Getting so many calls for bees at the moment. I am not really trying to build up a commercial quantity of hives, it's still just a great hobby for me. So while i happy to remove bees for the adventure of it and to catch some bees for my collection, it does actually cost me money most of the time. Combined with lots of time on the phone, calls at 10pm etc i figure i need to at least cover my direct costs.
Direct costs;
- bee hive costs a good $50/$60 (box, bottoms, tops, strap, frames, paint etc).
- travel to the removal costs $x.
Indirect cost;
- Time. I exchange this for bees. I give 50% of my swarms to other people who dont want/dont have time to collect them.
What does everyone charge for;
1. Remove an easy Swarm from a tree, no ladder, easy access., not too far to travel.
2. As above but more complicated, higher up, further away.
3. Inside of some kinda of structure...need to do a removal from the structure onsite into a bee box.
4. Cut out of some description.