A plea goes out from [log in to unmask] for some Texas beekeeper(s) to help Howard Powell in Lake Twakoni, Texas. I'm not sure where Lake Twakoni, Texas is, but it seems to me I might have seen a road sign somewhere between Navasota and Conroe. I'll have to look on a map and see if I can find it. But I have a couple of comments to make regarding this "opportunity". I have helped people before in my area who have had honey bees in the walls of their house or something similar, but in Texas, I cannot legally be paid to do it because the structural pest control board passed a law that only a licensed structural pest control operator can be paid to do it. A hobby beekeeper without a license cannot. There is a $5000 fine for breaking that law. I understand that the law came about when the pest control establishment foresaw a "gold mine" in removing Africanized bees from buildings and decided to corner the market by requiring the license (have to pay a big license fee, pass a test, etc.) and that they would make money hand over fist. That is not how it has turned out. At least around where I live, none of the pest control companies will handle bee problems. They tell the people that bees are a protected species and that they can't kill them, then give them the County Ag Extension's phone number, who then refer them to a beekeeper who may or may not be willing or able to help them. It costs me money (gas, car expense, etc.) and my time to travel and then work, often in hot difficult circumstances, and I have a full-time job doing something else. Back to the point: pest control operators will not do it and beekeepers are angry about the law, so most of them will not do it (besides the liability possibility if they were to break the law). That leaves the home owner between a rock and a hard place to get someone to help them. I believe that the law ought to be changed to allow an exemption for hobby beekeepers so they can be paid or reimbursed for their time and expenses for helping people get bees out of inhabited buildings. I have been doing it because I enjoy the experience and what I learn from doing it, and I enjoy helping people solve their bee problems, but otherwise because of the laws here it is not worth my time. Many home owners are left with no viable options for help in our state. The other side of the coin is that I can turn anybody down, and if I do decide to help, I incur no liability if there is a problem. So far as I know, I am one of the only people in my part of the state who is willing to help people solve thei bee problems. It's challenging, educational, enjoyable, and I feel a sense of accomplishment when I am successful. I might start a sideline business of bee removals if the laws were different in Texas. Layne Westover, College Station, Texas