CARPENTER BEES SUCK!!! And we have a huge problem with them at my house as well as at work. The bees (which resemble a standard bumblebee, except they are bigger, faster, and very aggressive) get their name because they lay their eggs inside small holes that they bore into the wood. Fortunately, unlike most bees they are non-communal and don't have massive hives or a queen. Each female makes her own holes in the wood (about the size of the end of your pinky finger) and lays an egg cell in the end of each hole along with a material called "bee bread" (a mixture of pollen and regurgitated nectar) which the larvae will feed off of. Each female can lay up to 7 different egg cells. The males really just there to mate and that's about it. The females however constantly hover back and forth between holes all day long to monitor them. Highly annoying when you're trying to relax on the deck. They aggressively defend their nests by swooping at you although they rarely sting unless you're holding one tightly in your hand. The males don't even have stingers. They are nearly impossible to get rid of and unfortunately come back to nest in the same spots each year. I've made it a personal mission of mine to kill all of them around my house. I did it last year in a matter of two weeks. Using a combination of the wasp/hornet killers that shoot the stream of pesticide 20ft (although the bees are so fast you have to catch them going in and out of a hole to really get them with the spray) and my other tool, my trusty tennis racket. This year I am thinking of implementing new techniques such as a shop vac, or high powered leaf blower. I just got my first one about 15 minutes ago with the old tennis racket. It's actually quite fun, albeit a bit scary when they divebomb your face.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 3:26 PM