# CA ag check stations



## MTINAZ (Jan 15, 2010)

I am bringing 150 hives through from MS in January for my first trip to almonds. Anything I should do or have or watch out for to make sure getting in goes smoothly?


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## pahvantpiper (Apr 25, 2006)

Make sure that your bottom tier of pallets are as clean as possible. No plants, dirt, cocoons, insects, etc. Those bottom pallets are generally the only ones they look at. Good luck.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

All you can really do is make sure they are as clean of ANY debris or any living creature other than honeybees as you possibly can and make sure you are there during a week day, if there are any questions approval will have to come from Sacramento and they operate weekdays 9 to 5 (I think). It dosent hurt to be standing over the shoulder of the inspector as well. Needles has been notorious for being a difficult entry point but last year it seemed that other places were starting to get more difficult as well. That's about all you can really do, after that you are at the mercy of the whims of the inspector.


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

..... or it really helps to have the RIGHT truck drivers at times. Not that anybody on this thread would know.


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## MTINAZ (Jan 15, 2010)

Well I will be the driver. Thanks for the reply's I will see if we can get a hose when loading and spray the bottoms down good. Anyone leave the net partially open so there are bees flying around? seems like most ppl want to stay as far away as possible.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Don't do that. These folks deal with lots and lots of bees. Keep your load as tight and as neat and visible to them as possible. They are going to want a physical address for their destination and a contact number to call. Dont be surprised if they pull the nets loose on the bottom for a better look. If you are clean and neat you will, most likely, be just fine.


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## Chip Euliss (Sep 2, 2010)

I lift the bottom pallet to a comfortable working height with a forklift and use a stiff hand brush to remove the debris. Quick and never any problems--been doing it for 10 years now.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

That will probably work if they are coming directly from North Dakota but if they are coming from down south you need to make sure there are no ants (or anything else) between the hives. We had a load held up once for almost three days over a larvae from a common pine beetle found in all 50 states they found it by using a knife to dig in some rotten wood in a pallet. Since then we handle each hive and place them on cleaned pallets with no visible rot, it is probably overkill but I dont want any phone calls from a port of entry. We thought that a RIFA certification from a Texas inspector might help but the California folks ignore the papers and do what they please. All the silliness that goes on there costs us days and days of really hard work.


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## MTINAZ (Jan 15, 2010)

I have heard stories like that and want to do what I can to avoid them.


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## bhfury (Nov 25, 2008)

Use the secret back roads    :digging:


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## Chip Euliss (Sep 2, 2010)

I brush what is on the outside of the wood off; never thought about what might be "in" the wood! Expertise identifying insects and other invertebrates is hard to find and it tends to be highly specialized when you do find it.


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## RAK (May 2, 2010)

I brought in some hives with no problem. No netting was used and they ushered us though real quick. All the hives were on new pallets.


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## suttonbeeman (Aug 22, 2003)

Had a load get held three days because they took that long to figure out the larva was a wax moth larva from a empty super we put on a strong hive. 40 hives died in thd heat. Two years ago with all hives on new pallets we were refused entry when two sugar ants were found at the reno station in 45 degree weather. I had a rifta inspection in Florida and were suppose to be able to enter with 5 ants and two could be fire ants. They informed me I could take the truck south 500 miles and get it washed or return to Florida as they had changed the rules since I left Florida. I was talking to head guy in Sacramento..asked how much a kickback he was getting and didn't they have sugar ants in CA. After I used very colorful language of any word you have heard and some you may not gave heard I can't put here and then I told him I was going to be on a plane and at his office the next day and some more things I cant replete here my truck was across the birder in 5 minutes. i firmly believe its a money racket...and a political red tape to justify jobs. 6 years ago a load was being held next to me because of beetles. When I infromed them they wete in all hived and wete flying thru the net into other loads they informed me that beetles dont fly. How do you regulate something you know nothing about? This was the head guy. They are a joke and money racket! All a political game and hardship on us. Yep I'm politically incorrect a d a rebel...but I got my bees in!


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## Laurence Hope (Aug 24, 2005)

Wow! Hearing you guys, I sure am glad I am in CA


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Laurence Hope said:


> Wow! Hearing you guys, I sure am glad I am in CA


 Really, You can say that with a strait face with your states government taxes etc you want to stay there.? Just kidding it is a nice place to visit when it is cold and wet up here.

Beware of slugs and any hitch hiker. Put your best pallets on the truck leave the old ones at home etc. Less you can give them to complain about the better.

My wife had a ****atiel on her shoulder once and she had to turn back and find a place to board it while she was visiting. Told her she should have left it home.


