05-20-06:  Q: I have a shed in the back yard that has carpenter bees. They come every year about now and there is a strip of wood under the roof that has a line of holes in it. These things seem to be getting bolder and bolder. They have even chased me all the way back to the house. What can I do?

A: Carpenter bees are not considered "wood destroying" insects on the same damaging level as termites or carpenter ants but if they pick your place to take up residence they sure can be an annoyance. They're called "carpenter" because they leave little piles of sawdust under where they are working like a human carpenter would. They are just big bugs that look like bumblebees but don't make honey.

The males do not sting but the females will sting if handled roughly. I wouldn't plan on getting close enough to determine gender and handling one for me is out of the question. Their resemblance to bumblebees is close. Bumblebees have a hairy abdomen with some yellow markings but I'd only examine a dead one for identification. Bumblebees live in the ground. The only difference between the two for our purposes is behavior.

It's the females that cut near perfect holes, about 3/8ths of inch in diameter, into raw or stained wood or on wood that the paint film is thin or damaged. They love cedar but any trim or siding of natural softwood will do for them. They turn 90 degrees after they've bored in about a 1/4 or 1/2 inch into the board and chew a chamber into the wood along the grain for about 4 to 6 inches for a brood chamber - all at the diameter of the surface entry hole.