Carpenter bees are one of the lesser-known relatives of the honeybee, with some 35 actual species, which live all across the country in the United States and Canada, but especially in the south and east. The various bee species vary considerably in size, but the larger ones, which can range up to an inch long, are the most widely known.
Carpenter Bees Name
Their common name, “carpenter bees,” comes from the bees burrowing holes into dead wood to nest. Like other bees, they are pollinators, not wood-eating insects.
Bee Traps
Whereas most species of bees build community honeycomb nests, usually in already existing cavities in trees, plants, and other structures, carpenter bees burrow holes into dead, decaying wood to nest. These nests are where the females of the male carpenter bees of bee species lay their eggs and are also used for both males and females to nest through the winter. Unlike other species of bees, the male carpenter bee traps other bees; however, do not make honey.
For us, the carpenter bees, bee traps, and bees are mostly a nuisance, as they sting and can burrow into the wood of our homes, causing damage. While one of the carpenter bees or bee traps burrowing into the wood structures of a home produces only insignificant damage, the cumulative damage from a number of bees can be a concern, especially if the problem of the bee trap is ignored and continues.
But it is not only the damage caused by the carpenter bees themselves that is of concern; woodpeckers eat the carpenter bee nests and larvae, enlarging the original carpenter bee or hive hole to get to them. Another concern is the damage caused by pressure-treated wood by weather, what is often mistakenly referred to as “dry rot,” where water soaking into the wood fibers exposed by the carpenter bees’ holes allows fungi to grow, feeding on the wood in the process.
One good piece of news is that carpenter bees will usually avoid burrowing into painted or stained wood, so proper maintenance of the home, specifically painting it when needed, will go a long way towards keeping carpenter bees from damaging a home. But if there is no place else for them to lay eggs nest, they will burrow into wood that is covered by paint. So painting alone isn’t enough, if there isn’t something available to kill or catch the bees, protecting significant damage to the home.
A carpenter bee trap is extremely easy to create, providing a means of either killing or relocating the bees, depending on the homeowner’s choice. While some beekeepers and other carpenter bees may die in the trap in as little as a few hours, most will live considerably longer, as much as two weeks. This allows several to be captured, and then the next trap, a whole wood or carpenter bee trap, is opened at an alternate location, releasing the bees back into nature, where they can serve as pollinators.
Bee Trap Function
The key to how a carpenter’s bee trap functions is much the same as a fish trap. An easily accessed entrance is provided for the bees to enter the carpenter bee trap plans. However, once they are inside the carpenter bee trap, itself, it is almost impossible for them to find their way back out, making the carpenter bee sting trap plans effective for multiple bees.
Making the Trap
A carpenter bee trap is made of a block of scrap wood, either a 2”x 4” or 4”x 4”, along with either a plastic soda bottle or glass jar. In either case, it’s going to be necessary to save the lid, as the lid is used to attach the bottle or jar to the wood block of your carpenter bee trap. The scrap wood is the entrance part of your carpenter bee trap or wood to make a carpenter bee trap by itself, with the bottle or jar being the holding area for the trapped bees.
The light from the wood is what attracts the bees, bringing them to the center hole of the light trap. But the clear plastic bottle, jar, or glass jar serves an important purpose in ensuring that the honey bees stay trapped. Because the bottle clear jar or glass is clear, the bees can’t identify which way the light is out, keeping them trapped inside.
2”x 4” Block & Plastic Bottle
Since most of us have plenty of scrap 2”x 4” pieces of untreated wood sitting around the house, we’ll start there. This will require blocks of 2”x 4” which are between 4” and 6” long. If several traps are to be made, then it makes sense to cut them all to the same size.
Mark a 1” spade bit with masking tape at roughly ¾ the length of the block. This will act as a depth gauge when drilling. Then mount the drill bit to one of the blocks of 2”x 4” into a bench vice or drill press vice to hold it. . Drill holes from a 1” hole in the center of the end of the 2”x 4” block, to the point of the masking tape.
Reposition the wood block so that the hole is horizontal to the ground. Then, drill a small starter hole (1/8”) in the side of the block, then angle the cut roughly 45° to intersect the 1” hole in the center of the stable surface of the block, as shown in the diagram below.
Repeat for the opposite side, making a hole that’s roughly 45-degree angle, a mirror image of the first. For both holes, ensure that the passage from the entry hole to the center of the 1” hole is not obstructed by wood chips not cut off by the drill bit.
The entry hole needs to be ½” in diameter to provide ample room for the carpenter bees power tools to enter. So enlarge the hole by stepping up the drill size through a couple of different steps up to ½”, enlarging the existing hole.
While it would be possible to go immediately to a ½” drill bit and stop drilling, it would not follow that small a guide hole all that well, and the drill itself could very easily catch in the wood while the wasps drilling.
An alternative is to use a ½” Brad point drill for drilling this hole. Brad-point drills are explicitly made for drilling holes into non-flat surfaces, such as spheres, and drilling angled holes, like what’s needed for this project.
The Brad points creates a starter hole. Then the drill can be angled upward, as the brad point will prevent it from slipping off that location. Take care when the lips of the drill bit make contact with the wood, as it can catch.
The last thing that needs to be done to complete hanging the block is to add some means of hanging it; either a screw eye or nail or a screw or a wire staple, such as those used for attaching poultry cloth is ideal.
Remove the cap from the bottle and drill a ½” or larger hole in the top of it. If the cap is drilled upside down on a backer block, it is much more likely to cut cleanly. Still, because it is made of soft plastic, the hole might end up lopsided.
In that case, the hole should be rounded out with a utility knife. It doesn’t matter if it gets too big, just as long as it isn’t the full diameter of the cap.
Glue the modified cap into the 1” hole in the wood block, top (drilled) side in, leaving the bottom edge of the cap flush with the edge of the hole.
Hot melt glue is ideal for this, as most other types of adhesives will not adhere well to the type of plastic used to make a pilot hole in the cap. Attach the lid to the bottle, and the trap is finished.
4”x 4” Block and Jar
If scrap 4” x 4” is available, that can also be used for making a how-to-make carpenter bee trap here. The block is much like the 2”x 4” block we just discussed, the only difference being that one entryway should be drilled into an upward 45-degree angle on each side of the center of the block, for a total of four holes. Once again, ensure all the angled holes give the bee-free, unimpeded access to the larger central hole.
Take the lid off the mason jar and drill a ½” hole through it, deburring the hole so that there are no sharp edges remaining. Then place the trap on top of the mason jar lid centered over the 1” hole in the block. Attach the lid mason jar to the block with two screws, avoiding running the screws into any of the holes drilled into the block. Reattach the mason jar back to the lid, and the trap is ready.
The best place to hang the bee traps is from the home’s eaves, as high up as possible on the sunny side of the house. the bee trap Traps need to be visible or the bees won’t see them. At the same time, they need to be located where they will receive some protection from the rain, so don’t attach or hang them to the fascia board, instead, to the rafters or ends of the trusses.
Each trap will protect about bees entering a 15-foot radius, so several traps will likely be needed around the perimeter of the yard, the house, the deck, and the roof of the home. Ideally, they should be hung in the springtime before the bees become active.
That way, they will be a regular part of the scenery rather than something you add later.
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