How to Get Rid of Bees Around Your Home (DIY Guide)

There are three common scenarios where homeowners encounter "bee problems":

• Carpenter bees — Large, black-and-yellow bees drilling perfectly round holes into wood trim, fascia, decks, and furniture. These are the main DIY target. They cause real structural damage over time.
• Honeybees — A swarm or colony has moved into a wall void, soffit, or other structure. Do NOT spray or kill honeybees. Call a local beekeeper — most will remove them for free because the bees have value.
• Ground bees (mining bees, sweat bees) — Small bees nesting in bare soil in your yard. These are almost always solitary, non-aggressive, and active for only 4–6 weeks in spring. The best approach is usually to leave them alone.

Important distinction: bees vs. wasps. If the insect is sleek, shiny, and aggressive near food, it's likely a wasp or yellow jacket, not a bee. Wasps are covered in our wasp removal guide. Bees are fuzzy, rounder, and generally docile unless provoked.

• Insecticidal dust (for carpenter bees) — Delta Dust or Tempo Dust. Dusts work better than sprays because they penetrate deep into bore holes.
• Hand duster or bulb duster — For applying dust into carpenter bee holes. A turkey baster works in a pinch.
• Steel wool — For plugging carpenter bee holes after treatment.
• Wood putty or dowel plugs — For permanently sealing plugged holes.
• Exterior wood stain or paint — Carpenter bees strongly prefer bare, unpainted, untreated wood. Painting or staining is the best long-term prevention.
• Bee suit or protective clothing (optional) — Long sleeves, pants, gloves, and a hat with veil if you're concerned about stings.

First: Identify Which Bee You Have

Carpenter Bees

How to identify: Large (about 1 inch), black body with a shiny, hairless abdomen. Males have a yellow or white face patch. They hover aggressively near wood surfaces but male carpenter bees cannot sting — the hovering is a bluff. Females can sting but rarely do.

The telltale sign: Perfectly round holes, about 1/2 inch in diameter, drilled into wood. You'll often see sawdust (frass) below the hole. The hole goes in about an inch, then turns 90 degrees and follows the grain of the wood for 4–6 inches (sometimes longer in old galleries).

Honeybees

How to identify: Medium-sized (about 5/8 inch), golden-brown with dark stripes, fuzzy body. If you see a large cluster of bees (a swarm) hanging from a branch, or bees coming and going from a gap in your home's exterior, they're almost certainly honeybees.

Action: Call a beekeeper. Most local beekeeping associations have a "swarm list" of beekeepers who will come remove honeybee colonies for free. Search "[your city] beekeeping association swarm removal" online. If the colony is in a wall void, the beekeeper may need to open the wall — but this is still the right approach. Killing honeybees inside a wall leaves behind honeycomb that melts, attracts other pests, and can cause staining and structural damage.

Ground Bees

How to identify: Small bees (various species) entering and exiting small holes in bare, sandy soil — usually in sunny, well-drained areas of your yard. Each hole belongs to one female bee.

Action: Usually, leave them alone. Ground-nesting bees are solitary (not colonial), rarely sting, and are only active for 4–6 weeks in spring. They're excellent pollinators. They naturally disappear as the season progresses. If their location is truly problematic (right next to a door or playground), water the area heavily — they prefer dry soil and will relocate.

DIY Treatment: Carpenter Bees (Step by Step)

Step 1: Locate All Active Holes

Walk around your home's exterior and identify every carpenter bee hole. Common locations:

• Fascia boards and trim
• Deck railings, posts, and joists
• Pergolas and arbors
• Wooden siding (especially cedar and redwood)
• Window frames and door frames
• Wooden outdoor furniture

Active holes will have fresh, light-colored sawdust (frass) below them. Old, inactive holes will have darkened, weathered edges.

Step 2: Apply Insecticidal Dust

In the evening (when bees are inside their galleries), use a hand duster to puff insecticidal dust (Delta Dust or Tempo Dust) directly into each active hole. Two or three puffs is enough — you want a light coating inside the gallery, not a plug of dust. The dust coats the gallery walls and the bee contacts it as it moves in and out.

Timing tip: The best time to treat is in early spring (April–May) when carpenter bees first become active and are establishing new galleries, or in fall when the new generation is using the galleries to overwinter.

Step 3: Wait 48–72 Hours

Leave the holes open for 2–3 days after dusting. This allows the dust to contact bees as they come and go, and ensures any bees deeper in the gallery are also exposed.

Step 4: Plug the Holes

After 48–72 hours, stuff each hole with a small piece of steel wool (to prevent re-excavation), then seal with wood putty or a short wooden dowel glued in place. Sand smooth once the putty dries.

If you plug the holes without dusting first, carpenter bees will simply drill new holes nearby. The dust kills the current occupants and deters reuse.

Step 5: Paint or Stain the Wood

This is the most important long-term prevention step. Carpenter bees strongly prefer bare, untreated wood. Wood that is painted or stained is significantly less attractive to them. Apply at least two coats of exterior paint or a quality oil-based stain to all bare wood surfaces, especially:

• Fascia boards
• Deck components
• Trim and siding
• Pergolas and arbors

Pressure-treated wood is somewhat resistant but not immune — painting it adds extra protection.

• Paint or stain all exterior wood — This is carpenter bee prevention strategy number one. Bare wood is an invitation. Painted or stained wood reduces carpenter bee activity by 70-90% according to university extension research.
• Use hardwoods or composite materials for new construction — Carpenter bees prefer softwoods (pine, cedar, redwood, cypress). If building a new deck or pergola, consider composite decking, PVC trim, or hardwoods like ipe that carpenter bees won't bore into.
• Fill old galleries — Abandoned carpenter bee holes attract new carpenter bees. Plug all old holes with steel wool and wood putty, even if the bees are gone.
• Hang carpenter bee traps — Wooden box traps with angled entry holes and a clear plastic jar at the bottom work as a supplement to other methods. Hang them near previous activity areas in early spring. They won't eliminate a problem alone, but they catch exploring bees before they drill.
• Don't kill honeybees — If honeybees are visiting your garden, that's a good thing. They're pollinating your plants and pose minimal sting risk unless you disturb a hive. Enjoy them.

• Spraying carpenter bee holes with wasp spray — Aerosol sprays don't penetrate the galleries effectively. The spray kills bees at the entrance but doesn't reach bees deeper in the tunnel. Dust is far more effective because it coats the entire gallery and continues working as bees move through it.
• Plugging holes without treating first — If you plug a hole with an active carpenter bee inside, the bee will chew out a new exit. If you plug holes without treating, new bees will drill new holes right next to the old ones. Always dust first, wait, then plug.
• Killing honeybees instead of calling a beekeeper — Spraying a honeybee colony kills thousands of beneficial pollinators and leaves behind pounds of honeycomb that will melt, attract ants and roaches, and potentially stain your walls and ceiling. A beekeeper removes the colony alive and takes the comb with them. It's better in every way.
• Panicking about ground bees — Ground-nesting bees are solitary, rarely sting, and are temporary (4–6 weeks). Spraying pesticides on your lawn to kill ground bees is unnecessary, harmful to the environment, and destroys important pollinators. Wait them out.
• Ignoring carpenter bee damage year after year — A single season of carpenter bee activity causes minor cosmetic damage. But carpenter bees reuse and extend galleries year after year. Over 5–10 years, accumulated tunneling can significantly weaken fascia boards, deck posts, and other structural wood. Address it when you first notice it.