If you’re choosing a new bench for your yard, you’ve probably wondered whether the material itself can invite bees or ants to hang around. The short answer is yes, but usually not because of the material alone—it’s more about what the bench provides. Different materials create different micro-environments, and that’s what matters to insects.
Wooden benches are the most likely to attract both bees and ants, though for different reasons. Carpenter bees are drawn to unfinished or weathered softwoods like cedar, pine, or fir, especially if the wood has small cracks, exposed end grain, or existing nail holes. They don’t eat the wood but tunnel into it to lay eggs. Ants, on the other hand, usually show up because food or moisture gets trapped in the grain or joints. Spilled lemonade, fallen fruit, or even honeydew from aphids on nearby plants can pull ants right onto a wooden surface. Pressure-treated or painted wood is far less attractive, but any wood exposed to damp soil will eventually get some ant traffic.
Metal benches—aluminum, wrought iron, or steel—rarely attract carpenter bees because there’s no wood to excavate. However, ants will still walk across metal if there’s a food source. Metal doesn’t hold organic residue the way wood does, so it stays cleaner. One exception is hollow metal tubing. If the bench has open ends or screw holes, ants sometimes build nests inside the tubes where it’s dry and protected. This is more common with aluminum frames left outdoors year-round. Keeping end caps in place or sealing holes with silicone solves that.
Plastic or resin benches are probably the least attractive to bees. Carpenter bees ignore plastic completely. Ants may crawl on plastic if there’s sugary residue, but plastic doesn’t absorb spills and doesn’t trap moisture the way wood does. A quick rinse gets rid of anything ants want. That said, if the plastic bench sits directly on soil or mulch, ants can nest underneath it and use the bench legs as a bridge to whatever food is nearby.
So is there a truly “pest-proof” bench material? Not exactly. Bees are mostly a wood-specific issue, while ants are a food-and-moisture issue regardless of material. If you love wood, go with a dense hardwood like teak or white oak, keep it sealed, and plug any holes. For low-maintenance options, powder-coated metal or high-density plastic will give you fewer headaches. The real prevention trick is simple: wipe down spills, keep the area under the bench dry, and don’t let plants with aphids hang over the seat. Do that, and even a wooden bench won’t look like a bug magnet.