Cut outs

asprince · April 25, 2007, 11:24:57 PM

I am a renovation contractor. I just signed a contract to renovate a house that also has two bee colonies. One is in a porch column and the other one is in the wall about 30 feet up. I want to try and save them....any suggestions? Looking at the entrance activity, the one up high looks like a lot of bees. thanks in advance, Steve

Understudy · April 25, 2007, 11:43:29 PM

Well, let me see if I can help you here.
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=8938.0
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=8299.0
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=7625.0
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=7603.0
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=8455.0
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=7696.0
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=7429.0

Okay that will be enough to get you started. Cutouts are fun.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

bluegrass · April 26, 2007, 08:26:15 AM

Warning...if you do one you will be addicted for life. I say read through some posts on here and jump in.....if you would feel better with help, call your local extension office and ask for a copy of their removal list.....somebody on it will be willing to give you a hand. just a word of advice, do the column one first, the off the ladder ones are a little more tricky. Ideally I would do the high one from the interior side of the wall.

asprince · April 26, 2007, 07:33:03 PM

bluegrass, you read my mind. I plan to take the column down and saw down both sides and open it up length wise. The column is about 8"x8"x9'. I may be able to get to the hive up high from the inside of the second floor bedroom wall. It is plaster, be we have lots of repairs to do anyway. I want to avoid the exterior wall because it is stucco and in good shape. I really don't want to have to repair it. But if I have to go in from the outside, I will. I have a cherry picker bucket truck and can avoid a ladder. How much is the average charge to do a cut out? Thanks for all the good advice and links......keep them coming. Steve

bluegrass · April 27, 2007, 06:40:08 PM

Price depends on who you ask and how badly the building owner wants them out. I seldomly charge a fee for a removal and I think Understudy has the same phylosophy. Some beeks get upwards of 400.00 to do a cut out and they hate it when others do it for free, so the fee tends to be a touchy subject.

Understudy · April 27, 2007, 07:10:37 PM

Hey did you see the one TwT did?
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=9083.0

Remember rule #1 when doing a cutout.
Have Fun!
and that's an order ;)

Sincerely,
Brendhan

JP · April 27, 2007, 10:15:00 PM

Brendhan, They're not all fun, but I enjoy even the most challenging ones because they help hone your skills. The not so fun ones are generally ones with major construction challenges and any that are done in high temps, say above 90 degrees. I have one I am doing soon that's been in a guys ceiling for more than 10 yrs, I can't wait for this one.

Understudy · April 27, 2007, 10:44:49 PM

Quote from: JP on April 27, 2007, 10:15:00 PM
Brendhan, They're not all fun, but I enjoy even the most challenging ones because they help hone your skills. The not so fun ones are generally ones with major construction challenges and any that are done in high temps, say above 90 degrees. I have one I am doing soon that's been in a guys ceiling for more than 10 yrs, I can't wait for this one.

They are all fun. Just some are more fun than others. Doing a cut out from a second floor sophet while a few yards down the there is a cute lady sunbathing topless is fun. Doing a cutout while crawling under a raised foundation house while a bunch of angry bees are trying to limit your oxygen supply is fun. It may not be be everyone's idea of fun, but not everyone should be doing cut outs.

Running to your vehicle to get away from hundreds of angry bees is fun......for everyone who is watching run to your vehicle to get away from hundreds of angry bees.

It's all a matter of perspective.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

JP · April 27, 2007, 10:57:46 PM

Yes, its a matter of your perspective. :-D

Jerrymac · April 28, 2007, 01:27:02 AM

Quote from: bluegrass on April 27, 2007, 06:40:08 PM
Price depends on who you ask and how badly the building owner wants them out. I seldomly charge a fee for a removal and I think Understudy has the same phylosophy. Some beeks get upwards of 400.00 to do a cut out and they hate it when others do it for free, so the fee tends to be a touchy subject.

Here in Texas we can get in trouble with the pest control board if we charge. We are not suppose to remove from any structure that is occupied. And we are not suppose to even use a bee-vac.

asprince · April 28, 2007, 09:56:12 AM

We are not suppose to remove from any structure that is occupied. And we are not suppose to even use a bee-vac.

