Carpenter Bee Bait – Do You Need Bait For Trapping Carpenter Bees?

David Floyd:

David Floyd has 20 years of experience working as a pest control technician as well as running his own pest control company. David is Quality Pro certified and is a certified Structural Pest Control Operator in the state of North Carolina, and the owner of NCPestControlExperts pest control company.

Carpenter bees are beneficial insects that help to pollinate flowers. Nevertheless, they can pose a real danger to wooden structures found in homes because they bore holes in structures. The best way to get rid of carpenter bees is to trap them. But sometimes that doesn’t always work so you need carpenter bee bait!

carpenter bee bait

Their hole-drilling activities can escalate and cause the wooden structure to fall apart. Worse still, such damage can result in decay if the wood gets moist.

Do You Need Bait For Carpenter Bees?

Yes, it’s recommended to use bait for carpenter bees to ensure that the carpenter bees choose your trap rather than finding their own place around your home to drill into!

Our Recommended Carpenter Bee Bait

You need to ensure you’re using a high-quality bait that is actually enticing to carpenter bee bait. It’s best to use bait that’s specific to carpenter bees so you aren’t attracting unwanted insects such as wasps or even non-threatening bees such as honeybees.

We Recommend Best Bee Brothers Bee-Licious Carpenter Bee Bait!

Attracting Carpenter Bees With Bait

As a house owner, you must be on the lookout for these bees and be ready to apply control measures if the need arises. That is where a carpenter bee bait can help. One way to control these bees is to use traps that you can make at home or purchase from a nearby pest control shop. When you’re looking for carpenter bee bait, you need to understand what is considered carpenter bee food!

Carpenter bees are always searching for new nests to inhabit especially when it is spring. So, it will make sense to have a good trap built with an ideal structure to capture these bees as soon as they venture inside. 

The idea behind using a bait in your trap is to have something that can lure the carpenter bees. You want to be able to lead them on from wherever they are to where you want them to be (inside the trap). Although most of these bees do not require bait to enter a trap, using it makes trapping them less difficult and speeds up the entire process for you.

What To Put Inside Carpenter Bee Trap

We recommend you use a professional carpenter bee bait such as Best Bee Brothers Bee-Licious Carpenter Bee Bait, but you can make your own carpenter bee bait if you’re in a pinch. If you’re looking to make your own bait, we recommend putting some sugar inside the trap with a little bit of water and vinegar. Carpenter bees are highly attracted to sugar!

We always recommend using a carpenter bee-specific bait to ensure that only carpenter bees are baited.

We Recommend Best Bee Brothers Bee-Licious Carpenter Bee Bait!

One thing common to all bees is that they feed on nectar which they source from flowers. Nectar tastes just like sugar. But does it mean that you can use sugar as bait for carpenter bees? Yes. All you need is a sweet bait.

Carpenter bees are just like every other bee and will have an attraction to sugar as well. Other sweeteners can also help to lure them in and trap them. Some other baits to use when setting up your carpenter bee trap include water, vinegar, and dish soap.

Are Carpenter Bees Attracted To Sugar?

Yes carpenter bees are attracted to sugar. Any bee that pollinates and actively looks for flower nectar, is also attracted to sugar! Sugars make up a bee’s entire diet from fruits, flower nectar, and simple sugars from honey and royal jelly. This is why using sugar as a carpenter bee bait is highly effective.

How to Use Sugar As Carpenter Bee Bait

To use sugar as bait, take a plastic bottle and create a small hole on the sides of the bottle. Now, put fatal funnels in the hole and use the bottle cap to cover the bottle. 

After you have sealed the bottle, this is the time to pour vinegar and sugar water inside the bottle. This set-up will act as a flower to lure the bees into it using the sweet aroma inside. The moment the carpenter bees go inside, they won’t be able to come out.

Alternatively, you can cut out the neck of the bottle. Then, take the bottle, position the neck upside-down and place it on top. This will form a structure that looks like a funnel. Place your bait inside the bottle and see how the carpenter bees will dance into it.

Once the carpenter gets into the trap, it will die there and release a pheromone. This pheromone can attract other carpenter bees to your trap. That means you could place a dead carpenter bee into your trap as bait. The smell will increase as more carpenter bees enter into the trap and die.

Final Thoughts On Carpenter Bee Bait

From our discussion, all you need to lure a carpenter bee is a sweetener. Dead carpenter bees can also be used as bait. Remember this when thinking of bait for your carpenter bee trap.

Resources:

https://extensionentomology.tamu.edu/insects/carpenter-bee/

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