# Extermination vs. Structural Removal



## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Extermination is NEVER a viable option for many reasons IMO.
Health issues of the rotting hive, bees, larvae and components.
Future infestation of ants, bugs, and other vermine wanting an easy meal.
Must I go on?

As a residential builder, I have been doing cutouts for some time now. Most of my customers allow me to bid the removal and the re construction. If not, they know someone who will fix the damage due to the cutout.
Always do the cutout.... never exterminate when it comes to honey bees.
Get on youtube and look up JPthebeeman.


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## danmcm (May 23, 2012)

Wife lived in a house that had bee in the livingroom wall for years. Knew about it and it didn't bother them so they didn't bother bees... Bees died out on year, or swarmed itself to death they don't know but the following year the wall started leaking honey it was a super marvilous mess she says they had to remove a large section of the livingroom wall a window and such...


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## dixiebooks (Jun 21, 2010)

What Mr.Beeman said is exactly right. Extermination just causes more problems. The mess will still have to be cut out, eventually. And, watch all those vids from JPthebeeman. After watching those, you'll likely feel comfortable enough to do cutouts yourself. Personally, I only do cutouts and leave the reconstruction to the homeowner or to a licensed "handyman". -js


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## Maddox65804 (Dec 29, 2011)

Cut outs are so easy to do -most of the time. And, it is fairly impossible to exterminate unless they open the wall up anyway. Do the cut outs. Charge for your time like any other job. Let another contractor repair the damage (which is minimal in most cases if you do the job right)


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## hemichuck (Oct 27, 2009)

I went out on a removal job today in an apartment complex. These people called an exterminator who told them it was illegal to kill bees(which is not true but its pretty much the standard answer from local exterminators) She then looked up local beekeepers on the web and started calling and no one wanted to mess with a cutout. One guy told them to tape a cone over the hole and they would die out in a couple of weeks...Thats a hoot! Luckily the maintenance guy lives next door to my mother in law so he asked me if I would help out. He was scared of bees but I prodded him into putting on a jacket and helping me out. Not a big job, just 7 or 8 combs and a few bees between the first and second floor. He pulled the carpet back and we cut along the joist and raised a piece of the floor. Pulled the combs and hived them and sucked the bees into my bee-vac.When we finished he told me if I ever needed help with a removal to call him. I told him he could help and I could quote the removals and he could quote the repairs, its a win-win for everybody. I told him to charge the apartment owners $100 and keep the money since he helps out my mother in law all the time (saving me a lot of time). Since it was such a small hive I combined them with a queenless hive that I had at home.


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## Ozarks Honey Company (Apr 18, 2012)

> hese people called an exterminator who told them it was illegal to kill bees(which is not true but its pretty much the standard answer from local exterminators)


Seems to be the standard answer given by exterminators around here too. Sure is good for the beekeepers that do cut outs though...

Most of the beeks in our area that do cutouts, only do the removal and leave it up to the homeowner to find the right expert to do the repair. I agree that most cutouts if done properly should not cost more than a couple of hundred dollars to repair.

It seems the bigger problem is not the issue of doing the repair, but actually convincing a person that it costs more in the long run to leave the bees or destroy them. Beeman is spot on on his reasons for not leaving them or exterminating them. You should NEVER leave them or exterminate them. BAD IDEA! But when people realize that a can of raid cost $5 and it will cost them a hundred or two for removal, plus repairs... Allot of them seem to take the dumb road and try to kill them themselves. Went to several infestations this year where the homeowner says, "we would never try to kill the bees because, ______________ (fill in with something like, "it's illegal" or "they are endangered", etc...). Then you look to the porch just a few feet away and there sits the can of RAID. Uggg! LIAR!

Usually they call after they figure out that their can of RAID only kills the bees at the opening of the hive and the ones inside are quite well protected, and after a few hours are able to resume normal activities. Somehow the RAID is not too effective at killing 30~60 thousand bees. Hmmmm, maybe that is why they call it wasp and hornet spray and not bee killer.


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## hemichuck (Oct 27, 2009)

A lot of people have usually already tried spraying them and a few other things before they call an exterminator or seek the advice of a beekeeper. Some people just get on the web and hit bee removal first and they usually end up getting hold of beekeepers first.The exterminators usually tell people they cant kill bees because they know what is going to happen if you leave honey and comb in a house and for them that means a callback from an irate homeowner and usually the loss of future business. I like to explain all the options to people and let them make a choice. I tell them exactly what will happen if A-I remove them correctly,B-they spray them or kill them in some other way and leave the mess, C- they call an exterminator, and D- they follow the advice of someone who wants to trap the bees out(which is usually time consuming,unsuccessful and still leaves comb and honey to deal with) and then I tell them if they need me call me. Some do and others dont, but I have enough to keep me pretty busy.


