The buzz around town is because the bees are back. It’s springtime, which means every living creature is coming out of its winter home, including bees. While you may not be so thrilled to find them buzzing around your home, some bees are quite essential. However, other bees are just plain destructive. But how do you tell the difference? When it comes to bumble bees and carpenter bees, the Lawn Plus Pest Control Services team gets this question all the time. Here is our answer.
1. Body Markings
For starters, we look at the body markings of a bee to determine which species we’re dealing with. While there’s no arguing that both bumble bees and carpenter bees are quite large, you can still distinguish between the two. It’s as easy as looking at the abdomen of each bee. Bumble bees are furry and usually have two thin yellow stripes across the back. Carpenter bees, however, have shiny abdomens with only one large yellow spot near the head.
2. Nesting Habits
Carpenter bees tend to be solitary creatures, working alone and carving their way through wood structures while laying their eggs. Typically, these bees prefer untreated or unpainted softwoods, including redwood, cedar, cypress, and pine. If you spot a single, large bee flying around the eaves of your home, you’ve got a carpenter bee. Bumble bees, on the other hand, live in underground colonies. In the spring, a queen who has survived the winter months will emerge and head off searching for a place to nest and build her colony.
3. Social Behaviors
Because bumble bees are social, you can count on them defending their colony. This means they tend to be more aggressive than their carpenter cousins. You can also tell the difference between the two by looking for a stinger. Only the female carpenter bee comes equipped with a stinger, and she has to be seriously provoked to sting. However, every single bumble bee has a stinger and is sure to use it when it feels threatened.
Time to Buzz Off
We hear about the damage caused by carpenter bees all the time. These bees love to bore holes into fences, siding, decks, and even window frames, causing major deterioration to structures. That’s why so many residents throughout Cincinnati, OH, turn to Lawn Plus Pest Control Services for help. Our Carpenter Bee Reduction Program includes seasonal bi-monthly treatments of nesting holes and a spray repellent to deter further burrowing. We can also help get rid of ants, spiders, and roaches. It’s time to tell these pests to buzz off, so give us a call today at (513) 296-7378.
