Those big bumble bee look-alikes hovering around your deck are drilling holes and tunneling through your wood. Our wood protection treatment eliminates carpenter bees and prevents costly structural damage to your home.
Carpenter bees are large, robust bees that closely resemble bumble bees — about three-quarters to one inch long with black and yellow coloring. The key difference is their shiny, hairless black abdomen (bumble bees are fuzzy all over).
Unlike honey bees that live in hives, carpenter bees are solitary nesters. Females drill perfectly round half-inch holes into untreated or weathered wood, then tunnel sideways to create galleries where they lay eggs. They prefer softwoods like pine, cedar, redwood, and cypress — the exact materials used for decks, fascia boards, porch railings, pergolas, and outdoor furniture in Michigan homes.
Finding smooth, perfectly round holes about the diameter of your finger in deck boards, fascia, porch railings, or eaves.
Big bees hovering aggressively near your deck or porch, dive-bombing anyone who walks by. These are territorial males guarding nesting sites.
Small piles of coarse sawdust (frass) on the ground directly below the round entrance holes where bees have been drilling.
Woodpeckers hammering at your fascia or deck — they hear carpenter bee larvae inside and tear open the wood to eat them.
Yellowish-brown stains running down wood surfaces below entrance holes — this is bee excrement marking active nesting galleries.
Hearing buzzing or scratching sounds inside wood structures — carpenter bees chewing and expanding their tunnel galleries.
Carpenter bees are active in Michigan from late April through September, with peak drilling activity in May and June. They emerge as soon as spring temperatures consistently reach the mid 60s, and Michigan's warm summers give them a long nesting season.
Michigan homeowners love their wooden decks, cedar siding, and covered porches — but these are exactly the soft, exposed wood that carpenter bees target. Weathered, unpainted, or unstained wood is especially vulnerable. The state's humid summers accelerate wood aging, making it even more attractive to nesting bees.
The real danger is cumulative damage. Carpenter bees return to the same wood structures year after year, with each generation expanding existing galleries. A few holes in year one become dozens by year three, and woodpeckers compound the damage by tearing open tunnels. Without treatment, carpenter bees can structurally compromise deck joists, fascia boards, and porch supports.
We stop the drilling, treat existing galleries, and protect your wood with a complete wood defense system that prevents future damage.
We thoroughly inspect your decks, fascia, porches, pergolas, and all exterior wood for active galleries, old tunnels, and vulnerable areas that carpenter bees will target next.
We apply professional-grade treatments directly into nesting galleries to eliminate adult bees and developing larvae. This stops the current generation and prevents the next one from emerging.
We seal treated galleries and apply preventive treatments to vulnerable wood surfaces. We also recommend staining or painting strategies that make your wood unattractive to carpenter bees long-term.
Fully licensed Michigan pest control professionals with comprehensive insurance for your protection.
We specialize in protecting Michigan decks, porches, and fascia from carpenter bee damage — saving you thousands in repairs.
We treat inside the tunnels — not just the surface. This eliminates larvae that surface sprays completely miss.
We time treatments for maximum effectiveness — early spring prevention or active-season elimination based on your needs.
Carpenter bees and bumble bees look very similar in size and color, but there is one easy way to tell them apart: carpenter bees have a shiny, bare black abdomen, while bumble bees have a fuzzy, hairy abdomen with yellow bands. Carpenter bees also hover aggressively near wood structures and you may see perfectly round half-inch holes drilled into wood — bumble bees nest in the ground.
Yes, carpenter bees cause significant structural damage over time. Female carpenter bees drill perfectly round half-inch diameter holes into wood, then tunnel sideways to create galleries where they lay eggs. Each year, new generations reuse and expand existing tunnels. Over several years, this can weaken decks, fascia boards, porch railings, pergolas, and other wood structures. Woodpeckers also enlarge the holes hunting for bee larvae, compounding the damage.
Carpenter bees emerge in Michigan in late April through May when temperatures consistently reach the 60s and 70s. Males hover aggressively near nesting sites (they cannot sting). Females drill and lay eggs through June. A second generation may emerge in late summer. The best time for treatment is early spring before they begin nesting, or in fall to treat existing galleries.
Male carpenter bees are the ones that hover aggressively near your face and deck — but they cannot sting at all. Female carpenter bees can sting but are very docile and rarely do unless directly handled or trapped against skin. The biggest concern with carpenter bees is property damage, not stings.
Simply plugging holes without treating the galleries first will trap bees inside, and they will chew new exit holes — causing more damage. The correct approach is to treat the galleries with professional products first, wait for the treatment to take effect, then seal the holes with wood putty or dowels. Our service handles the entire process including treatment, sealing, and prevention.
Every season without treatment means more holes, more tunnels, and more expensive repairs. Call today for a free inspection and save your deck.
Call (734) 436-3017