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## Joes_bees (Jul 9, 2012)

I realize leaving comb in a wall is a very bad idea. Even though I haven't offered to do the cut-out I don't hang up the phone till I've done my best to convince them they have to remove the comb or it leads to more woes. 
That is why my initial post said exterminator AND licensed construction worker.

I've never seen the extermination process and hope I never do. But I would guess it goes like this:
Person comes out in a suit, pumps some nasty chemical in your wall, bees die, repeat 3 weeks later, kills any brood that hatched. You hire any handyperson you trust to clean and rebuild your wall.

Verses a cutout. 
Beekeeper comes out. Takes apart your wall. Bees are mad and flying around. People fearing for the neighbor kids. Hive sits on the ground over night to get stragglers. Bees are gone, wall is open. Hire a handyperson to put it back together.

Can you see how a homeowner might choose Extermination? How do you convince them to choose a beekeeper?
The green/no chemical angle?
Tell them the comb might cause damage in the three weeks before a handyperson can get in to remove it. Will it?

Thank you for your feedback. Sorry it sounds like I'm for extermination, I'm not, I just want to be prepared to win that argument when it comes up, that's why I'm playing devil's advocate.


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## hemichuck (Oct 27, 2009)

Like we said earlier,most exterminators(other than that TV idiot...Billy who really dont know anything about bees or cutouts) dont want anything to do with bees so even getting one to respond can be challenging.Most cutouts are not the carnage that you describe,a lot of times the homeowners will stand back a few feet and watch as I remove the bees. I just tell people I am going to take these bees home and put them to work and that they help provide a third of the worlds food supply. I have noticed that some of the more affluent people expect you to take them for free or they wont spend anything to get rid of them.


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## Joes_bees (Jul 9, 2012)

Hollywood has not done good things for the beekeeping community. You're right hemichuck, dispelling the fear that the neighborhood will be a bee war zone is probably step 1.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Typically Joe, if you tell the customer they have two choices.
1. To call an exterminator and fork over 200.00+ and in a few weeks call a handyman to clean up the pounds of honey that is now dripping through their wall/ceiling. 200.00+.
Then, call the exterminator back to spray for all the insects the dripping honey has rang the dinner bell for...$150.00 (they got a break as a repeat customer)! lol
2. Spend only $200.00 and give a professional beekeeper the job to do it CORRECTLY the first time and save $$$$$$$$$$!


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## dixiebooks (Jun 21, 2010)

Mr.Beeman said:


> Typically Joe, if you tell the customer they have two choices.
> 1. To call an exterminator and fork over 200.00+ and in a few weeks call a handyman to clean up the pounds of honey that is now dripping through their wall/ceiling. 200.00+.
> Then, call the exterminator back to spray for all the insects the dripping honey has rang the dinner bell for...$150.00 (they got a break as a repeat customer)! lol
> 2. Spend only $200.00 and give a professional beekeeper the job to do it CORRECTLY the first time and save $$$$$$$$$$!


$200????? Man, you're cheap. I mean, inexpensive. -js


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## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

I charged $200, 15 years ago to remove bees from buildings. Be careful what you get yourself into. if you want to learn how to remove bees from buildings then educate yourself and tag along with someone who has experience doing them. As most of you know they are all different and while some may be fairly simple many can be very time consuming. I never agree to do the repairs and I always have people sign my agreement. Here in NM most of my cutouts involve cutting through stucco, lath and plaster, so $200 wouldn't begin to cover the time and expense for removal. I did (2) in July and charged $400 each. This is not a get rich type of hobby, but it is providing a service to safely remove and relocate the bees. I don't think that extermination should be included in the same thread as bee removal.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

It may sound cheap, but I do make up for it with the repair aspect of the job.
That's a "typical" bee cut out as well. Most are in the $400.00 range.


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## Joes_bees (Jul 9, 2012)

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?226169-How-to-price-bee-removal
Let's assume a beekeeper charges $70/hr.

I called 3 exterminators:
All of them recommended I find a beekeeper, some even had contact info.

One of them said "if that doesn't work call back and we can blow a dust into the entrance for $160 which will kill them, but you need to have someone else remove the comb"

It was nice to hear the exterminators are knowledgeable and recommended the right thing.


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## Keth Comollo (Nov 4, 2011)

Don't fool yourself into thinking it is easy money. Try spending 8 hours at the top of a 30 foot ladder getting bees out of the soffit of a 200 year old building. Oh, my aching back!


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