# Beekeeper Mike - Stay away...



## montenido (Jun 7, 2016)

Hi everybody,
Last year I bought a nuc from Beekeeper Mike that I picked up locally. The nuc was strong and healthy, and the bees flourished. This year I bought another nuc from him hoping for the same. Due to a shortage of purchases in my area (Los Angeles), he called to say that my bees would be mailed instead of being available for pick up in my area. After many unanswered calls and left messages, I did not have a firm date when the bees would arrive. They finally showed up out of the blue, and they were pretty beat up, with LOTS of dead bees. To make matters worse, my "nuc" was just a box with random frames put inside. Yes, there was a queen, but virtually no brood and no honey stores, and little drawn comb. The nuc only had about half the normal amount of bees inside (the other half might have died in transport?). I called and emailed them repeatedly with no response. Now that hive is basically dead, with maybe a frame or two of bees. I'm trying to feed it back to health.

Stay away from this vendor, as their customer service ends the moment they get your money. Plus, the way they packaged and mailed the bees shows a total disregard for the health of the bees. A simple package of bees would have been much better than this "established" nuc. 

Okay, rant over.

Cheers, Bill


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Nucs that are shipped have to be light on bees, too many bees and they suffocate. 

The vendor basically has to imagine the worst case scenario they may be subjected to along the journey, then deplete bee numbers down to a level that will accomodate that.

Any nucs I sell are pickup only, or, if shipping is the only option, the purchaser is made aware they will not be jam packed with bees.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Is this the Beekeeper Mike up my way? Portola Valley or Half Moon Bay? 805 616-0187? beekeepermike.com?


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