>>Folks think they are doing beekeepers a favor by asking them to invest travel time, gasoline expense, equipment expense as well as several man hours without compensation.

I've had people on occasion offer to sell me a colony in the wall of their house...  There justification is that they hear beekeepers buy bees [in packages] all the time.  I have to explain that I can do splits and produce as many bees as I want only with my labor and with greater convenience.

>>Then the homeowner finds out he will be left with a large hole in his wall that he must pay to have repaired, and the anger kicks in.

I always recommend as option 1 one that they can co-exist with the bees and not spend a dime. :)

>>I do not know a single person who is willing to do that
much work without pay, except under extraordinary circumstances.

I would only do a free removal if I came across an elderly home owner in financial dire straits.  Since I could not do a background check, I would have to rely on appearances.

I have not met such an owner and wondered why.  My guess is that poor folks just co-exist with bees.  All my calls are from very affluent areas down to middle class areas.  I get zero calls from poor neighborhoods.

Waldemar

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