Carpenter Bee Control

Carpenter Bee Control in Austin, TX

Targeted carpenter bee control that stops the drilling, treats the tunnels, and protects your wood from being worked again.

Why it happens

Why these bees keep chewing Central Texas wood

If carpenter bees are drilling into your deck or trim, carpenter bee control is the fix, and it's steady work for us at Keith's Bee Removal here in Austin, TX. We've been at this since 2000, and these wood-borers are a different problem from a swarm or a nest. There's no colony to clear, just a lot of round holes and slow damage adding up in your wood. We take a no-kill approach where we can, stopping the drilling and keeping them from coming back.

Here's the thing about carpenter bees around here. Our long warm season keeps them active from spring clear through late summer, which gives them months to work. They go after untreated, weathered, or soft wood, drilling those perfectly round holes and boring tunnels back into the grain. It isn't just cosmetic. Season after season, the same wood gets weaker while your deck or fence starts looking worn down fast. Older homes with a lot of exposed wood tend to see them worst.

Our approach

Stopping them from coming back

Clearing the active holes is only half of it. The other half is carpenter bee prevention, keeping the wood from drawing them again. We apply deterrent-focused carpenter bee prevention treatment and point out the exposed surfaces worth sealing or finishing, since bare weathered wood is what invites them in the first place. That's where the real long-term value sits. A good carpenter bee control service isn't a one-time visit, it's setting things up so you're not fighting the same holes in the same rail every single season.

Carpenter Bee Control

What you should know

Reading the signs you’ve got them

Knowing what to look for helps you catch carpenter bees in wood before the damage runs deep. You'll usually spot dime-sized round holes, neat as if drilled, along with little sawdust piles beneath the railings or trim. Often there's a yellowish stain streaking down below the hole. And you'll see the bees themselves hovering around the deck, fence, and eaves. The males hover close and act tough, but they can't sting. The real trouble is the tunneling and the fact that they come back to the same spots year after year.

Where we find them working

Carpenter bees in a deck are the call we get most, but they're not picky about which wood they choose. We find them boring into fascia, siding, pergolas, sheds, fence rails, and window trim, anywhere the wood is exposed and soft enough to work. On a lot of properties they'll favor the sunny south-facing boards, since those weather fastest. Once you know their favorite spots, good carpenter bee treatment gets a lot more targeted, because we're treating where they actually drill instead of guessing.

How we handle the problem for good

A lot of folks reach us after searching for a carpenter bee exterminator, and here's how our approach differs from a rushed spray job. We start with an inspection to find the active holes, the recurring nesting zones, and the wood that's most at risk. Then real carpenter bee removal means treating those bored holes to deal with the larvae inside and discourage reuse. Skipping that step is exactly why do-it-yourself carpenter bee extermination fails, since the tunnels get reused and the bees show up again a foot over next spring.

Homes, decks, and commercial wood alike

We handle carpenter bees on all kinds of property. That's houses, decks and patios, pergolas, sheds, fences, and trim, along with commercial buildings that have exposed wood features. Many residential jobs wrap up in a single visit, though a larger or long-running infestation may need a follow-up. Whatever the structure, professional carpenter bee removal starts from the same place, protecting the wood first and treating in a way that actually holds.

Where we work

Where we take carpenter bee calls

We cover a wide stretch of Central Texas — Austin and Northwest Austin, San Antonio and Northwest San Antonio, plus Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Hutto, Kyle, San Marcos, New Braunfels, Lakeway, Lago Vista, Westlake, Bastrop, Elgin, Selma, Universal City, and out through Travis, Williamson, and Bexar Counties. If you're near any of those and you've got holes in your deck, give us a call.

Austin (512) 589-9658 San Antonio (830) 484-8986

AustinNorthwest AustinSan AntonioNW San AntonioRound RockGeorgetownCedar ParkLeanderPflugervilleHuttoKyleSan MarcosNew BraunfelsLakewayLago VistaWestlakeBastropElginDel ValleSelmaUniversal CityTravis CountyWilliamson CountyBexar County

Why Keith's Bee Removal

What years of this work have taught us

After doing this since 2000, you learn the patterns. You learn that the hole in the fascia nobody notices is the one that's been reused for three seasons, and that the best carpenter bee treatment is the one that closes the door on next year, not just this week's bees. We're A+ accredited with the Better Business Bureau, and we earned that one honest job at a time. Dependable carpenter bee control isn't about a quick kill. It's protecting the structure and setting it up to stay clear.

What to do until we get there

While you wait on us, hold off on the temporary fixes. Don't plug the holes yet, since sealing a bee inside just leads it to chew a fresh exit nearby, and don't drown the wood in store spray that rarely reaches the tunnel. Keep an eye on which boards are active and note where the sawdust is piling up, so we can find every hole fast. If you've got fresh, unfinished wood on the property, that's worth mentioning too, since it's the first thing they'll go after.

Frequently asked questions

How much does carpenter bee control cost?

It depends on how many areas are active and whether any sealing is needed. We give you a clear estimate after we've inspected the wood, no guessing over the phone.

When’s the best time to treat them?

Spring through early summer is when they're most active, so that's ideal. That said, treatment works any time there's activity or recurring damage on the wood.

Do carpenter bees really come back every year?

They do. They return to the same tunnels or drill close by, which is exactly why the prevention step matters as much as the removal.

Can they actually damage my house?

Yes. Repeated drilling weakens decks, fences, fascia, trim, and siding over time. One season looks cosmetic, several seasons is real structural wear.

Do the males sting?

No. The males hover and act aggressive to guard their turf, but they have no stinger. The females can sting but rarely do. The damage is the real concern, not the sting.