Top 5 Best Carpenter Bee Traps (Effective & Long lasting)

However, not every type of bee is as beneficial and as welcome in our lives as honey bees. Carpenter bees, for example, can be very destructive; that is why we often find that we need the best carpenter bee trap to contain the problem.

Unlike other types of bees, carpenter bees don’t live in colonies or have robust social settings. These are individual insects that love boring holes into wood to build themselves a shelter. Carpenter bees tend to prefer different softwoods such as cedar, cypress, and pine. You have probably noticed some random holes on exposed wood around your house. These holes will often be found on frames and eaves. These holes are often an indication of a carpenter bee infestation.

While they may seem harmless at first, if left unchecked, these holes can lead to more serious problems that could jeopardize the structural integrity of your home. To prevent this from occurring, you need to set up a few traps to keep carpenter bees from ruining your house. That is exactly what you will find in this list today – the best carpenter bee traps to use.

CBS Our Best Carpenter Bee Trap – All-Weather Carpenter Bee Trap

The idea behind all this is to get something that is not only effective but also long-lasting. The CBS Our Best Carpenter Bee Trap is an all-weather carpenter bee trap made in the U.S.A. It is perfectly safe to use and contains absolutely no toxic chemicals, which makes it okay for honey bees as well.

Made out of wood that looks weathered, this carpenter bee trap from Carpenter Bee Solutions mimics the insect’s natural habitat, which gives it an almost irresistible allure. Designed with a chain that you can use to hang this trap anywhere around the home, this all-weather carpenter bee trap has a mason jar attached at the bottom. This jar can hold a host of trapped carpenter bees, thus keeping your home safe from the damage that these insects can cause.

Mac’s Log Style Trap – The Most Natural Looking Carpenter Bee Trap

This trap is designed to look just like another log that can be found in the natural environment outside of our homes. The best thing about that is that you no longer have to worry about cleaning this particular carpenter bee trap because it’s natural “log look” easily conceals debris, dust, and dirt. That alone is enough to put this Mac’s Log Style Trap in contention for the “best and most natural carpenter bee trap” on this list.

Apart from the natural look, this carpenter bee trap comes with a dish soap that can easily attract bees as well as other insects from as far as half an acre away. Weighing in at less than three pounds, this trap is very easy to hang up as well as change its position every now again around your property. It comes with a built-in chain that makes that so much easier. To get the most out of this trap, dangle it about 24 inches from the ground, so it doesn’t get wet and damp.

This trap has a dark brown exterior that looks exactly like a log and blends in perfectly with the environment which serves two purposes: convinces the carpenter bees that this is the most natural and obvious alternative for a new nest and you can hang it anywhere on your property without it standing out.

RESCUE Trapstik for Wasps, Mud Daubers, Carpenter Bees – The Lure for Multiple Pests Species

This is an insect trap that was designed to lure more than just one species of insect into it. Originally designed with a sticky exterior, this RESCUE Trapstik for Wasps, Mud Daubers, Carpenter Bees was quickly improved to include a sort of enclosure that prevents birds from perching on it and scaring away the intended insects.

The other reason the sticky exterior was revised and a bird guard was added on was because birds got lured by the trapped insects caught within the trap, and unfortunately, the birds themselves got stuck on the sticky material as well making the entire process rather messy and ineffective.

The new design, however, has taken all that into consideration and now has measures in place to protect the birds (the bird guard). This insect trap which is effective for mud daubers, wasps and carpenter bees among many other species, is designed with a bright yellow and lime-colored exterior.

It features an abstract pattern that is visually appealing to insects in general due to a process called phototaxis. Insects just can’t help but flock to it. The traps are designed to be chemical and insecticide-free, which makes it safe for honey bees. It comes with a large trapping space, which means it can keep plenty of insects trapped within it before you have to empty it.

Designed to be easily hung anywhere around your property, you can choose locations where carpenter bee activity is heightened, such as the perimeter of the house or in the barn. The trap is easy to clean up, highly disposable, and very effective.

Original B Brothers-Carpenter Bee Trap – The Hardwood Carpenter Bee Trap

Yes, carpenter bees tend to prefer softwood, but this carpenter bee trap is made out of hardwood for one very good reason – exploration. You see, there is always a chance that the intended carpenter bee will decide to bore a hole in the trap as opposed to just use the entrance that is already provided. In this quest, it might either get bored and fly away or find a way to live within the trap.

However, this Original B Brothers-Carpenter Bee Trap hardwood carpenter bee trap eliminates those options. Should the carpenter bee decide to try and bore a hole in this trap, it will quickly get frustrated and look for an alternative route in, and that’s when it will stumble upon the already available hole that will lead it straight to the trap.

Suitable for harsh outdoor conditions, this hardwood carpenter bee trap is an excellent choice for people who want something long-lasting. It has an unpolished body, and the trap doesn’t contain and chemicals. The glass jar is quite durable and reusable. To make it easier to hang, this trap has two screw hooks and comes with a chain (unattached for shipping purposes.

