The Best Ways to Get Rid of Carpenter Bees

• Carpenter bees like to make their hives in your home. Paul Beard/Stockbyte/Getty Images

  Carpenter bees have that particular moniker because they bore into soffits or other wood on the exterior of your home in order to deposit their eggs. The queen has a stinger, the males do not -- so they don't pose a threat to you personally, but they can do a great deal of damage to your house.

Use Insecticides and Boric Acid

• Purchase an insecticide that is effective on carpenter bees and spray it into the distinctive round holes the bees have bored into the exterior wood of your home. Use a small syringe to puff some boric acid into the holes to prevent the eggs from hatching.

Block Their Entrances

• Once the insecticide has had 24 hours to kill the bees, close up the round holes with caulk or putty so a new colony won't move in.

Use a Trap

• The bees enter the wooden, non-toxic carpenter bee trap via round holes that look just like the ones they make themselves. The trap's design prevents them from escaping once they enter.