Carpenter Bee Control in Kerrville, TX
The usual Kerrville carpenter bee story starts with a big, shiny black bee hanging in the air at eye level by the porch, then a neat round hole under the fascia with a little cone of sawdust on the step below. The hovering bee is almost always a male, and males have no stinger. The wood is the real concern, so find every hole before the next generation adds more, and phone or text (210) 281-1064 or book online if there are many or they are out of reach.
What the hole and the bee tell you #
AgriLife's carpenter bee leaflet says no other insect bores an opening that large and that perfectly round, about half an inch across, and that fresh sawdust usually piles up beneath active nests (AgriLife L-1826). Behind the opening, the gallery usually runs 4 to 6 inches, occasionally a foot, and holds 6 to 9 brood cells. Reused year after year, a gallery can stretch past 3 yards.
The bees are 3/4 to 1 inch long, blue-black with a green or purple sheen, and their abdomen is shiny and nearly hairless on top. That bald, glossy back separates them from bumble bees, which are fuzzy all over and nest in old burrows rather than wood; see bumble bee control in Kerrville. Carpenter bees live alone, not in colonies. Females can sting, but only when handled or provoked.
Kerrville's 1970s and '80s trim #
The 1980s were Kerrville's busiest decade for home building: Census survey data for 2020 to 2024 traces 20.6% of the city's homes to those years, with another 18.0% from the 1970s (Census ACS). Trim, siding and decking that old has had decades to weather, and weathered wood is exactly what TAIS says these bees go after. AgriLife adds that they favor redwood, cypress, cedar and pine, and will tunnel into harder woods once rot or weather has softened them.
A walk around a Kerrville house lot #
Most homes in town stand on their own lot, with 63.2% of the city's housing counted as single-family detached in the same Census table. That means fascia, fences, decks and outbuildings that each owner maintains. AgriLife says the bees like sunny spots with a roof or overhang above, and University of Florida notes the unpainted back side of eave trim as a favorite target.
Check these, looking up from underneath:
- Eaves and fascia: the back and bottom edges of trim boards, especially unpainted ones.
- Decks and porches: joists, railings and the underside of steps.
- Fences: the top rails and posts of wood fences.
- Swings, pergolas and play sets: any untreated softwood with shade above.
- Sheds and barns: siding and rafter tails.
Stains streaking down from a hole are a sign the gallery has been in use for a while.
Keeping them out of the wood #
- Paint it. In AgriLife's ranking, an oil or polyurethane finish, or lumber that came pressure-treated, discourages them most, and a latex coat holds up fine if you keep it maintained.
- Don't count on stain. Sources disagree: AgriLife calls it inadequate, the University of Kentucky says it may repel a little but is less reliable than paint (UK ENTFACT-611), and Penn State says it deters bees.
- Don't plug untreated holes. Young bees inside will chew right back out.
- Offer a decoy. Gardeners who like having these pollinators can mount a block of soft wood out in the garden as an alternative home, an idea from the same AgriLife leaflet.
- Metal flashing or screen over the wood is a last resort.
How Pest Trappers handles carpenter bees in Kerrville #
The technician counts and maps the holes, checks how far the wood has been weakened and looks for other wood pests along the way; AgriLife observes that a carpenter bee check sometimes uncovers termites, carpenter ants or wood-boring beetles too. Each active hole is treated with a labeled product, some of which AgriLife says are generally sold only to professionals, and the label is followed exactly. Holes are plugged afterward, and badly damaged boards are flagged for replacement. Pricing comes after the inspection. Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549), a family-owned company, is licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture for general pest and termite work, and the office confirms your time. More is in the carpenter bee guide and on our Kerrville page.