Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => HONEYBEE REMOVAL => Topic started by: David LaFerney on April 15, 2010, 10:45:57 pm
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Check out the quality information and workmanship in this video about a honey bee infestation in Houston -
http://www.click2houston.com/video/23142215/index.html (http://www.click2houston.com/video/23142215/index.html)
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Scary, very scary : :'( :'( :'(
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Oops!!
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:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
Poor bees didn't have a chance, nor the lady's building for that matter.
...JP
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I guess anybody that has a bee suit knows just what to do. :shock: :shock:
That was pretty sad to watch, could have make 2 or 3 good hives from all of those bees and comb.
Even more sad is how they destroyed her house, I sure hope they made enough money from it to buy some battery powered tools, it looked as though they only had a hammer.
G3
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That's appaling! theat guy didnt need to be so heavy handed! and yeah, you could have made a lot of hives out of that! would have been an awesome cut out to be a part of! talk about showing off for the camera...
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Isn't that a handy tip though that bees can't function if you just turn your AC down to 70 degrees?
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I notice some news organizations don't leave a place for comments... :evil:
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I have a few comments I'd like to make, but this is a family-friendly forum....
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I kinda wonder what that guy did with those trash bags full of comb. I bet they may have gone straight to the dumpster with the way he was pulling everything down.
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This actually almost made me cry. Seriously, did no bee removal services come up when they googled?? What's up with people? I hate to be mean, but I want to bleep-slap that man for what he did.
Gah!
love,
ziffa
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He got paid big money to remove those bees. Homeowner wanted them gone. Period. He did not care about the bees, or her house. He wanted his money fast. And he got on TV also.
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THAT IS HORRABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats all I can say........ on here
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I had my kids watch the news report and they said "are all exterminators idiots when it comes to honey bees?" Even a 9 yo knows what to do to protect the bees and its 52 deg. outside and Im wondering why my bees are functional?
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:?
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I must confess,this clip was somewhat like the trailer of a thriller type movie....I find hard to blv dat was for real,I refuse to,I wont blv it no no no no :hissyfit: :rant:
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I kept rooting for the bees to no avail. :'( Hope some stingers got through. :evil:
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That could have been handled far better then that. :-x......Someone really needs to school these people and give them a real educatoin in bees. That guy with the hammer must have just got of a bad surf board ride the day before. Lets just beat on the side of the house and piss them off more..that will show them. :-x....So reason to instill fear into more of the public with false information.
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I looked up their web site and this must be a franchise type pest control outfit since they are all over the USA.
http://www.gotchapestcontrol.com/ (http://www.gotchapestcontrol.com/)
The one in Houston, which is shown above, has a couple of videos on their website. I think he only has a hammer, saws all and broom for bee removals. Their site claims they relocate bees and are trying to save them.
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6773498 (http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6773498)
Watch this video clip, listen at the very end at how they "SAVE THE BEES"................what an idiot!!
After watching his videos in the gallery of his website, he can even recognize AHB on site, what a joke he is!! This fella needs a good education on honeybees and how to handle them.
Very sad at all of the misinformation he is spewing out.
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WOW......i wish i had his ability to precisley determine the actual number of bees and pounds of honey he is safely....i mean gouging and scooping out of that house... i also appreciate the very excited rebel yell he lets out.....i may have to try that! lol
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I don't know much, but that is one of the dumbest *^&#@#+!*#* I've seen on tape!
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highlandsfreedom, i guess your bees don't watch the news :)
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actually as a brand new beekeeper and a carpenter that made me cringe for two reasons.
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"Gotcha" what an appropriate company name! :roll:
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OMG!!!!! The damage that idiot was doing!!!!!! On so many levels..... When I think of JB's calm, clean cutout videos - wouldn't it be great to post one of his and this one side by side on u-tube? Title it what to do, and what not to do, with bees.
JC
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Was it just me, or does he look like he's playing up a little for the camera? That DH is a total #^&%3r!
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Oh, he definitely loves the camera attention. I wonder if he keeps his cape underneath his suit. The ignorance of some people never ceases to amaze me. I also am baffled by his uncanny ability to so precisely declare the honey and bee levels.