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## BeeGhost (May 7, 2011)

Thats amazing, they will let thousands of illegals in CA but not a truck load of bees!! I could see if pallets contained Fire Ant nests, but a couple ants here and there or a grub?? Its not like those insects cant get across the border on their own someday.........Africanized bees come to mind.........oh, and wolves!!!

And you guys are right.........all the uppers in the legislation of CA are looking for hand outs, imagine how easy it would be to pass inspection with a "donation" to the head inspectors before you ship your bees!!


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## BeeGhost (May 7, 2011)

EastSideBuzz said:


> > Really, You can say that with a strait face with your states government taxes etc you want to stay there.? Just kidding it is a nice place to visit when it is cold and wet up here.
> 
> 
> You dont have to be kidding, i'd rather be living in Washington then here!! The taxes are high, gas is high, registration is high, housing is high and income is medium. Im surprised they havnt come up with a fart tax yet.........wait, I think they tried that with the dairys already but got shut down.......you know, "Happy Cows come from California"!!


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## concrete-bees (Jun 20, 2009)

Dont forget to check your bees !!!! shipping dead hives or weak hives will have you heading home without a contract .... ..strong 6+ frames of bees min. anything less will not get paid for but you still have to pay for trucking


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

A friend of mine has a set of new pallets, or pressure washed clean pallets to move hives onto before loading. Then the next set are cleaned too, and so on until all the loads are ready.

Don't forget to pay your CA Income Tax.


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## dleemc1 (Dec 31, 2012)

hi i am a retired truck driver, and a small beekeeper,want to get bigger. got 40 hives right now. but about cal, they do not like any dirty truck, and your log book and paper work best be in order. have a great day


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## lake thompson honey (Feb 11, 2007)

we switch out all our hives onto power washed pallets. we pick up each hive on a cart and brush off all ants spiders dirt etc. with a toilet brush. the pallets are on tarps in the beeyards and then on black plastic in the semi holding yard. there are ports that are better than others to go through. going through needles would be foolish


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

Seems like your almond growers could do something as 'Kalifornians' that would help you get there to help him pollinate his almonds.....?


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## MTINAZ (Jan 15, 2010)

We did make it through ok, but just barely. I took the truck to a car wash before. The guy that did the official inspection was nice and said it was ok, but some lady in the both was talking about how dirty they were and did not want to let them through but it was hard to find any dirt. some people are just difficult.


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## suttonbeeman (Aug 22, 2003)

I still think they are getting kickbacks from the pressure wash guys there. i haveca long pist pn here about my experiences and being refused entry with NEW pallets and after telling head guy in sacremento that I was flyi g to CA andcwould probably be in jail i his county and he in hospital the next day eithkn 5 minutes my loadcwad released and let in. So why do I have to loose temper and go off the deep end to get what was the right thing in the first place accomplished? They didnt even know hive beetles flew...how do you regulate anything when you know nothing about it! Oh my what a mess they are!


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

We did three inspections ourselves with three different people looking at the bottom pallets which were new looking for snails and slugs with a flash light just like they do. Those are what get you sent back real quick. We did not have any problems getting through the AG. Sorry that others did.


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Snails and slugs??!! California is over run with snails and slugs!
Just look at our state legislature.


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

loggermike said:


> Snails and slugs??!! California is over run with snails and slugs!
> Just look at our state legislature.


Logger, You must have placed all your bees in the almonds, gotten paid, and had a full Sundays rest to be so kind as to use such innocuous terms in describing the "domeheads" in Sacto. Lets not fail to mention their minions at the DMV and other trough operating agencies who are about as indigestible as their "superiors."


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Whats a Sundays rest? I dont even sleep well at this time of year.


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## VolunteerK9 (Aug 19, 2011)

Is any other state as tight with their bee border security as California? I don't think I will ever be a contender in the Almond Rush but would like to eventually do the eastern circuit.


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## Bradley_Bee (May 21, 2008)

My Uncle has almost 20 years at the Blythe, Ca checkpoint . I can tell you , there are no kick backs going to pressure washing companies here. I've never even heard of them holding up a truck to be pressure washed.


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

Bradley_Bee said:


> My Uncle has almost 20 years at the Blythe, Ca checkpoint . I can tell you , there are no kick backs going to pressure washing companies here. I've never even heard of them holding up a truck to be pressure washed.


He works there?
Let me ask the obvious question .
What kind of scotch does he drink?


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## Bradley_Bee (May 21, 2008)

Mbeck said:


> He works there?
> Let me ask the obvious question .
> What kind of scotch does he drink?



ha , is it really that bad? my neighbor works there too. Being on the other side I guess i've never took a semi load of bees through there. I have been stopped with a small load of bees and tagged so the Cal -Ag could take a look at them the next day, but I know them too and they aren't about to go look at mean bees.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

The stories that I have heard circulating in beekeeper circles in recent years all involve the Needles entry, not Blythe.


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