In prepping a new listing scheduled to hit the market in May, I noticed several of these...
On the underside of this...
I have been through enough building inspections over the course of 10+ years in real estate to immediately identify the problem...
Carpenter Bees! When you observe holes that are perfectly round and approximately 1/4 inch in diameter on a wooden structure, you can almost guarantee it to be Carpenter Bees.
Much larger than the standard bumblebee, think more along the size of a Queen Bee, Carpenter Bees are solitary bees. While they boast stingers like bumblebees, they rarely use them unless they feel their eggs are directly threatened. What makes the Carpenter unique is an alarmingly strong mandible.
During the warmer months, Carpenters use this mandible to tunnel into wood and create taverns to lay their eggs, leaving wood partitions in the tunnel walls for double protection. In fact, it only takes a couple of hours for a Carpenter Bee to drill a hole several inches deep.
Obviously, as a home owner, this is a serious concern as enough Carpenter Bee holes in the right place could seriously compromise the integrity of structure. Hence, I made a quick call to my favorite local pest company, who I use for most of my local pest inspections...
In 20 minutes, the Bi-State contractor injected each hole with silica and treated the underside of each beam with a solution to detract further carpenter bee activity...
