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Q. How to Select a Bee Removal Specialist?

Tim at the apiary

Though we hope you choose GreenView Aquaponics Family Farm & Apiary, we know that there are other bee hive removalservices/companies out there. Some do excellent work. Others, you will be sorry you ever hired. So, how do you decide which company to go with?

Here are some questions that may be helpful to ask:

  1. Will the bees be killed, or removed live and relocated? Since honey bees are so vital to our environment, most reputable companies will not kill them, unless there is an immediate danger to people. We would recommend rescuing the bees as your first choice.
  2. Is the entire bees nest removed or will honey, comb and bees be left inside the structure? The real problem starts when the bees are killed and the hive is not removed. First of all, killing 15,000-60,000 bees is the equivalent size of a cat or other small animal. As the dead bees decompose, it can smell quite horrid. As for any honey left in the walls or floor, pests can chew through it causing the honey to ferment and drip. This will create a huge mess and most likely damage drywall and other building materials. Repairs from the damage can be costly.
  3. Will repairs be included? Some companies only remove the honey bee colony, but do not do the repairs of the access area. It is nice to be able to hire someone who is able to do both the removal and repairs and have everything taken care of in one day. Repairs will be discussed prior to the start of the bee hive removal.
  4. Does the bee hive removal company carry liability insurance? Make sure to ask if not stated on their website. Many hobby beekeepers and those offering “free” or lower cost bee hive removals, do not carry any type of insurance. This becomes a huge problem when someone is injured or causes property damage.
  5. Is the work guaranteed? What if bees return to the same spot the next year or the year after? One thing to know about honey bees is their keen sense of smell. This enables them to return to an old location, where a colony has been in the past no matter how well it has been cleaned out. If the area has not been sealed properly, bees will often come back.
  6. How much bee removal and construction experience does the person have doing the work? Just like with any profession, those who offer unusually low prices often do not have much experience and do cheap work. Experienced companies have completed many bee hive removals, will do minimal damage to your home when accessing the bees, and will do the job right, so you don’t have problems in the future.
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Q. Is there anything I can do while I wait for someone to arrive to remove my bees?

Bee Hive Removal Soffit Cut Out

Just remain at a safe distance and keep an eye on the bees, if it’s a swarm.

  • Please don’t spray them with anything (or let anyone else do that)
  • Please don’t poke at the bees or throw rocks to see if you can make them leave. It only makes them behave aggressively and you or someone nearby will get stung
  • Please don’t light anything on fire to see if you can smoke them out unless you want .
  • Please don’t plug up a hole that they are coming in/out of. They will chew another way out and it may be into your home instead of outside or other less desirable location.
  • You can let your neighbors know that we are coming, in case they are allergic to bees or have livestock, so they can take the proper precautionary steps to protect themselves and their animals.

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Q. What is the Cost of a Typical Bee Hive Removal Job?

Honey Bee Removal Cape Coral | Punta Gorda

Due to the nature of honey bees and the various places they tend to congregate and/or colonize, we need more information to accurately account for the time and effort that it will take to safely and humanely relocate the honey bees from your location to ours, which can really only be done with an onsite visit. We request $75 to come out and evaluate your situation, this is for an onsite quote and to discuss your options.

Should you decide to go ahead with the bee hive removal & relocation while we are there, we will credit you the $75 toward your bee hive removal & relocation service; otherwise services are considered rendered and paid in full.

If the bees leave before we arrive, please let us know as soon as you find out, so we can send an immediate refund! Often when bees swarm, the colony will rest in a location and will send out scout bees to select their “perfect spot”. The swarm may stay up to a day or two, but often leave within a couple hours.

There are often times more costs involved depending on what we see when we get there (ranging from $150-950 depending on the complexity) and does not include repairs

  • Honey Bee Hive Removal w/o Repairs – Residential  $300-$450
  • Honey Bee Hive Removal w/Repairs – Residential  $550-$950
  • Honey Bee Hive Removal Commercial/Industrial  $300-500
  • Honey Bee Swarm Removal  $75 – $150
  • Bee Inspection  $75-$200
  • Bee Proofing Entire House $1500-$3000

For the quality of work performed, our pricing is very reasonable and competitive. Most pest control companies will charge you more than a bee hive removal specialist.

Listed above is a general idea of what the average cost of our bee hive removal services are. Travel distances over 50 miles will add approximately $1 more per each additional mile traveled. Extreme height or excessive difficulty may also increase the price. If you have more than one hive needed to be removed each additional hive will receive a discounted rate of 25%-50% off, if located on the same property.

Once we have quoted you a price, we will not show up and tell you it is going to be more than we initially expected. We will stick with the price we quoted, unless there are things we could not see until we start pulling things apart

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Q. Do you offer Free Bee Hive Removal?