Are you just to leave them alone? OR move out and let the bees have the structure? I bet if a swarm moved into the Governors Mansion, someone would remove them, what law?

Jerrymac · April 28, 2007, 11:11:03 AM

Quote from: asprince on April 28, 2007, 09:56:12 AM
Are you just to leave them alone? OR move out and let the bees have the structure? I bet if a swarm moved into the Governors Mansion, someone would remove them, what law?

The pest control people are the ones that would do it. This is all because of them. They think they are being cheated out of money if some one else does the pest controlling.

BEEMAN · June 05, 2007, 10:01:29 AM

BEEMAN'S TWO CENTS
I received a call from a frantic lady about twenty miles from me asking about help in removing a swarm of bees from under her neighbors trailer. She advised that her daughter was highly alergic to bee stings and that the bees are flying around wildly. The neighbors back end of her trailer are in the yard of her trailer. I asked if the neighbor was willing to pay the cost of having the bees removed. Her reply was that the neighbor was an elderly person and was on a fixed income and could not pay. I do not know if she even had permission from the lady with the bees to have someone go on her property to remove them! When I asked if she was willing to pay to have them removed, she replied that they were not her bees and she felt that she should not have to pay to remove them. If she is so worried about her daughter being alergic to the bee stings I felt that she should be willing to pay to have them removed. I advised that I could not drive the distance, use my gasoline, equipment, and time for free, but that I would try to find someone who would do the job for her. (unlikely) It seems that people want beekeepers to get rid of their bee problem for them without any compensation. They feel that the bees and/or honey would be payment enough. Far from it. It is fun to do a cutout but is also a lot of work most of the time. I am a hobby beekeeper and only do swarm captures and cut outs to help the people out. If i charge, it is only to help pay my expenses. So when someone wants it done for free, I usually decline.

Kathyp · June 05, 2007, 12:41:39 PM

i think most of us would do it for free. i figure if i look at a job and it's to much, i can turn it down. if i can do it, i get the bees, the experience...and the rush. i'm with understudy...it's fun :-) i have only done one, but i have already figured out what to do differently and have put together a kit for the next time.

Scott Derrick · June 05, 2007, 03:28:47 PM

I positively do not perform cut-outs for free. I will take swarms from branches for free. The reason I don't do cut-outs for free is that I pay for liability insurance that cost me about $200 every 3 months. I pay for gasoline in a Ford F150 at $3.00 per gallon. The truck holds 27 gallons and gets about 17 mpg. I will travel between three states to help people out. I purchase supplies such as drop cloths, great stuff foam, bee vacs, hive bodies for the new bees, frames... I many times must rent a 35 or 50 foot boom lift to perform cut-outs from apartment complexes that might be just that high up. I have spent from 3 to 10 hours performing a single cut-out and have almost never performed on that is less then 2 hours excluding travel.

I have no problem charging folks not only for my labor but for the travel as well. This is not to say I won't throw in a "pro-bono" removal from time to time if I see the need such as elderly or indigent folks. The fact is that most people don't have a problem with the fees that I charge and are glad to pay it. I do however have people who won't pay for cut-outs and end up spraying the bees with a can of "Raid". I have had more then one of them call me back and ask me to come and clean out the "dead-out" because it stunk up their house and ruined their ceiling, which is where 95% of the removal I perform take place. In these cases I charge them double just for killing the bees.

I base my fees on complexity. I have charged $100 for a cut-out and I have charged upwards of $1000. For me it all depends on variables such as travel distance, height, business or home, complexity.

CBEE · March 11, 2008, 10:23:45 PM

Good info. Thanks from me too. I know the local critter getter here and was asked how much I charge to do removals because the local bug killers dont do bees. I told them it depends on where the hive is , how much tearing apart has to be done and how much time it may take and there is not a standard price for every one ,which seems to be about what you all do. Some time this summer I will probably be posting pics of ole cbee running for cover madly flailing at the air being chased by a few thousand hacked of bees :-D

bailey · March 12, 2008, 12:29:26 AM

i refer you to my earlier post, ( cutout from hell )

they can be fun like my first 3 cutouts but they can get pretty ugly if it is a big hot hive.

bailey