Carpenter Bees Becoming Problem in Northern New Jersey
Carpenter bees are starting to lay their eggs in northern New Jersey, creating problems for home and business owners, schools and park districts in Bergen, Passaic, West Essex and Morris counties. Among the largest bee species, 1 to 1 1/2 inch carpenter bees are often confused with bumble bees and have the same yellow and black coloring. It’s their nesting habit that makes carpenter bees such a problem in northern New Jersey.
These solitary insects live in mating pairs rather than communal hives. Leaving characteristic 1/2-inch diameter round holes, the female bee bores tunnels deep into unprotected wood to lay her eggs. She uses chewed wood shavings from her excavations to create partitions between larvae. Carpenter bees may attack wooden backyard play sets, picnic tables, porch roofs or eaves and wood siding. While they rarely attack wood painted protected by oil-based paint or polyurethane, stained wood and treated lumber do not deter these pests.
A single pair of carpenter bees may not appear to do much damage, but their habit of returning each year to the same location and of offspring locating near their birth site can reduce wood structures to sawdust in a few seasons. Carpenter bees are extremely aggressive. Only the more docile female stings, but stingerless males will dive bomb people who come too near the nest, frightening children and adults.
Because of their aggressive nature and the difficult of completely destroying larvae deep within nests, professional northern New Jersey pest control is recommended when carpenter bees attack.