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How come they didn't call the JP Swarm King Hotline?????????????????
...DOUG
KD4MOJ
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1-800-send plane ticket and cash.
Can you take bees on a plane? Maybe a movie in that.
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I can see it now "I'm sick and tired of these Mother F***ing bees on this Mothe F***ing plane!"
Scott
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Okay, the pest guy was just a jerk, but my favorite line is from the woman at the beginning.....
"The bees are getting more aggressive and BIG." :bee:
I know it wasn't what she meant but found myself a bit disappointed when the more big bee never showed up!
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Well, all I can say is welcome to my world.
As this is my first post let me introduce myself. David here, owner and operator of Georgia Wildlife Services, Inc and a professional NWCO (nuisance wildlife control operator) for the last five years. I am also a former beek (4 years) and soon to be current beek. Having done hundreds of cutouts in the past and having trained several NWCOs in how to deal with bees I find that video quite disturbing on so many levels. The sad truth is that is the very real future of the industry if we (the NWCOs) do not step up to the plate and require a et of standards. Currently in most jurisdictions wildlife control is either totally or lightly regulated and/or under the control of the pest control industry. The poor honeybees because they are not technically wildlife and are technically insects are at the mercy of the PCOs. The only way I am able to continue to offer services for their removal is the simple fact is that there is not a single category they fit into and as such are totally unregulated outside of commercial apiary laws.
I see this type of service all to often not only in dealing with honeybees but with all species of wildlife. Just recently my own state removed the last remianing level of protection for bats at a time the bats, particularly the large group of myotis species, are facing an extinction event with White Nosed Syndrome. I don't know whether to laugh or cry most days.
Also, some things I noted from the video. The homeowner first went to the city looking for city services. This is all to common as a lare percentage of our population have been bred to expect governmental service for all their ills. I am more than willing to bet this person later contacted a reputable firm or two and refused service when it was expalined fees were involved and that ultimately hired these yahoos for the lowball price. As an industry we can prevent that but what we can do through self policing and tightened regulation is to try to weed out the yahoos. For that reason I am a professional member of NWCOA and the state rep for NWCOA for Georgia and am active within the industry. I would like to invite anyone interested to consider joining the only industry group actively promoting a higher standard, the National Wildlife Control Operators Association.
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David, do you remove bees at the present time? I looked on you web site and not a single mention of honeybees.
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Yes I do and have for as long as I've been a NWCO. That site does not mention it as it is geared for other species and is basically a main portal site. This is my first year of operation as a stand alone entity and the web marketing is evolving. I hope to have a bee/stinging insect specific site up in the next month or so. God, I hate that side of business but it is a must in today's world.
Currently my main marketing for stinging insects and honeybees is word of mouth from customers of past years. Right now my sites are geared to SEO and as they mature I hope to turn on some info sites as well.
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Dave Mc
Have you looked and the removal/clean out videos and the Iddee trap out method
Just curious as too how you do your removals
these guys here show some nice tec. How too's
Tommyt
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Tommyt, I've been perusing this site for awhile now and those are some great videos. I am glad to see live cutouts and trap outs going "mainstream". I did my first trap out nearly 25 years ago while in high school and participated in several beetree cutouts with by beekeeping mentor back then.
As to how, I am ashamed to say that for the last few years as an employee of another I did the hose them technique. Something that I am not proud of but I did manage to get the swarms protected and when I left it was ironclad policy that swarms must come out alive and be turned over to a beek at best and if not released promptly to make their own salvation. The equipment and time factor prevented the other outfit from doing live cutouts besides as the sole beek in the outfit it was all I could do to train (I was a manager) a tech to be comfortable enough to even approach the bees.
It is my hope that by "leading the way" as it is within my industry in this state that I can shame the other guys into changing the method.
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David,
I sadly agree with everything you say. I live in Iowa, where the solution to every wildlife problem seems to be "kill it". A badger wandered into town by the church where the Boy Scouts meet, so being good scouts they called The DNR. DNR said "call Animal Control". Animal Control said "We're busy, kill it." Called a local supposed "rescue" association. They said to describe situation, and when the poor beasts behaviour was described (Typical badger defensive behaviour from what my son described) they said "kill it". Eventually the police showed up and, you guessed it, killed it.
