Bees are a part of summertime in Michigan. As soon as the weather gets warmer, the flowers bloom, and the bees come out. In most cases, it is easy to avoid bees and still enjoy your outdoor space. However, it can be helpful to keep an eye on the bees in your Troy, Michigan, yard and to understand which type of bee you are dealing with.

Honey Bees

Honey bees have a unique coloring that is brown with black stripes. They are either a queen, a worker, or a drone. Most of the honeybees that you see are female and are busy pollinating flowers. When you hear about the importance of bees to our ecosystem, it is the honey bee that is responsible for about 80 percent of the food that we consume.

Honey bees will rarely sting you. They are usually more focused on collecting the pollen that they need and then moving it back to the colony. However, they can, and will, sting if they feel that their colony is threatened. When a honey bee stings, it leaves its stinger behind. Because honey bees are so important to our ecosystem, they are actually protected. It is crucial to work with a professional to remove the honey bees in a way that also protects them.

Carpenter Bees

It can be easy to confuse a carpenter bee with a honey bee but they are actually very different. A carpenter bee is shiny and hairless, unlike the honey bee. They tend to create holes in wood in order to nest. Carpenter bees also do not live in colonies like honey bees do. Instead, they create separate nests and wait out the winter. Once spring arrives, they begin mating. By the end of summer, the new carpenter bee eggs hatch and you might notice an increase in bees again.

While carpenter bees also rarely sting, they do cause damage to your house. If they continue to nest in the same wooden areas, it can create significant damage to your house. You will often find male carpenter bees buzzing around its nest in an attempt to protect it. However, male carpenter bees lack stingers and are unable to harm you. On the other hand, female carpenter bees do have stingers and will use them when needed.

The best way to prevent carpenter bees from damaging your house is to prevent them from ever making a nest in your property. Carpenter bees tend to prefer unpainted wood over painted wood.

Of course, this is not always possible meaning it is important to take care of the problem as soon as possible. A professional can help you remove the carpenter bees as well as close off the holes that they have begun to nest in.

Call Us for Pest Control Troy Services Today

Both carpenter and honey bees can become a problem over time. While a few bees in your yard may not be a big deal, it is important to take note of their nesting and colonizing habits. If you have a problem with a honey bee nest or you identify a nest within your wooden structure, call us today at Pest-Ez East at 248-820-3057.