(There is more to come. I am adding to these pages almost daily)
Bob van der Herchen Bee Removal & Rescue  
Call 941-474-5491

Home
Bee Removals
Actual Removal Projects
Consequences of Poisons
My Bees

Frequent Questions
Unusual Places
Removing Bees Yourself
 Bees & Wasps

Questions and Answers

Q.  I have bees under a manufactured home. Can't I just leave them be?

Q.  I was told that since “killer bees” are now in Florida all swarms and wild bees should be poisoned and not relocated.

Q. Why do you charge to remove the bees? I was told bees are valuable and beekeepers want them to make honey.

Q. Do you do the repairs when you have to open a wall, remove paneling, siding or the insulation under a mobile home?

Question:    I have bees under a manufactured home. Can't I just leave them be?

Answer:
    It is important to get bees out from under manufactured homes. Many of  these homes have particle board floors. The moisture from the comb starts to disintegrated the particle board. To keep the colony cool in summer the bees bring in up to a gallon of water an hour to evaporate for cooling. Add to this the moisture from evaporating nectar. I had one call where the particle board was completely gone and the comb was attached to the bottom of the lady's carpet.
If she had stepped on that part of the floor it could have been a disaster! As it was, the floor needed to be replaced after I got the bees out.
    In addition the bees present a stinging hazard to persons or pets that get "too close." When the bees get too crowded they will produce reproductive swarms which may infest another part of  your home, or a neighbor's. I have serviced many homes with multiple infestations.    Back to Top

Question:    I was told that since “killer bees” are now in Florida all swarms and wild bees should be poisoned and not relocated.

Answer:
    This is false.
    First, not all "wild" bees are "killer bees." Second, even africanized or so called "killer bees" are beneficial insects and important to the environment. They provide pollination and produce honey just like their European cousins. Their fault is they are more defensive. With the shortage of honeybees due to attacks of mites, hive beetles and other exotic pests, feral bees need to be kept alive and moved to safe locations, if at all possible.
    The "Killer Bee Guy" in Arizona keeps killer bees and markets their honey. "Most of the time I can take the bees home and put them to work making piles of Killer Bee honey for me." See his web site at: http://www.killerbeeguy.com/index.php. (use your browser back button to return here)
    Lance Davis of Southern California, who uses the bees on his properties for both honey and bee pollen production says, "...Yes, they're a little more aggressive, but they make five times more honey -- sweeter honey and better honey..." See his web site at : http://www.killerbeeinc.com/PE_Jan30_03.htm  (use your browser back button to return here)  His motto is: "Save The Bees!
    "Honey bees are critical to agriculture...and must be protected," says Jerry Hayes, with the state's Department of Plant Industry Apiary Department . "We feel that education is one of our most effective tools for dealing with a potentially more defensive hybridized honey bee."
    "Eradication is a last resort measure," Charles Bronson, commissioner of agriculture says. "Adapting to the Africanized honey bee is the most logical approach," .Bronson said.
    The Honey Bee Technical Council, an agency established by Florida statute to study beekeeping and recommend laws, met July 13, 2005, to discuss how to handle the killer bee eruption. "There is no chemical or quarantine control that has worked on killer bees," the council said, so it told the agriculture department "that adapting to the (Africanized bee) is the most logical approach."  ( from Sun-Herald news story- use back button to return.)
    The directives of the Florida Department of Agriculture Division of Plant Industry Apiary Department are to re-queen all captured feral swarms with european stock queens.     Back to Top

Question: Why do you charge to remove the bees? I was told bees are valuable and beekeepers want them to make honey.

Answer:
    Wild bees are valuable to the environment because they pollinate gardens and fruit trees. But, they have little monetary value to beekeepers. Beekeepers buy hybrid queens and bees that have been bred for high honey production, gentleness, resistance to disease and mites and no tendency to swarm. Wild bees' qualities are a big unknown and commercial beekeepers don't want to invest their time with them. The amount of time spent removing a swarm and installing it in a hive box, could be used to make fifty or more splits of  colonies with known pedigrees. So, catching swarms is a poor use of time to beekeepers interested in making money. Wild bees have the tendency to swarm which is a negative trait. Although honey brings a high price in stores its wholesale price is so low, due to cheap foreign imports, many beekeepers are leaving the business, or concentrating on pollination services with big agriculture.
    My removal business has overhead expenses, as any business --phone, yellow page advertising, insurance, equipment, vehicles, gasoline, wages to helpers,  government licenses, etc.. So, in order to provide this service to people and the environment I must charge a fee.     Back to Top

Q. Do you do the repairs when you have to open a wall, remove paneling, siding, drywall, or the insulation under a mobile home?

Answer:
    Although we are careful to do as little "damage" as possible when opening a void to gain access to the bees, we do not have a contractors license and are prohibited by most counties from doing repairs. Sometimes we are able to remove soffits and paneling  intact and can easily replace them, at no charge. Other times these materials splinter, break apart, or are other wise unusable. In the case of drywall, it most always needs to be replaced. In these cases it will be up to the homeowner to arrange for repairs. We try to keep cuts clean and straight and always clean up the area removing debris and dead bees. The covering under mobile homes usually needs to be replaced by the homeowner. We do not leave walls open to the weather and place a temorary cover over such openings for protection until a permanant repair can be done.  Back to Top
   
Home
Bee Removals
Actual Removal Projects
Consequences of Poisons
My Bees

Frequent Questions
Unusual Places
Removing Bees Yourself
Bees & Wasps

There is more to come. I am adding  to these files almost daily

Under construction