Mac’s LLC Carpenter Bee Trap Stained Wood – USDA Approved Stain

When it comes to trapping carpenter bees, it’s often best to use a trap that mimics their natural habitat. This way, they are more easily attracted to your trap. This Mac’s LLC Carpenter Bee Trap Stained Wood does exactly that and more. Stained with food-grade USDA approved stain, this carpenter bee trap is both easy to use and designed to catch more than just carpenter bees.

This stain makes the wood look weathered and attractive to carpenter bees. Designed with holes on all sides, this trap is very alluring to carpenter bees that will find it easy to explore. With a removable mason jar and chain, this trap is designed for easy use and cleaning.

Carpenter Bee Traps FAQs & Buying guide

Before you go all in and buy yourself a carpenter bee trap, there are some questions that you must ask yourself.

Many of these questions have to do with the structure of the trap, while some have to do with the reason behind using these traps. Here are some answers to the most common carpenter bee questions today:

What Are Carpenter Bee Traps and What Do They Do?

For the most part, when trying to trap bugs and other forms of insects, you are most likely going to put out some kind of honey trap that has sugar in it. While this approach often works for most insects, carpenter bees are least likely to be interested in this kind of charade and won’t investigate the trap.

That is why you need to have a specifically designed trap just for carpenter bees. The traps on this list are specifically tailored to trap carpenter bees.

Most of the traps here look a lot like birdhouses that have a small opening. This opening is slightly slanted – they are designed that way to trick carpenter bees into thinking that they have found a suitable nesting ground. O

nce the carpenter bee goes in to investigate what might be their next home, they find that they are in a confined space.

When they try to get out, the only option they have is a hole in the floor of the birdhouse looking trap, which only leads to a plastic bottle or a glass jar. Once they get in through that hole, they end up trapped in the jar or bottle.

You can either fill this glass jar or bottle with a liquid that drowns the carpenter bee or just let them stay there for a while, so they either get dehydrated or die from the heat.

How does a carpenter bee trap work?

For a carpenter bee trap to work, you first must plug up their current nest with some kind of stopper so they can’t get in. This will make them go searching for new accommodation. The best part is that these bees don’t tend to go that much further from their original nest. So if you put the trap nearby, it is very likely that it’s the first place they will look for accommodation. You can also include bait and different types of lures such as hummingbird feed or carpenter bee specific lures to attract the bees even more. Once they get into the trap, there is no getting out.

Is there a risk to using carpenter bee traps?

There is hardly anything on this planet that doesn’t come with some kind of inherent risk. Thankfully, however, carpenter bee traps don’t come with that many risks. The only real risk is being stung by the bees should you try to reach into the trap. You can, however, avoid this by simply letting the trap do its job before emptying it of the trapped and dead carpenter bees.

Why do I need to buy a carpenter bee trap?

Unlike most insects, carpenter bees aren’t attracted to sugar or most other types of bait. While they don’t eat the wood, they are constantly searching for better accommodations. That is why making their original homes inaccessible will prompt them to go in search of other facilities and land them in the trap. You need to buy a carpenter bee specific trap because most other traps don’t work on this type of bees.

What type of bait should I put in a carpenter bee trap?

Frankly speaking, you don’t really need to put any kind of bait in a carpenter bee trap. There is a very good chance that the carpenter bee will find the trap on its own once you block the entrance to its original home.

However, if you want to speed up the process and all but guarantee that the offending carpenter bee will find your trap as opposed to some other exposed wood around your house, you can use a variety of baits and lures. There are brands online that offer carpenter bee specific baits, but you can make your own at home by mixing laundry soap and water.

How and where is the best place to put a carpenter bee trap?

The very first thing you should do is make the original carpenter bee hole inhabitable. One of the best ways to do that is to dust it with something like Delta Dust. Wait for a couple of days to ensure that the hole is properly poisoned then plug up the entrance with something like caulk. The next step is to place your carpenter bee trap directly above that inhabitable and plugged up nest.

It is important to place the trap in the right place because if it is too far away, the carpenter bees might end up boring more holes on other parts of your house that have exposed wood. Apart from directly above the defunct nest, you can place the trap near the corners of your roof or in sunny and warm areas around your yard. Think places like picnic tables, benches, porches, and even along your home’s wooden siding. Do not put the traps in dark areas that don’t have any kind of protection from the rain.

How well do carpenter bee traps work?

Nothing is 100% effective, but carpenter bee traps work well enough. Using them in the right places can reduce the number of carpenter bee infestations in and around your home.

You now have a simple solution to that carpenter bee infestation that has you so worried. Any one of these carpenter bee traps works well enough to protect your home from the kind of structural damage that carpenter bees can cause. It’s now just a matter of choosing the best carpenter bee trap that works for you.