To the untrained eye, carpenter bees may appear very much like bumble bees. The biggest difference is that most of the top of the abdomen of the carpenter bee is without hair and is shiny black in color. The difference in the carpenter bee and the bumble bee’s abdomen is that the bumble bee’s is fully clothed with hairs, many of them yellow in color. Like all bees, they are incredible pollinators and, if you aren’t scared of them, are beneficial insects to have around.
If you see a bunch of bees flying around the eaves of your North Louisiana house or drilling in wood, you definetly have carpenter bees and need to contact Trapper J immediately! If you do not treat for carpenter bees, it could get worse and cause structural damage in the wood. At spring time, female carpenter bees and their family will come back to the same place every year.
Carpenter bees in general are pretty much harmless. Carpenter bee removal is not very dangerous which is why many carpenter bee exterminators don’t wear protective bee suits when removing them. Male carpenter bees do not have a stinger but do like to dive bomb people during the mating season. This along with their loud buzzing makes them really scary to some people. Female carpenter bees do have a stinger but will rarely use it unless you are sitting on them or poking around in their nests. Even then, it’s not always a sure thing that the bee will sting.