Carpenter Bees Pollen Siding

It sounds to me like you have an infestation of carpenter bees.

Carpenter bees pollen siding.

The small holes that you see in your siding soffits window frames etc. Common carpenter bee nesting sites include eaves rafters fascia boards siding wooden shake roofs decks and outdoor furniture. The carpenter bee is so called because of where it chooses to make it s home. Carpenter bees prefer to excavate their nests in soft unpainted wood such as the back side of fascia boards siding window trim and porch ceilings.

Not all bee species are beneficial however. They are doing damage to the fascia and the spraying by pest control people doesn t seem to be doing a whole lot of good. Sound undecayed wood without paint or bark is usually selected for nests. As it is their primary food source you can also detect the sign by it.

They make holes in siding soffits decks posts and the painted or bare wood of barns and sheds especially when the paint is old hottel says. The carpenter bees will excess feces and leave yellow stain. Carpenter bees xylocpa spp are quite different from the garden bumblebees bombus spp and common honeybees apis spp that are so important for plant pollination carpenter bees are so named for their nesting behavior which involves burrowing into dead wood material which can include the structural wood in homes and other buildings. Are actually the entryway to the nests where the bees raise their young.

They have even been found making holes in wooden. They also bore into decks outdoor furniture fence posts and swing sets. Carpenter bees cause damage to wooden structures by boring into timbers and siding to construct nests. Carpenter bees crawl between cracks in siding and roofing where they bore holes about 1 2 inch wide and 1 or 2 inches long.

This becomes a chamber where the female lays eggs leaves a food ball of pollen and then seals the chamber. Redwood pine cypress and cedar seem to be their favorite wood species. Carpenter bees also can left pollen crumb around your furniture. Carpenter bees prefer unpainted weathered wood especially softer varieties such as redwood cedar cypress and pine.

These bees love to drill into bare or unpainted softwoods. If you read through our carpenter bee control article you ll learn these bees will readily crawl under siding and facia boards to drill nests which will then effectively be hidden and secure. The nests weaken structural wood and leave unsightly holes and stains on building surfaces. They are solitary bees and are not part of a larger hive community.

Instead they burrow into soft woods such as the siding of a house to live in and lay larvae. The female carpenter bee is the one who makes the hole by chewing through the wood.