# cut out cost



## byrd (Jun 8, 2010)

Do you guys have an average cost for a cut out? I have a contractor wanting me to do a cutout and I am not sure what to charge. He thinks he is doing me a favor by letting me get the bees, but to me its not worth all the time to try and retrieve bees.
It is turkey season and I dont get much time off my regular job.


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## treebee (Mar 7, 2009)

I charge $150.00 for the first three hours and $50.00 for every hour there after. I take in the travel costs within reason. I start in the late afternoon and have the last cluster out and gone by dark set so I waste no time waiting for a mess off bees to cluster back up. this includes no repair just a carefull removal. John


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

First off, make it clear to the contractor that a honey bee hive cutout is a JOB just like his. I am sure he does not work for free, nor should you. In this scenario, I normally ask if a contractor or homeowner if they are ok with working for free. It usually gets the wheels turning and they get the jist real quick.

My turkey season lasted 20 minutes this year. 20lbs, 9.5" beard, 1 1/4" spurs. This is my smallest one so far.


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## D Semple (Jun 18, 2010)

I price cutouts as if the bees are not worth anything. They just never recover quick enough here to benefit from our main flow and end up needing a lot of feed and going into winter. Not to mention extra TLC after the removal.

I charge a minimum of $300 and give a fixed price estimate up front based on costs plus $75 - $125 an hour for my time depending on difficulty. 

Make sure to figure an extra trip charge in your costs, cause folks are going to call you back to get those last 100 stragglers that I swear were doing sleep overs at their girl friends house while you were doing the cutout.


Don


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## Sir_Gregory (Apr 19, 2013)

I saw a thread that people were saying you should wright a contract for the cut out. It stated that any repairs are the responsibility of the home owner. It also said there is an obvious danger, and to warn neighbours and other residents... Its worth a look.


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## Greg Lowe (Feb 3, 2012)

Keep in mind, you are going to be out of pocket $100 for providing a place for the bees to live.

So I would start with $100 plus $xx/hour of your time. Do your first couple for the experience and the bees and then you will find that 3-4 hours of your time is worth a premium.

I had a tree removal guy contact me about removing bees from a tree he was going to cut down next to a deck on a home that borders a nice golf course. I told him $100 + $75/hour. He asked how long it would take. To which I responded, "I don't know". He then gave me the "I thought you would do it for the bees, you're a beekeeper aren't you?". I then asked him was he getting paid to remove the trees or was he just getting the wood. Afterall he was a tree cutter. I assured him my charges would be less than what he was charging. I even agreed to do it for half of what he was making no matter how long it took. Needless to say, I didn't get that removal, but it did save me 4-6 hours of my time that I could put into my own operation.


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