Bees get the same treatment if people call "the authorities". People who I have done cut outs for have told me that they get advice to call exterminators, and only called me because they didn't want to kill the bees and checked the internet first. One local ag college tells people that feral bees are "worthless"!
JC
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Worthless???? IMO, the ferals (true ferals not recent escaped swarms) are going to be the salvation of beekeeping if we can just give them the chance (quit dumping toxins in the enviroment). It is all about natures way of adapting and maybe we should drop the term FERAL and go to another term that I think better describes what we are seeing out there LANDRACE. My understanding of the term landrace as it is applied to other species (Cracker/Pineywoods/Longhorn/Criollo cattle, Gulf Coast sheep, Guinea and Mulefoot hogs, Cracker/Mustang horses) that started as manmade breeds/strains adapted for man's use in one setting but once allowed to return to a wild or semi feral state the strain selects/adapts to that region or enviroment until a stasis of type is established.
I honestly believe that is exactly what I am seeing in the feral colonies. They are descendants of the original A.m.m. stock brought in with a strong admixture (to the point of dominance???) of A.m.l. since the complete move to italians with addition from all the other subspecies they have come into contact with. I read one study where many of our ferals show MtDNA of the lamarkii subspecies and I do not think those were ever used to any degree in commercial beekeeping. Which makes me wonder why that is. Could it be that over the centuries the ferals took from each new subspecies those genes that were "good" (added to survivability) and discarded those that weren't (detrimental to survivability).
Isn't that what we really want from any domesticated species. It must first be able to live with very little input from us.
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greenbtree, the thing that really hacks me off is the so called "national" bee removal companies, I can think of three off the top of my head, that advertise on the web. These outfits are nothing more than clearing houses where they take the call collect the credit card information and then farm the work out to whatever local lowballer is willing to do the work. Guess what happens to the bees and the customer's home when the lowballer shows up. I would guess that the video that started this thread was such a case.
So who does the homeowner deal with when the cutout goes south? The local sub (lowballer) or the guy behind the computer screen a 1000 miles away? Not a good situation no matter how you cut it. The same thing is happening in the nuisance wildlife field. We have a guy out in Utah that claims to be a national outfit but doesn't even own a trap.
I am currently lobbying for tighter restrictions in my home state and one item I want is only in state operators are allowed to do work in state. Maybe this is something beekeepers associations should look at.
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first off....the media is well compensated to 'rev up' any story. that is just what they do.
for all the "I could have done better crowd".... come to Houston, Texas put on a bee suit and see just how exacting you can be. if you last 15 minutes I would be very much surprised.
the state bee inspector here tell me that a set of state qualification and permit is in the works for removing honeybees in Texas. at one time (not certain if this still applies) removal by anyone without a pest control permit was illegal. it seems the anti government folks here thinks regulation is a good idea in this circumstance?
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Let me please clarify my position. I am specifically addressing NWCO and PCO operations and not beekeepers. By bent I am probably one of if not the most conservative anti regulation members of this board but let me regale you with a couple of bat stories and the current state of the industry in my state to let you see where I am coming from.
Scene 1
Tuscaloosa, AL
I was performing a bat exclusion (the process of removal of bats and sealing of the structure to prevent reentry by the bats) on a three story queen anne that had been subdivided into apartments when I happened to glance next door and realized that the neighboring queen anne had a far worse infestation (entry staining is very obvious to a bat professional). Always looking for more opportunities to help people (and make a living) I made the time to walk over and introduce myself. As I was already on site I graciously offered the homeowner a free inspection to determine exactly what was going on with the bats and to offer a quote plus warranty to exclude the bats. I was told that I was free to look and could leave a quote but that it couldn't be done. When I had to ask specifically just what couldn't be done I was told that one could not exclude a bat and in fact it had been tried twice before and obviously the bats were still there. Well being glib of toungue I informed the lady of the house that if I couldn't do it I wouldn't be standing on her front step, what did she take me for (how little did I know at that moment). Well I gave her my most professional of inspections and determined that she had the full monte of all three of the big three- big browns, freetails and little browns- residing in her attic in numbers enough to skeer off the faint of heart. The home was also a three story beast with all the issues inherent in a hundred year old home. Entry points numbered eleven and upon submitting my quote I was told the full story of just which floors of the home belonged to the bats and the accomadations the homeowners had came to just to coexist with their unwelcome houseguests. It seems that the third floor belonged to the bats in toto. A truce had been drawn up where the second floor was joint custody, humans during daylight hours only, and the first floor could remain with the humans as long as they barricaded themselves in at night so as not to bother the bats. As to the ability to actually change this armistice in favor of the humans I was again told that it was a mission impossible as two other fine gentleman had tried and failed to the total tune of twice of what I had just submitted, per attempt!
Well we parted ways with my suggestion to please observe my work in progress on the adjacent lot and if indeed my claims were true then to be expecting an influx of bat in laws. But more to the point that if the bat in laws were unable to go home then to please call me. Ninety days later I recieved the call.
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continued
So once called I immediately scheduled and began the process. Now while my inspection had been thorough the fine details became exposed as I went inch by inch over the structure sealing every crack, gap or crevice that could ever possibly offer safe haven for chiroptera. Special note; this lovely old home fully lived up to the old bat excluder's adage that one has never fully done batwork until one has to hang off of a house by his toes just like a bat. Well it turns out that part of the work had already been done for me. The first and lower half of the second had some of the most beautiful caulk work as it seems that the first guy on scene attempted to exclude the bats living in the attic of a three story home with a sixteen foot ladder! For the record, the highest point on the home also required the installation of a bat valve (the device that allows the bats to exit without reentering) and to facilitate this I had to park my full size pickup in the neighbor's drive, empty the contents of the bed, remove the camper shell and ladder rack just for the opportunity to lift my forty foot extension ladder into the bed and raise it to it's fullest extent and then climb one rung past "do not stand" and use the full reach of my six foot two frame. By the by installing a valve nessesitates two trips, one to install and another to remove and close after the bats have relocated.
So the first guy was accounted for. The whereabouts of the second fellow was still an unkown until I went inside to seal off that funny looking three foot square hole in the ceiling sheetrock of the third floor. That one puzzled me so I had to ask. "Oh, that's the hole the second guy cut so he could toss something in the attic to scare the bats". And he charged you how much? Flip a coin here, laugh or cry.
Long to short here, that was over five years ago and to this date the home is still bat free. Last I heard the two gentlemen are still in the game.
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Scene 2
Rex, GA
This one is a little more recent and performed for a retired home builder well versed in construction, sales and materials. He built this home stick by stick and is nobody's patsy.
But before I proceed, let me give you the background on which bat work is performed in Georgia, or that is was performed until our beknighted Department of Natural Resources gave free reign to bat killers. We still have on the books laws that provide for absolute protection to all members of the Chiroptera (bat) family and in oder to protect the young bat pups during the time they are to young to fly we have/had what we referred to as the "blackout period" where no bat is to be excluded from a home (save for the single adult without offspring) without prior approval from the state. To obtain this approval one must first determine the species of bat, the number of bats, the sex of the bats, the location of the bats, the activity of the bats and then report the same on a state provided form. By the law and the rules we NWCOs play by this form is an absolute must or it was at the time this incident occurred. The state has since surrendered to those unwilling to play by even the simplest of rules and has abolished even the simplest of reporting prior to evicting and orphaning of bats even though the blanket protection remains on the books.
Well back to the story, this nice gentleman was referred to me by his pest control service of twenty years and it was only upon there suggestion that I was the best man for the job that he even agreed to pay my fee just to come out and give him a quote. In this business you learn quickly to not only pre qualify your clients but to also get paid to burn gas if your a straight shooter, there are ways to offset this but my pillow is awful soft and I sleep well.
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continued
This actually turned out to be one of the simplest of jobs with only two entry points, six foot section on each side of the chimney that had detached from the gable end of the home. The only other areas of concern was a loose ridge vent and some minor cleanup of guano in the attic. All in all it was a very pleasant inspection with a small quote in the mid three figures plus a two year warranty. My client wished to sleep on it and get back to me, which is more than fair. He must have slept well because he called to confirm the very next AM.
Upon arrival to perform the work I learned the rest of the story. Not five minutes after my departure the "free estimate" guy showed up for the second opinion. Well he immediately got to work on chiseling the old man. He measured the home and added some, found gaps on all four walls and suggested some roofing as well. When asked to come inside to observe the bats in the attic he declined and never set foot in the home any further than the kitchen table to deliver his quote which was over THREE TIMES mine.
Now I had walked my client through the process and had identified the bats for him and explained the paperwork process through the state so he knew one or the other of us was lying to him. Guess who. Now the rub of it all is that the "free estimate" guy is one of the larger outfits in the area and does far more work than my one man band can do, not only that but he is a PCO as well. I wonder how many times a year he gets to pull this off on the unknowing and unsuspecting buying public. It boggles the mind.
By the by, this outfit evidently has very little regard for the laws of this state and it's ability to enforce them. Just last year they had the temerity to post to their corporate website photographs of five seperate incidents of the use of an illegal device for wildlife capture in theis state. That's five major violations of wildlife law yet this wildlife control company is still in business to this day.
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Now I have gone way off topic, this is still a beekeeping forum right? But this is to make my point about those in my industry and the allied pest control industry since they are the ones originally reffered to in this thread. Honeybee removal is easy money for those of us with access to chemicals and/or the foolishness to bring em out alive. Please note I do not refer to bee keepers and the like because as a group I do not see a problem within the beek community. It's my opinion that the ladies of the nectar are astute judges of character and those with moral flaws don't last long among the bees.
So my point is that the regulation should be of those without a true interest in the well being of the bees and the humans that interact with them. And here are the scary facts of just what it takes to be a NWCO in this state.
-Obtain a commercial trapping license $30 (this is a fur harvesters license available over the counter)
-Pass a one page questionaire to obtain a Nuisance Wildlife Permit FREE
That's it! And neither is required to remove honeybees unless chemicals are used and then you must meet the Department of Ags structural pest control requirements. At least the PCOs require a DCO license (2 years experience under a DCO and a $40 test, though it is strenuous on the insects), company registration $25, and proof of $50,000 insurance or bond.
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BTW, just last night I learned that one of the older and largest (and unethical) NWCO/PCO outfits in the southeast (they do bees) was just bought by ORKIN.
My point is that there are crooks and theives in these industries without regard for the well being of the public and the bees or wildlife. How does that get changed without regulation?
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David writes:
My point is that there are crooks and theives in these industries without regard for the well being of the public and the bees or wildlife. How does that get changed without regulation?
tecumseh:
a most excellent question david.
to broaden this singular question just a bit....I suspect there are theives and crooks in a lot of various industries, so what is to limit these people from preying on the public without some kind of regulation?
i'm kind of feeling badly about all those poor homeless bats.
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BTW, just last night I learned that one of the older and largest (and unethical) NWCO/PCO outfits in the southeast (they do bees) was just bought by ORKIN.
My point is that there are crooks and theives in these industries without regard for the well being of the public and the bees or wildlife. How does that get changed without regulation?
Dave how bout you invite a Local TV station to watch and Film you doing a cut out or start and finish of a trap out ? ?
Show them how the Bees for the most part are Not Mean But to throw caution that from time to time there are some who are Protecting there home and Honey.
If you do this you will bring Light to your Company and The Bad Guys all in one interview ??
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Tommy, for one I tend to avoid cameras of any type, not that I have anything to hide but that I just do not seek that type of publicity. I'm more of a printed media type of guy. Besides the TV types like drama and in spite of the fact that I regularly handle wild and potentially dangerous wildlife the truth is that if you do it right it's rather boring.
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I'm the same way. I don't get in front of cameras either. mostly because they break though. The first couple a times didn't bother me at first. but after the 3 or 4 hundredth camera breaking, one tends to start taking it a bit personal.
heh.
Big Bear