If you have a structure with any portions of untreated or unpainted wood in South Carolina you are going to most likely meet the carpenter bee. These robust black and yellow bees resemble bumble bees; however, bumble bees have yellow fuzz on their abdomens while the abdomen of the carpenter bee is black and shiny. Only the females of both species have stingers but the carpenter bee is less likely to sting.
Beginning in March or April you will see carpenter bees hovering around your structure or even around you. A sure way to know you are dealing with these destructive pests is when you see them boring out holes in a wood portion of your structure. Sometimes the actual hole is hard to see but you can’t miss the mess of wood shavings and excrement on the face of your siding or piled below the hole. The female carpenter bee will make a hole about ½” in diameter into the wood then turn ninety degrees making a tunnel in the wood. This is where she lays her eggs and brings nectar and pollen to feed her young. If the bees are allowed to return year after year they can cause extensive damage. You want to stop this activity before birds find the larvae. Wood peckers will tear up the wood to get to these delectable treats. The buzzing sound inside the wood from the larvae might as well be a dinner bell.
The Pest Force can treat and patch the holes and also advise you on correcting the conditions that might be attracting carpenter bees.