The Best Wood Bee Traps Review (Carpenter Bees)

About the Carpenter Bee

Carpenter Bees come in similar to the more popular bumble bee in appearance except carpenter bees are infamous for excavating weathered and dry wood. Decks, windowsills, fences and wooden lawn furniture can all fall victim to the American carpenter bee. You can easily identify a carpenter bee by its lack of visible hair on its abdomen and its dark purplish color. The female carpenter bee is capable of stinging but rarely does unless provoked or roughly handled.

Signs of a carpenter bee infestation include saw dust on the ground where a hole has been drilled, pollen around the entrance hole and of course the annoying flight activity around your yard. Here is a helpful video put together by Orkin

 

Carpenter Bees and the Environment

Killing or warding off Carpenter Bees is not a disservice to humanity. There is a big difference between honey bees/bumblebees and carpenter bees. Although the Carpenter Bees does help in pollination, their small numbers don’t make large difference – because there can be as little as a few male and a single female in an area.

In fact, they do more harm than good. For instance, any exposed wood will be eaten away by the Carpenter Bee and if you don’t take care of them, they can make your barn/deck inhabitable.

If you believe that you have a carpenter bee infestation issue than a wooden bee trap may be the best solution for you. We have put together this guide of our favorite traps and determined which one will provide you with the best bang for your buck.

Best Bee Brothers – Carpenter Bee Trap Review

Best Bee Brothers - Carpenter Bee Trap review

The Best Bee Brothers Carpenter Bee Trap mimics the natural nest of a carpenter bee to lure them inside of an empty bottle. The entrance hole is the same size as the nest the carpenter bees create naturally drill and is designed in such a way that it is easy for the carpenter bees to get inside but difficult for them to get out.

Once the bees have entered the trap, the plastic funnel chamber on the wooden enclosure keeps the bees until they die and fall into the plastic bottle. Then they release pheromones that attract other carpenter bees towards the same trap. The cycle continues until the plastic bottle is full of these carpenter bees especially if they are very active in that spot. You then unscrew the plastic bottle, empty it, and screw it back to the trap to start catching them over again.

The funnel system on the Bee Box Trap is unique and very effective in keeping the carpenter bees from escaping after they are caught in the trap. The Carpenter Bee Trap is a made from durable materials so that it is suitable for use under all weather conditions.

Moreover, it is safe and easy to use, does not require harmful toxic chemicals for bait, and doesn’t need tedious maintenance. You can attach the grommet to any 12 oz. or 16 oz. or even 2-liter bottle and one trap has up 15 ft. of coverage.

Not only is it constructed to last long but also has a loop on the roof for easy hanging in areas where carpenter bees frequent. It is a lot more economical in terms of cost and maintenance and is safer than spraying and other methods that use chemicals that could have some health implications. Read More Reviews

Positives
  • Durable,
  • Works with many different size bottles
  • A plethora of positive online reviews

Negatives
  •  Difficult to side mount

Best Hut Trap – Carpenter Bee Trap Review

Best Hut Trap - Wood Carpenter Bee Trap Review

There is an abundance of information on how to build a carpenter bee trap on the internet. But, they can cost you a lot of money and time, especially if you have never built one before. If you would rather save time and money for other important activities or if your time is more precious to you than sit to construct a bee trapper, you may want to look into buying a Carpenter Bee Trap. They have been proven to work.

The Best Hut Trap is uniquely designed and is fundamentally different from the usual designs you see from the Best Bee Brothers. It is small, elegant, and will be a great bee trapper for your home. It is not just attractive but also functional.

While the circular design of this trap maintains the same working principles as the other models, it adds an element of fun and aesthetics to the area it is suspended.

Like the Bee Box Trap, the Best Hut Trap also uses the same multi-functional funnel system. This means that you can either attach a mason jar or a plastic bottle to the bottom of the grommet. While the Mason jar needs to be purchased separately, the standard plastic is included with your purchase.

The Best Hut Carpenter Bee Trap is free from all toxic materials and it can work with any standard 12 oz., 16 oz., or 2 liter bottle. Whichever you want to use, just attach it to the rubber grommet and you are good to go.

