Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => HONEYBEE REMOVAL => Topic started by: TwT on May 25, 2007, 12:27:01 pm

Title: look at these prices
Post by: TwT on May 25, 2007, 12:27:01 pm

I have been way under bidding my removal jobs, these guys got it going , click on "pricing"
http://www.bee-swarm.com/index.htm

Title: Re: look at these prices
Post by: KONASDAD on May 25, 2007, 01:11:55 pm

Doesn't make a diff what I charge, no one has called in my area.

Title: Re: look at these prices
Post by: wayne on May 25, 2007, 03:56:55 pm

  I feel like a crook now on some real easy ones. I saw one place in California that was $1500 per swarm once.

Title: Re: look at these prices
Post by: Understudy on May 27, 2007, 01:32:42 pm

Those prices are right in line with what most pros in Florida Charge.
And to be honest I think they are pretty fair.



Sincerely,
Brendhan

Title: Re: look at these prices
Post by: Ross on June 11, 2007, 11:11:53 am

I did two this weekend at $50 an hour.  The first was a small queenless swarm in a garage wall.  No brood, not much honey, lots of old comb that had been poisoned the year before.  I vacuumed most of them and we dumped them into a weak nuc.

The second was a small queenright swarm between the first and second floors of a house.  They had about 6 nice combs, lots of brood and eggs, not much honey.  I cut and rubberbanded about 4 frames of brood and eggs.  The bees kept retreating off the comb and back into the joist bay, so I setup the hive body with the brood on top of the ladder pushed up against the joist bay.  I'm hoping they will come to the brood in the next day or so.  If not, I'll vacuum again. 

So, out of two cutouts, how many "free" bees did I net.  None that you can count on.  I drove about 120 miles (30 each way on each of them), sweated for 5 hours at 90+ degrees and high humidity in a bee suit, and I didn't get to do the things I needed to do at home.  Short answer, I got to raise my prices.

Title: Re: look at these prices
Post by: Cindi on June 11, 2007, 11:20:14 am

I am amazed at how much swarm removal, cut outs and so on are being done.  I wonder if we have these issues up where I live.  I have never heard of so much, maybe I am just not in the hep of things.  I don't know.  Have a wonderful day, great life.  Cindi

Title: Re: look at these prices
Post by: bluegrass on June 14, 2007, 08:46:39 pm

Cindi
I think you are too far north....when I lived in Vermont we never got any removal calls and it seems the farther south I get the more I get. I think in the north swarms tend not to make it through the first winter.

Title: Re: look at these prices
Post by: kensfarm on June 15, 2007, 10:30:48 am

I went on a call w/ a local beek to removed a small swarm in a tree from the parking lot at a Roy Rogers..  he billed them..  plus we got free dinner!   

Title: Re: look at these prices
Post by: Cindi on June 16, 2007, 12:14:31 pm

Bluegrass, I be thinkin' you are right.  Our winters are cold and freeze up.  I know there are issues in the summer with swarming, but not to this degree that I hear all the "southerners" are called out to get.  Have a wonderful day, great life.  Cindi