Signs You Have Carpenter Bees in Your Long Island Home
You have carpenter bees on your Long Island home if you see perfectly round half-inch holes in fascia, deck rails, pergolas, shed trim, or wood siding, sawdust piles on the deck or ground under those holes, or large shiny black bees hovering aggressively near wood surfaces from mid-April through June. Suffolk County homes with cedar shakes and pergolas, and Nassau County homes with painted or unfinished fascia are prime targets. Woodpecker damage next to the holes is a strong sign the population is well established. Because females return to and expand existing tunnels, untreated damage grows year over year and can eventually require replacement of fascia boards, deck rails, or shed trim.
How Bobby Bugs Treats Carpenter Bees
Bobby Bugs treats carpenter bees on Long Island by injecting a professional product directly into each active hole, treating the surrounding wood, and returning to plug and seal the holes so future bees cannot reuse them. Expect a written 1-year guarantee.
- 1Free phone triage: how many holes, how high, which wood surfaces.
- 2On-site count and sizing so the job can be quoted in writing before any work begins.
- 3Direct injection of professional product into each active hole.
- 4Surface treatment of the surrounding wood.
- 5Return visit 7 to 10 days later to plug holes with dowels and caulk.
- 6Written 1-year guarantee against activity in the same wood.
How Long Does It Take to Get Rid of Carpenter Bees?
Carpenter bee activity on treated Long Island wood drops sharply within 3 to 7 days of the initial visit, with plugging completed about 10 days later. Woodpecker interest usually stops shortly after that, since there are no live larvae left in the wood. The 1-year written guarantee covers the following spring emergence, which is when reinfestation would show up if the treatment missed a tunnel.
How to Keep Carpenter Bees From Coming Back
To keep carpenter bees from drilling into a Long Island house, paint the wood. Penn State entomologists note carpenter bees go after unpainted wood, that stain alone doesn't stop them, and that the same bees come back every spring to clean out and enlarge last year's tunnels, so an untreated gallery gets longer and branches every year. Prime and paint or varnish exposed softwood on fascia boards, deck railings, porch ceilings, window sills, shingles and outdoor furniture, and replace badly tunneled boards. After a gallery has been treated, fill the half-inch entrance holes with wood putty or a wooden dowel and paint over them, but not before treatment, or you seal live bees inside to chew out somewhere else. Watch for round half-inch holes with sawdust below them in April and May; that's the year's first sign. On the ocean side of Long Island, salt air weathers cedar and pine faster than anywhere inland, which is why the South Shore and the Hamptons keep us busiest.
Where we see carpenter bees most on Long Island
- Long Beach
Salt-weathered deck rails, fascia and West End bungalow trim on the barrier island.
- Southampton
Cedar shingle, trim and wraparound porches on the shingle-style estates.
- East Hampton
Cedar-shingled houses, pool houses and guest cottages near the ocean.
- Oceanside
Decks and fences on the marsh-edge streets that never fully dry out.
- Bay Shore
Waterfront homes and older porches along the Great South Bay.
- Sayville
Victorian porches and cedar shingle near the bay and ferry docks.
- Northport
Old cedar shingle and porch posts on the Victorian streets above the harbor.
- Port Washington
Waterfront homes and older trim on the Manhasset Bay side.
Related reading
More resources
- Visit our full services list.
- See every area we serve across Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and The Bronx.
- See our carpenter ant treatment page.
- See our wasp and hornet nest removal page.
How Much Does Carpenter Bee Treatment Cost on Long Island?
Carpenter bee treatment cost on Long Island depends on how many holes are active and how high they are. A few holes in a Babylon deck railing is a quick visit; years of galleries along cedar fascia, pergolas, and second-story trim take more material, ladder work, and more time after treatment. Untreated galleries get reused and enlarged every spring, so the longer they have been active the more there is to seal. Bobby Bugs gives you a free written quote before any work begins, and the number on the invoice matches the quote. Every carpenter bee treatment includes the 1-year written guarantee.
What customers say
We had carpenter bees showing up around the deck and couldn’t figure out where they were coming from. They found the spots right away and explained what needed to be done. Super straightforward, no pressure, and the problem has been way better since.
So let’s start with this.I was out of town, and my daughter called me in a frenzy that she saw a roach. 10 years in that house never had roaches. Here I am out of state trying to figure out the fastest way to help my daughter. Saw the name BOBBY BUGS and the reviews and figured I would call them up.I called spoke to Anthony not only did he go above and beyond for us but the service was fantastic. William who showed up at the house was simply incredible and made my daughter feel at ease. Thank you for helping our little Italian Family out in such a pinch. Grazie Mille Adriana
Fast, friendly service. I called in the morning and Will came to my house that evening. Will was great. I would definitely use Bobby's Bugs again and recommend them.
Reviewed October 2026
Frequently asked questions
Do carpenter bees really damage wood?
Yes. Carpenter bees drill perfect half-inch holes into fascia, deck rails, pergolas, and shed trim on Long Island homes, then tunnel several inches inside. Years of unchecked activity can weaken deck rails and fascia enough to require replacement. Woodpeckers hunting bee larvae multiply the damage dramatically.
Carpenter bees vs bumble bees: how do I tell?
Carpenter bees have a smooth shiny black abdomen and hover aggressively around wood, especially decks, pergolas, and eaves. Bumble bees have a fuzzy yellow-and-black abdomen and forage on flowers, nesting in the ground. On Long Island, hover behavior around wood is almost always carpenter bees.
Should I plug carpenter bee holes myself?
Only after treatment. Plugging carpenter bee holes before Bobby Bugs treats them traps live bees and larvae inside the wood, where woodpeckers will still tear at the wood to reach them. Treatment first, then plugging with dowels or caulk about 10 days later, is the correct order.
When do carpenter bees come back each year?
Carpenter bees emerge on Long Island in mid to late April, peak in May and June, and go quiet by August. Females almost always return to the same wood the following spring, which is why untreated holes get reused and new tunnels branch off. The 1-year written guarantee covers this return cycle.
Do carpenter bees sting?
Rarely. The bees hovering aggressively at face level in spring are males guarding the nest, and males can't sting. Females can but almost never do unless handled. The real problem is the tunneling, which expands every year the galleries are left alone, and the woodpeckers that tear open the wood to get at the larvae.
Will filling the holes get rid of them?
Not on its own. Plugging an untreated hole leaves live bees and larvae inside, and they chew out through a new opening. The gallery has to be treated first, then filled with putty or a dowel and painted over. That's how we do it, and carpenter bee work carries a 1-year written guarantee.
Why do they keep coming back to the same spot every year?
Because carpenter bees reuse old galleries. Penn State notes each spring's bees clean out and enlarge last year's tunnels rather than start fresh, so one untreated hole in a fascia board becomes a branching network over a few seasons. Treating and sealing the galleries, then painting the wood, breaks that cycle.