Carpenter Bees pestering my new hive

Hello y’all!! I live in Granbury, Texas and just start my hive last week. I have seen a handful of carpenter bees pestering my new hive and have helped my ladies kill a few. Looking for the best way to keep the carpenters from coming back? Close the hive for a couple of days and what else? Thanks in advance for y’alls help and advice!

Hi and welcome to the forum. Carpenter bees have made their homes in my chicken coop and swoop all around my hives too. If they ever manage to get inside they’re dead meat, no worries :sunglasses::axe:

No need to close up your hive - that’ll only make your girls upset :wink:

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Thanks for the help/advice I appreciate it!!

Now I think I may have robbing happening from other honeybees :roll_eyes:

Robbing is not unheard of but a little unusual in spring when there’s a flow on - all the bees are too busy and satisfied with the abundant nectar to try getting it the hard way. Could it be that your colony has just had a bunch of new workers emerge and doing orientations?

If you’re reasonably sure it’s robbers, you can buy or make a robbing screen, and I always have good luck with draping a damp beach towel over the front of the hive for 1-2 days:

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