Key 03 . Above the wall
Hampton Roads, VA
Carpenter Bees in Hampton Roads
Every April, Hampton Roads decks and fascia boards start growing perfectly round half-inch holes. That is carpenter bee season.
Determination
Xylocopa virginica
A round, clean-edged hole about a half inch across in bare or weathered softwood.
- Common name
- Carpenter Bees
- Report status
- Reportable on NPMA-33
- Structural risk
- Damages framing
- Settled by
- Hole and stain
- Lives in
- Exterior trim
- Field indicators
- 5 listed
Description
The eastern carpenter bee looks like a bumble bee with a shiny black abdomen. Females drill dime-round entry holes into bare or weathered softwood, then turn and bore tunnels along the grain to lay eggs. Favorite targets in our area: deck rails, pergolas, fascia, cedar siding, and the underside of porch trim. One season of tunneling is cosmetic. Years of reused and extended tunnels, plus the woodpeckers that tear wood apart to reach the larvae, add up to real damage.
Carpenter bees count as wood destroying insects on Virginia real estate reports, and heavy fascia damage shows up on closings more often than sellers expect.
The couplet
Carpenter bee or bumble bee
They are close enough in the air that most people call us about the wrong one. The abdomen settles it, and so does what you find underneath.
Abdomen
Carpenter bee Shiny black
Bumble bee Hairy
What it leaves in wood
Carpenter bee A dime-round entry hole
Bumble bee Nothing
Where you meet it
Carpenter bee Hovering at eaves, deck rails, and fascia
Bumble bee On flowers
The males are the ones hovering and dive-bombing near the deck, and males cannot sting. The cost of carpenter bees is the wood, not the sting risk.
Season
The calendar this one runs on
Carpenter bee work is seasonal in a way most of our other pages are not, and the timing decides whether treatment breaks the cycle or just cleans up after it.
- April
Nesting season opens
Every April, Hampton Roads decks and fascia boards start growing perfectly round half-inch holes.
- Spring
Females bore, males bluff
Females drill dime-round entry holes into bare or weathered softwood, then turn and bore tunnels along the grain to lay eggs. The males hovering aggressively near the eaves are all bluff and no stinger.
- After the season
Tunnels get sealed
We treat active tunnels, then the holes get sealed after the season so reuse stops.
- Next spring
Treatment before nesting
For properties with recurring pressure, a spring treatment before nesting season breaks the cycle.
Field indicators
Evidence, in the order it is usually found
Carpenter bee evidence is the easiest in this library to read from the ground, because all of it happens on surfaces you can see.
- 01 Round, clean-edged holes about a half inch across in wood surfaces
- 02 Coarse sawdust dusted on surfaces below the holes
- 03 Male bees hovering aggressively near eaves in spring, all bluff and no stinger
- 04 Yellow-brown staining streaked below entry holes
- 05 Woodpecker damage tracing tunnel lines
Grade level
Where it lives in the structure
One band, and only one. Carpenter bees are an above grade problem, which is why the rest of this column stays dark.
Roof and attic
Not found here
Living space
Not found here
Exterior wall, trim, and deck
Deck rails, pergolas, fascia, cedar siding, and the underside of porch trim. Coarse sawdust below the holes and yellow-brown staining streaked beneath them.
Sill, band, and floor framing
Not found here
Crawl space
Not found here
Soil and grade
Not found here
Consequence
What it costs to ignore
The first year is cosmetic. The cost is what accumulates after it.
Year one
One season of tunneling is cosmetic.
Year five
Years of reused and extended tunnels, plus the woodpeckers that tear wood apart to reach the larvae, add up to real damage.
At closing
Carpenter bees count as wood destroying insects on Virginia real estate reports, and heavy fascia damage shows up on closings more often than sellers expect.
Correction
What we do about it
Treat, seal, and then make the wood a poor choice for next spring.
We treat active tunnels, then the holes get sealed after the season so reuse stops. Painted and sealed wood is dramatically less attractive to females, so finishing exposed softwood is the long-term fix we push homeowners toward. For properties with recurring pressure, a spring treatment before nesting season breaks the cycle.
Not sure what you are looking at? Take a photo, save a sample if you safely can, and call 757-583-4444. Identification is the part we never charge attitude for.
See also
Related services
Answered already
Carpenter Bees: quick answers
01 Do carpenter bees sting?
The hovering, dive-bombing bees near your deck are males, and males cannot sting. Females can but rarely do unless handled. The real cost of carpenter bees is the wood damage, not the sting risk.
End of the descent
Think you have carpenter bees?
Send a photo or book an inspection. We will identify what it is, what it is doing, and what fixing it actually takes.
Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. Licensed and insured in Virginia.