Hello Carol & All,
Carol worte:
>  I vacuum all the bees in sight and hope that I don't kill the queen.

Carol gives a very similar method to the methods we show in the *Midwestern
beekeepers* bee removal video.  I have done very similar removals  My method
is to start vacuum on the honey comb first and remove those bees.  I then
remove the honey comb from the nest.  Then look for queen on each frame of
brood before vacuuming.   Look first on the outside of the brood comb. By
removing a comb at a time very easy. Then lay the oval comb down with your
finger and look at the inside of the outside comb and the outside of the
next comb.  Queen is usually on frame with eggs/larva.  I have found the
queen in most instances. Cage the queen.
I agree with Carol on her method and like her idea on the bee/vac. Other
bee/vac designs are in the archives. Finding the queen instead of vacuuming
helps assure her survival as a certain amount of bees usually don't survive
the process but Carols method will work with greater risk to the queen.
Bees die in bee vacs the most when the weather is hot.   Cool weather
extractions are the safest.  Allow plenty of time for bee removal.   The
removal which I posted in the archives took four hours from start to Finnish
with a few minutes the next day to go by and vacuum a couple handfuls of
bees.  A big demand exists for bee removal services.   Myself and my friends
charge for the service and when the customer  sees  the amount of time spent
and the professional manner you approach and accomplish the job they are
happy to pay and will tell all their friends.   Set a reasonable fee and
don't sell your service short.   Do a professional job and don't raise the
price when done.   If you underestimated the job.   Do a better job of
pricing on the next job.   Take your time and leave a satisfied customer
behind each time and a positive impression of the beekeeper and our
industry.
In most areas of the U.S.(if not all) you CAN NOT apply pesticides of any
kind without a pest control license but I believe in most areas (if not all)
you can do bee removal without a pest control license.  Most pest control
businesses are glad to refer bee removal to the beekeeper. We usually remove
any wood we need to perform the removal and then TRY to let the home owner
do the putting back.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri