms up in late spring. They are most active through the early summer months. This is their nesting season, which is when they begin searching for wood to call home.

Carpenter bees do not live in hives. Instead, they bore perfectly round holes into wooden structures. They are looking for soft, untreated wood to create "galleries," which are tunnels where they lay their eggs. You will often find them in:

• Wooden fences and decks.
• Fascia boards and roof peaks.
• Support pillars and wooden siding.
• Areas behind gutters.

Many people are hesitant to treat for bees because they want to protect pollinators. While carpenter bees do visit flowers, they are not considered a primary or highly beneficial pollinator like honeybees or bumblebees.

In fact, carpenter bees are known for a behavior called "nectar robbing." Because they are so large, they often cannot fit into smaller, tube-shaped flowers. Instead of entering the flower normally, they chew a hole into the side of the flower to steal the nectar. This often damages the flower and prevents it from being pollinated.

Furthermore, because they are classified as wood-destroying insects, they are not a protected species. When they begin boring into your home, they shift from being a garden visitor to a structural pest. At Optimal Termite & Pest Control in Richmond VA, we focus on protecting your biggest investment—your home—from the long-term damage these insects and the woodpeckers they attract can cause.

It is very common to mistake these two bees because they are similar in size and color. However, there is one easy way to tell them apart. Look at their tail end:

• Carpenter Bees: They have a shiny, black, and hairless abdomen. It looks like a smooth, polished surface.
• Bumblebees: They are fuzzy all over, including their back end.

If a bee is hovering right in your face, it is likely a male. Male carpenter bees are very protective of their nests, but they actually do not have a stinger. The females do have a stinger, but they are very calm. They generally will not sting unless they are provoked or handled.

While the bees create the initial holes, they aren't the only ones causing trouble. The female carpenter bee lays eggs in chambers deep inside the wood. Woodpeckers can hear the larvae moving inside and will peck at the wood to get to them.

A woodpecker can quickly turn a small bee hole into a large, jagged hole. This hollowing out of the wood causes the most significant structural damage to Richmond VA homes.

We provide professional treatments that target the galleries.

Protect your home from wood-destroying insects. Contact Optimal Termite & Pest Control today for an inspection and an estimate.

If you are buying or selling a home, a carpenter bee infestation can actually hold up your real estate transaction if found on a WDI inspection. Because they are wood-destroying insects, they must be addressed before a sale can move forward.

Our treatment process is straightforward but effective. We use a professional dust that is applied directly inside the nesting holes. This ensures that the bees currently using the gallery are treated. Since these bees often nest in high places like roof peaks and fascia boards, we use professional ladders and equipment to reach every hole safely.

It is important to understand that treating one hole will not always stop a new bee from starting a different hole the very same day. Carpenter bees are persistent. While we can treat the active nests, preventing new ones requires a different approach.

One of the best ways to keep carpenter bees away is a simple trick: paint unfinished wood white. Carpenter bees are looking for natural wood. When you paint a surface solid white, it confuses the bee. To them, the surface no longer looks like wood, and they are much less likely to try and bore into it. Staining or using clear coats often isn't enough; a solid coat of white paint is the best deterrent.

You may hear some companies suggest borate treatments to control these bees. However, borate treatments only work if an insect eats the wood. Because carpenter bees only chew the wood to move it out of the way—rather than consuming it—borate treatments are not effective. We focus on methods that actually work for the specific biology of the bee.