Repel Carpenter Bees With A Natural Ingredient They Detest

Carpenter bees are amazing creatures. These solitary native bees, also sometimes known as borer bees, are fantastic pollinators and not recognized for being aggressive. Easily mistaken for bumble bees, they travel from flower to flower, adding life to your garden. They do, however, have one big downside — their tendency to damage wood structures. Female carpenter bees chew through soft wood to create cozy nests to lay eggs in. Because of how beneficial they are, you don't want to use harmful sprays or insecticides to deal with these bees if they decide your deck is a better nesting spot than a dead tree. Luckily, there are natural ways to deter them from boring holes into your planters, pergolas, and other wooden outdoor features. One of the best ingredients for repelling them is almond oil.

Despite the fact that people tend to find almond oil to have a pleasant or barely noticeable smell, carpenter bees are repelled by the benzaldehyde in it. The oil is also non-toxic, so it should keep the bees away from your wood without harming the environment. The almond oil should help for about three or four months, so consider just using it as a temporary fix until you can paint and fill holes in the wood.

First, it's important to pick the right time of year to use almond oil on your wood. You don't want to spray or paint it on when the bees are still nesting. So wait until they have emerged from their nest holes. This will likely be in the spring. Then, get your almond oil. You can use the sweet almond oil that is often found in drug stores, or opt for almond essential oil. Either paint the oil on the wood or put a few drops into water and spray it onto your wood with a spray bottle.

If you suspect you have carpenter bees, but can't figure out where they're nesting, keep an eye out for small piles of sawdust and round holes in your unpainted pine or other softwood structures. Consider coating all your unpainted or unstained outdoor softwood with almond oil, even if you don't see carpenter bees. This way, you can stop the problem before it even starts. After all, the last thing you want is to build a pergola or arbor just to have it damaged by bees. While you may feel bad making their former home less appealing with the addition of the almond oil, you can always give your local carpenter bees a new house by leaving dead trees up in your yard for them to nest in.