Carpenter Bee's are they dangerous?

Question

I have a problem with carpenter Bee's. I cannot sit on my back deck without them swooping down at me or hovering right in front of me as to say come and get me.

I have been trying to get them with a fly swatter or spraying them with household sprays. We have had an exterminator out twice in the last 2 years.

I know regular bee's will sting but I want to know how dangerous these critters are.

Answer 1

When I was a child I remember these investigating me, and because they are fast and loud i worried about them. They never landed on me and i was never injured. Some out west are quite red, more of them are black. The danger is in your fear of them, so relax, and allow them their space. Soon you will be tolerated, live and let live.
The other answers have spelled out that females can sting. Why try to kill something so beautiful, with courage to confront a human? So, they are a little territorial.
The real danger? The nerve poisons contained in your sprays.
Household sprays should be banned, chemical poisons made by combining lethal byproducts...

Answer 2

Are Carpenter Bees Dangerous

Answer 3

Adult body length is about 1/2 to1 inch (12.5 to 25 mm). They are robust, resembling bumble bees, but larger, with the top surface of abdomen mostly bare and shiny.

The male has a yellow face. The female's is black.

They can resemble bumble bees, but the upper surface of their abdomen is bare and shiny black, while bumble bees have a hairy abdomen with at least some yellow markings.

Bumble bees don't nest in the wood, but rather on the ground.

To see pictures of both, click here: Pictures of carpenter bees and bumble bees


SIGNS OF CARPENTER BEE INFESTATIONS
You will see round holes and a coarse sawdust-like substance called frass underneath the holes. The holes are perfectly round and are about 3/8 inch in diameter. You may find old holes near the newer ones. Old nests can be used year after year by the carpenter bee. Their holes are usually located on the underside of any wood surface including siding, soffits, overhangs, decks, fence posts, fascia boards and window frames.

HABITS

During the spring, the males seek out the females, hovering around females that found some unfinished wood, such as under eaves, railings, etc. The males are territorial and will confront you if you enter their territory, but they are incapable of stinging. Females have a stinger, but are very docile. Females will nest in a all types of wood, but prefer weathered and unpainted wood.

Male carpenter bees tend to be territorial and can buzz around you if you approach closely, sometimes hovering a short distance in front of your face or buzzing around your head. Since males have no stinger, these actions are just for show and intimidation.

The female bee can squeeze through incredibly tiny places to bore into untreated wood.

Answer 4

Male carpenter bees do not sting - they don't have a stinger. Female carpenter bees do have a stinger but are not known to be aggressive - they will only sting when attacked or provoked - so unless your eyesight is tippity top and you can see if the bee has a stinger or not I'd refrain from the swatter. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

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RE:
Carpenter Bee's are they dangerous?
I have a problem with carpenter Bee's. I cannot sit on my back deck without them swooping down at me or hovering right in front of me as to say come and get me.

I have been trying to get them with a fly swatter or spraying them with household sprays. We have had an exterminator out twice...

Answer 6

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That is a Wood Bee, often called a Bumble Bee. They have a very docile nature and will not sting unless provoked. It is flying around you because it probably thinks you look or smell like a flower. Once it checks you out, it will go elsewhere. You can even allow it to land on your hand if you want, and it will not sting you. This species of bee is a gently giant in the garden, and adds beauty and charm to our world. They do not live in hives like Honeybees, but in holes in wood or the ground. It will not hurt the small children if you "teach" the small children not to hurt it. They need to be taught to respect and admire nature in all it's forms, and this includes all the little critters as well. When adults run away screaming from Bumble Bees or Honeybees or spiders or any other living creature, this is because their parents have taught them falsely and have set bad examples. Respect is one thing, fear is another. Love for all the wild creatures as well as love for each other, will conquer all. .

Answer 7

Carpenter bees (the genus Xylocopa in the subfamily Xylocopinae) are large, hairy bees distributed worldwide. There are some 500 species of carpenter bee in 31 subgenera[1]. They can be important pollinators on open-faced flowers, though many species are also known to "rob" nectar by slitting the sides of flowers with deep corollas. All species but those in the subgenus Proxylocopa, which nest in the ground, build their nests in burrows in dead wood, bamboo, or structural timbers. In several species, females will live in tunnels alongside their own daughters or sisters, creating a sort of social group. They use wood bits to form partitions between the cells in the nest. A few species bore holes in wood dwellings and earn the enmity of some homeowners, though others regard them as pets. Male bees are seen hovering around the nest, and will approach nearby animals. However, the male is harmless since it does not have a stinger.[2] Female bees do have a stinger, but are preoccupied with foraging and will only return to the nest to stockpile. Female bees are not aggressive, and will not sting unless directly provoked. Since the tunnels are near the surface, structural damage is generally minor or nonexistent. A building at Cornell University possibly containing nests since the early-1930s, with very heavy nesting between 1966 and 1995, is still sound in 2006.[citation needed]
X. tabaniformis male robbing nectar
X. tabaniformis male robbing nectar

In the United States, there are two eastern species, Xylocopa virginica, and Xylocopa micans, and three other species that are primarily western in distribution. X. virginica is by far the more widely distributed species.[3] Some are often mistaken for a bumblebee species, as they can be similar in size and coloration, though most carpenter bees have a shiny abdomen, while in bumblebees the abdomen is completely clothed with dense hair. Males of some species have a white or yellow face, where the females do not; males also often have much larger eyes than the females, which relates to their mating behavior.

Many Old World carpenter bees have a special pouch-like structure on the inside of their first metasomal tergite called the acarinarium where certain species of mites (Dinogamasus spp.) reside as commensals. The exact nature of the relationship is not fully understood, though in other bees that carry mites, the mites are beneficial, feeding either on fungi in the nest, or on other, harmful mites.

Members of the related tribe Ceratinini are sometimes referred to as "Small Carpenter Bees".

Answer 8

Yes, it is a carpenter bee, and yes you should get rid of it for the reasons that answerer Win cited. Carpenter bees (Xylocopidae) are not closely related to bumble bees (Apidae). Appreciate and guard all the solitary bees except the carpenter bees.

Answer 9

They sting. I know because I've been stung by one before and it doesn't feel good. They are attracted to exposed wood. I recommend you seal your wood good. If the wood is bare they will be more attracted to the area. Then tend to like to bore into the wood and lave about a half inch diameter hold in the wood.

Hopefully if you seal the wood around your house so it is no longer bare you shouldn't have to deal with them nearly as much. They normally won't bore into wood that is varnished, painted, or sealed.

Answer 10

I have a squadron of carpenter bees guarding my house for the last 4 years. Before that, I was getting stung by wasps on my deck and back door on a weekly basis. After I moved an old picnic table to my deck the carpenter bees showed up and have been chasing the wasps away that try to make nests on my deck. They welcome me every morning when I go outside and watch out for any intruders trying to find a place to nest. They even like to play fetch, I throw small rocks near them and they go chase after it. I gladly sacrifice the small amounts of wood they destroy to not be attacked and stung by swarms of angry wasps every time I go outside. On occasion when I cut my lawn I even have a dozen dragonflies escorting me on my riding mower attacking any ground bees I stir up cutting the grass. Gotta love nature!!!