carpenter bees hovering everywhere

I have been invaded by bees this spring..carpenter bees hovering around everywhere and I have holes in my yard everywhere and I am sure the bumble bees are coming from the holes…my 2 year old Granddaughter stays with me and I am terrified she will get stung…can you help me or tell me how to get rid of them…Thanks, C.T.

As explained in our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, male and female bees come out of winter hibernation and get real active real fast every spring as it warms up. Females are looking for a place to drill their nests and males are looking for females. If you’re seeing a lot of bees hovering around, they’re probably the males looking for a mate. The good news is they don’t sting since they don’t have a stinger. The bad news is you most likely have a nest or nests close by if there are males around and a good inspection and/or treatment might be needed.

To start, see if you can locate any nests like we describe in our article and show you in our video’s. If found, be sure to dust them with DRIONE DUST mentioned in our article. Now if you can’t find any nests and suspect you only have males flying around, you can deter and repel them by making some liquid treatments to the house and shrubs with our CYPERMETHRIN or NBS INSECT REPELLENT. Remember, the Cypermethrin is a true pesticide and will kill insects that choose to land on treated surfaces. The NBS is not an insecticide; it’s only an insect repellent and won’t kill a thing. Focus your treatments on the sides of the home where the activity is mostly concentrated and either product should keep the unwanted activity minimized.

As for the holes in the yard; I doubt they’re from bumble bees. Digger bees or wasps are mostly likely emerging and leaving these exit holes but again, a good inspection will tell you if they’re active or not. If you definitely see bees or wasps going in and out throughout the day, I suggest you review our DIGGER BEE ARTICLE. In the article you’ll learn about a LAWN GRANULE that can be applied to the turf where you see activity. Get this product down in the problem areas and then spray over the top with the Cypermethrin mentioned above. This should shut down all the activity out in the turf and both kill what’s active and keep foraging bees away.

In summary, a good liquid treatment to the house and shrubs will chase away unwanted bee activity. Use either the Cypermethrin or NBS depending on whether you want to repel or kill the targeted nuisance insects. Any nests found should be dusted with Drione since the liquid spray won’t affect those with active homes already established. For the yard, some granules and spray over the top will get rid of any unwanted activity in the dirt. If done right, the property will be safe and bee free within a week or two of the initial treatments and your granddaughter will be able to go outside and play without any worry of getting stung.

Here are direct links to the information and products mentioned above: