Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => HONEYBEE REMOVAL => Topic started by: Rabbitdog on May 16, 2007, 06:57:14 pm
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If anyone near Lynchburg, VA wants to take some bees out of an old house, send me a PM and I'll put you in touch with the owner. He wants to put on vinyl siding but wants bees and honeycomb gone first. Would rather not exterminate.
100+ year old house
Bee entrance is on 2nd fl., 20' off ground
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Bees are never free. Bee removal, likewise, is usually not free. I get $50 an hour for removing bees from walls.
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do you have any legal issues with charging for removal? i seem to remember some conversation on here about that. something about licensed pest control?
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Ross,
You have such a positive attitude :-P. Unlike you, some people want bees bad enough not to charge a fee. I'm just trying to help out an elderly couple and see a few bees find a new home. thanks again for your comments that add absolutely nothing to this post! :-*
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:shock:
I was thinking that that will be a lot of work not to mention danger to be free..... :roll: 5 hours on a ladder 15-20 ft up, in a hot beesuit, next day of being sore isn't free, sounds like paying dearly for those bees... :-P
Might be better to emphasis the elderly couple needing help getting a beehive removed from their house.
Respectfully,
Rick :-P
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Can go from inside. No need for ladder. Most times the sheet rock wall is easier to repair than what ever is covering the outside wall.
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Just stating the facts. Sorry if you disagree. There are much easier ways to obtain bees. Just about everyone I know that provides a service to the public charges for it. Why shouldn't beekeepers? When was the last time you got your yard mowed free by a lawn service? How about getting your drain unclogged? And don't you love all those free house cleaning services? I know I do.
I know elderly couples with more money than God and I know some that are just getting by. Either way the bees aren't free and neither is service. Maybe that vinyl siding will be free....
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But as Kathyp asked of you....
do you have any legal issues with charging for removal? i seem to remember some conversation on here about that. something about licensed pest control?
Here in Texas if the pest control board catches you removing bees for a fee they will come down on you for doing pest control without a license.
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:shock:
I was thinking that that will be a lot of work not to mention danger to be free..... :roll: 5 hours on a ladder 15-20 ft up, in a hot beesuit, next day of being sore isn't free, sounds like paying dearly for those bees... :-P
Maybe worst case. Sounds very similar to the one I removed last weekend that was relatively easy.
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=9430.0 (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=9430.0)
If the house is that old, you are better off to go from the outside. It most likely has slats and plaster, not sheet rock. Besides, if they are putting up vinyl siding, they won't be too concerned with ripping off the old siding.
I have to agree, that nothing is for free, but I do adjust my fees depending on clients at times. You can get a pretty good feeling for how they are fixed when you inspect it.
Depending on how long they have been there, it is a good opportunity for some feral bees
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If it's a residence, they will come down on you fee or no fee. On the other hand, in my area they won't touch bees and usually tell people to call a beekeeper. It's a no win situation.
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If it's a residence, they will come down on you fee or no fee. On the other hand, in my area they won't touch bees and usually tell people to call a beekeeper. It's a no win situation.
You got that right. It's just a matter of staying under the radar.
Or the flip side. You buy the bees from the home owner and then you are just getting your bees out, not doing pest control. :-D
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"When was the last time you got your yard mowed free by a lawn service?"
Never, but I was not planning on keeping the grass clippings.
"How about getting your drain unclogged?"
Never, but I was not planning on keeping the clog for honey production.
"And don't you love all those free house cleaning services?"
Not keeping the dust either.
Come on, you can find better analogies than those. I know you can, try harder.
Okay, enough already. I won't try to connect 2 willing parties for bee help ever again, I promise. Unless, of course, they're willing to pay. After all, money is the most important thing in the world, right.
Thanks again, I'm done.
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100 year old house is not likely to have sheet rock walls. It would be very likely to have slated venner walls. Which are a pain in the butt to cut. The job would take the better part of the day.
My recommendation is you contact a local beekeeping club if there isn't anyone here that is near you.
