Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Bee Rancher on October 27, 2004, 08:28:27 pm

Title: Bee Removal or swarm catching
Post by: Bee Rancher on October 27, 2004, 08:28:27 pm
I have recently "gotten into it" with the SPCB pest control board about a call I recieved from a pest control guy who I left a message for about swarm collecting.  He informed me I had to have a pest license in TX to take from dwellings or charge.  The boards legal dept stated that was true. But I could set the test to be licensed with no prior experience and get a license??????  So I get them for free or pay a dollar to the customers.....excuse me....beekeepers who want to sell a colony on their house.  Please check with your state regs about bee removal.  In Dallas and Ft Worth there are a couple of people who believe that it is their duty to keep us out of"PEST CONTROL!" or collecting bees for hives.

Or out of their pockets whatever they want to live with.

Sorry for the ramble.  Let the Grasshoppers live.
Title: Bee Removal or swarm catching
Post by: Beth Kirkley on October 27, 2004, 09:48:12 pm
Well I say that's just plain crazy. I wonder how many other city have this "ruling" or whatever it is. If I were you, I'd look into the whole thing a little more. I just don't see how anyone could be forced to hire a pest control person when they want bees (or whatever - ants, wasps, ?) to be gone.
This makes me think of another type of situation. In most cities you're not allowed to trap stray cats or dogs. Only an animal control officer can do that. As a matter of fact, most of the time you're not even allowed to pick up a stray animal off the streets. (Getting off the point. :) ) Anyway, I can understand that law, because the animal may belong to someone, and it could look like stealing the animal......... but this thing you mention is just plain stupid. Bees belong to no one. Bees are on no endangered list. They are not a wild animal.

I wanna know WHY you can't get them without a liscense. :) Anybody tell you why?

Beth
Title: Bee Removal or swarm catching
Post by: Bee Rancher on October 27, 2004, 10:03:33 pm
I did not mean for it to sound like that you cannot remove them from your own house, just someone else's according to the SPCB rules(34pges) .  There is a whole section in their rules about a beekeepers excemption.  .....must be registered with the state apiary inspector and with the SPCB board,  They said that I could register with them but they had no way to follow up and put my name down.  How goofy is that????  Theire rules were updated in 2003 and they cannot even apply them correctly.  that is when I explained to the legel department in Austin that I could pay for the bees and be within their guidelnes.  He suggested that I set the test and become licensed then I could charge what I wanted.  I need another state cert or license like a hole in the head....haha.

The section says that I can not charge, solicit, advertise, remove from a public dwelling or school or apartment unless I am hired as an employee of that group or school district.??????????????????????????????????  Soooo I guess 1.00 for a colony of bees is not sooo bad.  Thank you m'am or sir and if more bees should try and make a home at your place then I will be happy to return and buy another colony from you. Ha Ha Ha


Oh well ??? :roll:
Title: Bee Removal or swarm catching
Post by: Beth Kirkley on October 28, 2004, 02:38:50 pm
I knew you didn't mean that I couldn't remove bees from my own property - that I CAN do that with no problem. But I still think that it's stupid that they're telling you that you can't do this without a liscense. For instance, my father-in-law hires a man to mow his lawn. This man also takes care of killing off red ants. It would be like saying this man can't kill the ants without a pest control liscense. It's just silly.
Bees would be (I feel anyway) in the same grouping as ants. And if a bee keeper wants the bees, to raise and make honey, I say "go for it - I'll gladly pay for the removal and you do what you want with the bees". (That is, if I was a home owner that had unwanted feral bees.)
I can understan needing a liscense to trap other pests - skunks, armadillos, beavers, feral cats, or a large animal like a pesty bear - but BEES?  :shock:  Give me a break, it's silly.
Who ever made that law in your area is most definately just out for the money - forcing homeowners to hire an expensive "pest control" person instead of the average Joe.

Beth
Title: Ms. Kirkley
Post by: Bee Rancher on October 28, 2004, 03:18:36 pm
Thanx for the response.  I was just sitting at the firehouse last night and wanted someone to see it my way.  I think I have found them.  Hope all is well with you and thanx for the vent time.

H
Title: Bee Removal or swarm catching
Post by: Jake B on October 28, 2004, 07:02:18 pm
I am in the  pre-beekeeper stage and live just south of Ft. Worth, so this post interests me a little. I can tell you that the licensing is all about the almighty dollar. Since most things are. Since I am just starting I am unfamiliar with some of this stuff. What is the SPCB :?:
Title: Jake
Post by: Bee Rancher on October 30, 2004, 10:16:52 pm
SPCB  Is the Structural Pest Control Board that governs the Texas Pest Control License guys.

I am glad that you are starting out.  Welcome and I am new also but these guys here have realy helped me with my decisions on my bees.

H
Title: Bee Removal or swarm catching
Post by: beesharp on November 05, 2004, 08:34:11 pm
The rules here in TX are pretty ridiculous and they don't even make sense in many cases. There's an interesting sidebar in ABJ regarding the dilemma facing TX beekeepers. I think you're right about a couple of individuals really pushing the issue for their own benefit. What's worse is the fellow I'm thinking of has been terribly rude to the potential customers I've referred to him - he actually just hangs up on customers if they're tried any pesticides and if he hears yellow jackets the potential customer just hears click.... unfortunate for all the local beekeepers.

The Texas Beekeepers Association (TBA) is looking at interveining and trying to make some sense of the rules or adding a beekeeper designation to do removals without pesticides. I talked to a TBA official and they're at least aware of the problem and talking about solutions.

Jim
Title: Bee Removal or swarm catching
Post by: Finman on November 06, 2004, 06:27:59 am
Difficult to understand what are you thinking, but one case in my experienec.

One beekeeping group wanted to rent a piece of land inside Helsinki to learn beekeeping. This was 2 years ago.

The person (my associate) who wrote the rent agreement understood nothing about beekeeping and gived terms which were nonsence, two pages.  

This was only Pavlows dog's effect from my associate.