Bee removal workshop Oct 9

Honey bee hive removal is an essential part of eliminating
bees from a structure.  

Honey bee removal from structures has proven to be a valuable niche market for many pest control companies. But this type of work involves more than putting on a bee suit and squirting a spray can.  Professional honey bee removal requires knowledge of bee behavior, knowing how to efficiently locate and open walls and floors, and how to remove and/or relocate nests. In addition there are important legal requirements that affect persons doing bee removal.

If you're interested in adding honey bee removal services to your business, you might be interested in a hands-on class being offered next month at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas.  We are now accepting applicants for the class being held at the IPM Experience House on October 9.  Instructors include Charles Adams, of Adams Bee Removal in Sherman, TX, and Lauren Ward of the Honey Bee Lab at Texas A&M University.

Charles Adams serves as school IPM Coordinator for Sherman ISD.  He has extensive experience in pest control, wildlife control and bee removal, and will be conducting a live bee removal from the walls of our very own IPM Experience House.  If the removal goes as planned, bees will be removed alive and set up in a new hive box. Bee preservation and extermination options will be discussed.

Lauren Ward is a Texas A&M University student working under the supervision of Dr. Juliana Rangel of the Department of Entomology and the Honey Bee Lab at Bryan, Texas.  Lauren is a frequent teacher of bee-related topics, and will provide information on bee biology and behavior and legal and practical issues surrounding the protection of bees.

Participants in the class will watch a honey bee hive extraction indoors and are asked to bring a bee suit or an extra long-sleeved shirt and gloves (optional).  We will provide you with a head veil, if you do not have one.

Topics to be covered:

• Introduction to the Honey Bee – Lauren Ward 
• History and background of honey bees 
• Basic honey bee biology and behavior 
• Are honey bees endangered? 
• Licensing and legal issues honey bee removal and insecticide use  
• Lunch (box lunch provided)
• Suit up and honey bee removal from IPM Experience House -- Charles Adams
• Safety equipment for working around bees
• Locating the hidden hive
• Hive removal options
• Moving bees to a hive box
• Cleanup
• The importance of bee proofing

The class runs from 10 am to approximately 3 pm, Friday, October 9.  Cost for the class is $75 before Oct 8 and includes a box lunch. Late registration is $90 after October 7.  Register for the class online at https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/index.cfm/productDetails/ProductID/1844/   Class size is limited, so don't delay.  

Everything you wanted to know about bees...

Bees have become a significant source of inquiries from the public, and an important revenue stream, for some pest management professionals in recent years. If you would like to learn more about bees, or if you've always wanted to try your hand at beekeeping, an upcoming workshop might be just what you need.

The Trinity Valley Beekeepers club is putting together a one day class to help people get started in beekeeping. Advertised for new or aspiring beekeepers, "Introduction to Beekeeping" is an all-day seminar designed to get you up and going in beekeeping. Based on his popular college course, Dr. Alan Eynon and others will take you through a year of beekeeping from setting up your hives in Spring, harvesting you honey in the Summer and preparing your bees for the Winter.

The class will be held at Eastfield College (which is where the club usually meets), 8:30am - 5pm on Saturday, November 7th. Eastfield College is in east Dallas, on the north side of I-30 at Motley Drive, just a few miles in from the I-30/I-635 interchange.

According to Dr. Alan Eynon, club president, it will help them a lot if you would register early, so they can plan for ordering lunches and supplies. Early registration is slated to end on Oct 16. If you miss the deadline you will still be able to register, but you might want to drop Dr. Eynon a note to let him know. Cost for the class (which includes lunch) is $45 for non club members. For a schedule or to get registered, click here

Bee DVD may not translate well to all areas

Recently PCT Online ran a page promoting a new DVD called "Swarm Plus" from an Ohio PMP and beekeeper named Dave Duncan. I was curious about the quality and content of the video, because of a bee control training I conducted several years ago and the healthy demand for bee control services in our area.

Anyone can visit the site and view the excerpts online. The videos appear to be well made and very professional looking. Some of the bee footage even verges on spectacular. However, I was a little uneasy about some of the content, at least for Texas honey bees; so I asked a couple of beekeepers experienced in bee removals what they thought.

Janet Roe and John Talbert of the Collin County (Texas) Beekeepers Association were both concerned that the fellow was a little too cavalier with his protective gear. "We agreed that neither of us would ever pick up a swarm without our hoods on, but [climbing] up a shaky ladder with a fish net? ...nutty," they said.

One thing that surprized all of us was a section where the beekeepers remove an indoor wall with a large nest on the other side. In the segment, two people are using a pry bar to peel the wall away from the hive while wearing no protective gear. You should never do something like that in our state according to my experts.

"We decided he had to be way far north of any "mean" bees," Janet said. After a few years of watching the Africanized honey bee make its way across the state, beekeepers in our part of the country do not assume bees will be gentle, especially when handling brood boxes or opening up their nest cavity. John said he never allows anyone in his beeyard without at least head gear. And the behaviour of the bees throughout the video was much different that the bees we typically encounter.

John and Janet had some other technical criticisms about super frames and brood box frames (I love it when they talk technical) that went over my head, but I was relieved to know that I wasn't the only one who thought the video bees were way too tame.

To be fair, I haven't purchased and viewed the SwarmPlus DVD. I'm sure it has a lot of potentially helpful information. I also believe that the pest control industry needs more quality training materials in bee and wasp control. Finding a professional who is experienced in removing and controlling bees is difficult in many areas. I single out Mr. Duncan's product not to criticize, but as an example that we should evaluate all training materials we read or view (especially on the Internet) with a critical eye.

In the case of this product, I would encourage PMPs who are thinking about getting a copy to find a local beekeeper or PMP with experience with bees that you trust and asking them to review the video with you. And if you decide to try some of the activities in this product, wear a full bee suit--especially on a ladder and even if you're not in the land of Africanized honey bees.