Hello,
For the past 2 days i have Carpenter bees entering my kitchen. we have checked the door way the window and plugged up any spaces and cracks we think they my be entering to get into my kitchen. I also went ahead and have pest control come by and look and they can’t explain how they are coming in. can you please help.
thank you
K.
This is a common problem experienced by many homeowners this time of year. As explained in our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, these bees drill out holes in which they live and raise their young. Most of the time these holes are visible on the outside of the home. But other times they bore behind siding (aluminum, vinyl, etc.) or up under an eave or cedar shake and their nests are not so easy to find or see. In the spring the adults and pupae will attempt to emerge as it warms and if their nest has been plugged or blocked, they’ll drill new holes to escape. Many times these new holes lead directly inside the home.
In cases where the home has been painted, trim work around a structure is sealed and when this work is done, entry/exit holes are sometimes sealed. In fact you yourself state in your message you have “plugged up any spaces and cracks” on the home. When this happens, the bees cannot use their normal routes of passage back outside to open air. To get around this, they’ll drill new exit pathways and sometimes this leads to them getting inside. This would be one of the scenarios that could be happening and ironically, you very well could have the problem worse. In other words, I suspect your effort could be forcing them inside even more then normal.
The second time we see this problem occur is if the original nest isn’t built just right it can sometimes force young bees to emerge in the wrong direction. Nests which have separate egg chambers will allow emerging young a free path when they choose to come out. But nests with a single tunnel will get “stacked” with eggs and adults. There can sometimes be 5-10 bees all in a row which effectively creates a traffic jam through which none can pass or exit. If the bee in the middle is a female and she can’t get out when her time to emerge arrives, she’ll drill a new hole to escape. Sometimes these holes end up leading inside the structure. And once that hole is created, other bees will use the same path over the course of the next season. This too is a very possible scenario and could be happening at your home.
The good news is they should all emerge in another week or two. And I strongly urge you to watch the outside of the home intensely now on forward and try to locate where they might be nesting. Finding them now will be easy if you allow emerging bees the freedom to roam and locate where they want to go. Once found, you can dust and spray as explained in our article to keep them off your home and avoid the same problem this time next year.
Here is a direct link to our article:
jonathan