Bees Boring Into Wood

We have rough sawn cedar planks as trim on the outside of our house. The other day I noticed a very large bumble bee flying into a hole. I'm sure the bee made this hole as it wasn't there a few days ago. There is also a spot a few inches away where it looks like another hole was started. The hole is perfectly round and perfectly the size of the bee.

I'm flabbergasted. I had no idea bees could dig into wood like this. I killed the bee of course. I don't want it building a hive on my deck or in my house, but wow. I thought cedar was pretty hard wood too.

There are numerous cracks it could have flown into but he dug into the wood instead?

What you have is a carpenter bee. They drill holes into wood and deposit eggs and then seal them. While one doesn't want to deny the little critter it's next generation, they can do serious damage to the siding on your house. I'm not sure what deterrents there are out there, but you can probably Google them and find out.

Sandy

Thanks, we had Orkin come for an unrelated problem (carpenter ants in the attic) and he took care of them.

I've had that happen on the outside of my shed, too. Very annoying!

I wonder if putting a piece of garlic clove inside the hole, before it is sealed, would drive the bees away? Has anyone experimented with this option?

I am really not sure what you have to do to get rid of them but I do know that they are not good to have in your wood like that. I am curious as to if the garlic would work also?

We have the same problem on our deck. We get them every year. I will have to google and try to find out to get red of them.

Is there a varnish that might deter these little critters? Since they are such a problem, there might be a treatment that would make the wood undesirable!

I didn't know that either. That is amazing and something I never realised.

I would not have guessed they could bore into wood siding either! But I would hesitate to kill them, maybe you could provide an alternate and more tempting habitat nearby, like a cedar box in the garden or something. I know there is a lot of concern about the declining bee population...

We had them in our shed. One day I was out organizing and noticed a little sawdust on my shoulder so I brushed it off then I was standing there and saw the sawdust falling from one of the beams and then saw the bee. I had no idea they did this either it was intresting to watch for a bit before he dive bombed me.