Carpenter Bees

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees tunnel holes into wood, and can sometimes cause significant damage to property if allowed to build many nests close together. As such, they are less welcome around the garden and particularly the home. There are several variations in size and colour of carpenter bees, but in general they look a little like bumble bees but with a shiny hairless abdomen. Like mining bees, carpenter bees make make several nests tightly packed into a small area. Carpenter bees nest in a wide range of softwoods and hardwoods, particularly if the wood is weathered. Eastern species of carpenter bees prefer softwoods such as cedar, redwood, cypress, pine, and fir. The bees can more easily tunnel through woods that are soft and that have a straight grain. Males have no stinger but females do. Carpenter bees preferentially refurbish and enlarge an existing tunnel instead of boring a new one, and a gallery can extend for 10 feet if used by many carpenter bees over the years.

Maybe it would be an idea to drill the inside the wood to make a word for example and get the carpenter bee to habitat there so when they expand to the surface it reveals a word, but this would take years to happen, or maybe this is a product?