Landlords in Damascus are too familiar with this frustration. That word is free ranging from distinctive mundane hollows showing up in barn timber to the unending buzzing of large black bees hovering about your buildings. Carpenter bees are squatting in barns around Damascus, with a supportive landlord. These wood-boring insects can cause thousands of dollars of damage each year to farm structures in our area. This issue is terrible in the spring months when Carpenter Bees are emerging and setting up their new nesting sites.
Despite the dedication Damascus farmers take to keep their properties pristine, carpenter bees in Damascus can compound past what any homeowner can manage alone, making substantive intervention by a skilled professional all but mandatory to protect their investment. Looking for pest control in Damascus? Contact Green Pests Service today!
What Are Barn Structures?
Traditional barn structures found in Damascus include post-and-beam construction with local hardwoods and softwoods. These agricultural buildings were used for various purposes, including livestock shelter, equipment storage, and hay and grain protection. The typical Damascus barns feature unobstructed gable roofs, board-and-batten siding, and expansive eaves constructed with exposed rafters. These buildings are often made of natural wood materials and have a relatively open-air design, making them particularly attractive to insect activity.
Why Are They a Magnet For Carpenter Bees In Damascus?
They love our humid subtropical climate and the many wooden structures we have here in Damascus. According to the Damascus Agricultural Census, the insects find a perfect home in traditional wooden barn buildings, which make up more than 60% of local farms. The bees are attracted to the unpainted, sometimes curiously gray wood of the weathered wood found on many Damascus barns.
In our mild winters, carpenter bee populations can survive and thrive, year after year. Because female carpenter bees like softwoods like white pine and cedar, common construction materials in Damascus barns since at least the early 20th century. Exposed rafters, fascia boards, and deck railings of the typical barn make ideal nesting sites. Damascus also averages 45 inches of rain a year, providing the moisture that softens wood fibers and makes it the path of least resistance for carpenter bees to chew through.
Impact of Carpenter Bees on Barn Integrity
Although carpenter bees do not eat wood, the tunneling that they perform can significantly weaken the structural integrity of the barn over time. The female bores perfectly round, half-inch holes and tunnels six inches or longer into the wood. The result of this is tunnels that can weaken load-bearing beams and support posts.
Where large colonies return to the same nesting sites over and over, the real damage is magnified. What begins as superficial damage becomes serious structural issues. A sagging roofline, a compromised foundation, and a hefty repair bill can all be the result of weakened beams. Those holes also provide entry points for moisture, causing the wood to rot and decay much quickly. It is not until barn owners undertake renovations that the full spectrum of damage becomes clear, with carpenter bee galleries discovered throughout the main supports.
Time to Call In a Pro!
Controlling carpenter bees means much more than filling holes with wood putty, since these strong insects always come back to the places where they nested earlier. It is difficult to properly treat this type of pest without professional assistance because of its behavior pattern. Green Pest Services is responsible for helping a number of Damascus property owners to save their barns from carpenter bees. They will immediately treat the active nesting staff and protect as many wood surfaces as possible with preventive measures.
Each Green Pest Services technician knows the peculiarities and challenges of Damascus barns, from weather exposure to types of materials used. When the sustainability of the barn is endangered by carpenters who provide professional experience, they give necessary solutions that last for many years to come for your valuable agricultural structures.