This unit only weighs 2 lbs. and has a 15 ft. radius of coverage, which is enough to attract a good number of carpenter bees terrorizing your wood. While it may look appealing, the Best Hut Trap is not as sturdy as the Bee Box Trap and some customers have complained of it breaking apart after extended use. Read More Reviews

Positives
  • Nice design
  • Works with a mason jar
  • Light weight

Negatives
  • Durability is questionable.

Bees N Things Carpenter Bee Trap Review

Bees N Things Carpenter Bee Trap review

Because Carpenter Bees are certainly close to being immune to insecticides, it can become tricky or even difficult to handle them when they attack your barn or deck. Without a structure or an effective system for hunting them, they may continue to terrorize your family home.

Moreover, trying to kill or stop Carpenter Bees with electric rackets, spraying, vinegar, or borax has been shown to be somewhat ineffective. One method that has worked for many people and is still working is the Carpenter Bee Trap. And one of the most effective products in the market is Carpenter Bee Trap from Bees N Things.

The Bees N Things Carpenter Bee Trap has a lot of goodies for prospective buyers. It is compliant to the EPA, comes in a very attractive design and requires no tools or chemical components to be effective. It is made from unpainted/unstained wood, which makes it an ideal trap as the Carpenter Bees are attracted to these types of woods.

Since these Bees can inflict a lot of damage to your property, especially during spring, you can be sure that buying something like this will save you a lot of stress and headache. What we really liked about this bees n things trap is its compact size.  With  a trap this small it can fit almost anywhere.  The unique placement of the jar on the side of the trap also makes it easier to sit on top of things. This is the idea trap for compact spaces. Read More Reviews

Positives
  • Small size
  • Bottle positioned side of the box
  • Multiple holes

Negatives
  • Difficult to hang

Tingle Tongle Bee Trap – Premium Wood Carpenter Bee Trap Review

Tingle Tongle Bee Trap - Premium Wood Carpenter Bee Trap Review

There are cases where even after a lot of plugging, spraying, and swatting doesn’t fight them off. They just keep prospering. The problem with methods like spraying is that they only last for a short period of time.

And if you have tried them before yourself, you know that they are not as effective as having a Carpenter Bee Trap set up on your deck. The Tingle Tongle Bee Trap is a carpenter bee trap that is easy to use and clean. This trap is designed with a vertical latch that makes placing accessing the inside a simple process. It comes in a top down design that not only traps these Bees but also ensures they never escape.

According to this trap’s instructions, some bait is required. This is the only trap on the list that recommends the use of bait. A number owners of this trap have also complained that the quality of this trap is not the highest. This might be out least favorite trap. Read More Reviews

Positives
  •  Side latch

Negatives
  • Poor materials
  • Requires bait
  • Difficult to find online

Carpenter Bee Trap Backmnt Review

Because Carpenter Bees are attracted by light, this Carpenter Bee Trap’s design specifically capitalizes on that. When the Bees go inside, they are trapped and don’t have any way out of the trap. Moreover, you don’t need bait for the Carpenter Bee Trap Backmnt to be effective.

All you have to do is to wait for the Bees to die after they are caught by the device. The Carpenter Bee Trap Backmnt sits or mounts on any wooden structure, comes in an attractive design and is very easy to use. Fortunately, it does not attract any other type of bee aside from the Carpenter Bees..

This Trap installs facing the side unlike others that face the floor and it can also be mounted under soffit. While carrying some research on this product, e discovered that some users had a problem with making this trap work.

In order to make this to work well for you, you have to experiment with different locations, especially around areas where the Carpenter bees are active or where there are existing holes. And most importantly, you have to be very patient. Some users have reported that they had to wait for days before seeing results.

On another note, there is also a couple of complaints that the bees do occasionally escape from this trap because of the design. One trick is to use a  bit of honey inside the jar. If you are looking for a wood bee trap that can be easily mounted on the side of your house or a fence, this is a great product for you. Read More Reviews

Positives
  • Backmount design
  • Built to attach to fences and the side of buildings
  • Compact design

Negatives
  • Difficult to hang like other bee traps

Overview

As you can see there are a number of different traps to choose from. While they all serve the same purpose they differ in effectiveness. After a long review process, we came to the conclusion that the first Best Bees Brother trap was our favorite due to its long lasting design and effectiveness. Click here to learn more about our favorite trap.

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