Sincerely,
Brendhan
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They wouldn't have honey bees in their wall if not for beekeepers. I would do it if it were 4 hour closer to me.
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To me, the bees are pretty much free. I call it sweat equity.....my work - and I get to keep the bees, brood, honey, comb, etc. in return. Sounds like a pretty neat father son day!
I'm about 2 hours and 45 minutes from where the couple lives. I'm going to talk to them and will probably go next week to help them out.
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If they were closer I would love to help them out!
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To me, the bees are pretty much free. I call it sweat equity.....my work - and I get to keep the bees, brood, honey, comb, etc. in return. Sounds like a pretty neat father son day!
I'm about 2 hours and 45 minutes from where the couple lives. I'm going to talk to them and will probably go next week to help them out.
Thanks for stepping up....I would love to do it but 6 hours is just too far. Let us know how it goes.
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Sounds like a pretty neat father son day!
That's the attitude. My son has started going with me this year and it is great. We stop for Breakfast on the way, lunch on the way back, and a whole lot of show and tell of bees and construction. He's a great help with the bee vac and emptying buckets of comb. He also really enjoys taking lost of pictures (and picking flowers if I don't keep him busy :roll:).
2+ hours is a long way to go and forget something. If you haven't done many before, PM me and I can share with you the list of supplies/tools I take along. If you can just rip off the siding, it shouldn't take long at all, the one I did last weekend which sounds similar, only took about 2 hours and that was taking our time with the show and tell.
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understudy posted a list of things to take. maybe he can retrieve it also. to his list i added paint scraper, tarp and depending on what you are wearing, duct tape. i also needed hive staples (large electrical will do) and newspaper.
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http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=7603.0 (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=7603.0)
Sincerely,
Brendhan
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You'll think they're free right up until they turn out to be:
a) mean as h*ll
b) diseased
c) comb has sevin dust in it
d) they abscond the next day
e) AHB
f) AFB
g) you make 3 more trips because the homeowner "sees bees"
With gas at $3.00, I'm not going anywhere without a guaranteed return on the investment. Bees in a wall are never free.
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You've had some bad experiences haven't you?
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First question to ask when they call, "Have you poisoned them?". Nine out of ten times the answer is "I sprayed them" or "I sprinkled Sevin dust on the opening, but they're still here".
Next question to ask right before you pull out of the driveway, "Are they still there right now?". 6 out of 10 times the answer is "They were here a minute ago, I guess they just flew off". Primarily applies to swarms.
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This is one that went well. Only had to go back twice but it wasn't far.
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/cutout1.jpg
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/cutout2.jpg
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You'll think they're free right up until they turn out to be:
a) mean as h*ll
b) diseased
c) comb has sevin dust in it
d) they abscond the next day
e) AHB
f) AFB
g) you make 3 more trips because the homeowner "sees bees"
With gas at $3.00, I'm not going anywhere without a guaranteed return on the investment. Bees in a wall are never free.
Every business has profit and loses.... you have to view the big picture, not just the cutout to cutout......If I do 10 cutouts a year and 8 survive than I made 800.00 in 10 days.
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I haven't seen a cutout yet that was the equivalent of a $100 hive. Most of the time you don't find the queen for starters. Then you have to subtract your expenses. And unlike many, I consider my time worth something.
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It is definately worth the experience. I'll try almost anything once.
After having done one and looked or been asked about 4, I'm not so sure if I want to do another, and I definately wouldn't do it free unless it were a charity case.
Now is also a time that you will get a most likely swarmed hive, so the brood and bees will be at a minimum, equaling a small weak hive.
I have a pending request from a store owner who has had bees for some time in his roof, they've been exterminated twice in the last 3 years and still "going strong". Who knows about mite resistance, but maybe I can get some pesticide resistant bees!! No more orchard kills!
Better to collect swarms, they are much much easier!! :)
Rick
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I have 3 waiting on me right now, all at $50 an hour when I get to them. If I had the time it would be easier, but I have 30 hives plus a day job and a life.