Lee Honey Bee Hive Removal Trap Out Electrical Panel

Short Answer: Unfortunately, we cannot provide free bee hive removal. No sustainable business can.

Real Answer: Why do we charge to come look at where your bees are and to remove them – aren’t we benefiting from getting the bees and/or their honey?

Basically, we have to cover our hard costs (as well as soft costs) to provide a sustainable bee hive removal service and stay in business, included but not limited to:

  • Hard Costs, like liability insurance to just come onto your property
  • Bee Boxes to put the bees in that we collect from your property (wow, have you seen wood prices lately!)
  • Fuel for one (or typically more) visits to your location (gas prices can be all over the place),
  • Re-queening the colony that we relocate after quarantine, due to the unknown genetics and diseases she may have and reproduces, in particular africanized traits. By re-queening, we help dilute the number of bees with the africanized traits as well as bee diseases locally, in particular by increasing managed colonies.
  • Specialized bee tools, equipment and supplies specific to removing bees humanely,
  • Quarantine equipment and space for the wild colonies to allow us to watch for any africanized traits, viruses, pests or diseases before adding them to the apiary. We wouldn’t want these wild bees to potentially infect our whole apiary should they have bacterial or viral disease. Wild or feral colonies often have to be treated for any pests, like varroa mites, for the same reason – to protect all of our bees.
  • Sugar water and/or pollen to feed the bees during times of low nectar flow or low pollen
  • State apiary registration and inspections,
  • Business registration and licensing,
  • Business Liability & Property damage insurance,
  • Vehicle upkeep,
  • Advertising costs so you can find us,
  • Hundreds of hours of study and training to be experts at what we do,
  • Occasionally, the bees may not survive the relocation because the queen may have been injured during transport, even with the most care in handling and efforts to ensure the bees survival. Fortunately, this does not happen too often, especially when we are able to catch and cage the queen in a special cage for transport and afterwards release her back into her colony at the farm.
  • We may not take your bees….unfortunately sometimes depending on your budget, you may decide to call in a pest control company, if the repairs to retrieve the bees exceeds your budget, in particular for colonies that are well established inside walls or areas that have to be physically cut open for removal or if the bee removal would endanger public safety that would not safely allow a “trap out”.
  • Did I mention bee stings? literally hundreds per season, yes, even through the protective gear we wear.

These are just a few of the reasons we do not offer free removal.

Lastly, we can also produce more a lot of bees in a lot less time, by simply raising our own bees at the farm without ever leaving the property and without the risk involved going up and down a ladder many times to remove bees 😉

So why do we do it?

We enjoy serving the community we live and grew up in along with our love of the bees. It also allows to do a little outreach with each removal by answering people’s questions about the bees and their behavior. This reduces the fear of the unknown.

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Why Use Bee Exterminator Alternatives | Honey Bees on the Decline with Colony Collapse Disorder

Honey Bee Removal Cape Coral | Punta Gorda

In 1950, in the United States, there were approximately 5.5 million colonies of honey bees.

Now in 2017, there are around 2.5 million. Loss of habitat, change in agricultural practices, changing pest pressures, bee exterminators and other factors have contributed to this decline.

In 2006, CCD (colony collapse disorder) came on the scene. 

Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is the phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees.

Because of CCD, winter losses among beekeepers have been higher than normal.

Possible causes for CCD include the following:

  • varroa mites,
  • diseases,
  • pesticides,
  • GMOs (genetically modified organisms),
  • commercial and unnatural beekeeping practices,
  • mono-cropping in commercial agriculture,
  • loss of habitat due to development

It can be challenging keeping bees in the 21st century. Beekeepers managing colonies in the US must cope with a myriad of issues.

It takes knowledge, skill, and perseverance to overcome these challenges and be a successful beekeeper.

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Bee Exterminator Alternatives

Honey Bee Removal Cape Coral | Punta Gorda

Although it is not illegal to hire a bee exterminator to kill honey bees, it is considered bad practice to arbitrarily exterminate honey bees without at least making an effort to save them.

….If people or property are in danger that is one thing.

Dead Honey Bee

Most of the time; however, there are alternative to bee exterminators, where the bees can be removed alive without damaging the property or hurting anyone.

We have seen very few cases where we would recommend having a bee exterminator come and exterminate the bees.  

Reputable pest control companies will first do everything they can to save honey bees before resorting to bee extermination.

Killing honey bees is often just a quick fix that doesn’t solve the problem and costs more in the long run.

The honey bees have pick your location as their ideal home for a reason, without remedying that underlying cause….future colonies will also find it attractive.

So please call us as a viable solution and Cape Coral bee exterminator alternative