Ask The Bug Doc: What Can I Do To Keep Bees Away?

Q. In the spring, I notice large bees buzzing around the eaves of my house and deck. What can I do to keep them away?

A. Warming temperatures signal to “sleeping” stinging insects that it’s time to wake up from winter sleep and build their nests. This includes a number of different wasp and bee species. 

In your case, you’re likely seeing carpenter bees. They tend to be big enough for people to notice.

Both carpenter bees and wasps like to chew on non-painted – or those in need of a new paint job – wooden surfaces to help them make pulp to create their nests. This can include eaves on your house, your deck, swing sets, garages and sheds, and more.

You can take a step toward deterring stinging pests by getting ahead of them and varnishing or painting wooden surfaces. By coating these surfaces, you make them unpalatable to stinging pests. So take advantage of some of those warm, pre-spring days and get outside with your paintbrush in hand.

If you happen to notice the beginnings of a nest, alert your Western Exterminator pest specialists right away. It’s much easier, and safer, to eliminate a fledgling nest now than it will be in a few weeks as nests become larger and stinging pests begin to multiply.