Right off the bat, I am going to say, I am not a “beekeeper” in the traditional sense.
Big Bear - the "Bee Doctor" is in the house.
I make that distinction because the things I do and the methods I use are not always the same as most “beekeepers”.
My business is bee conservation. I am a bee conservationist. What that means when I say that is, my goal is to keep bees that are already living, alive.
I do live bee removals like “cut-outs” from walls of buildings, rooflines, garages, etc.. I will take tree sections that have been cut by yard services. I do trap-outs, swarm captures, whatever it takes to keep bees alive instead of having them killed un-necessarily.
We work with honey bees, mason bees and bumble bees.
There are plenty of commercial and hobbyist bee breeders out there. Though I do raise bees and will sell them, under certain conditions, that is simply a by-product of the main work.
I am not a honey producer. Though I have some hives that I keep to make cut comb honey to sell and let people try, 90% of the honey my bees make goes back to the bees. I am trying to keep newly relocated bees from live bee removals, cut-outs and swarm captures alive. They need that honey far more than I do.
I do not put anything inside a hive besides bees, frames and maybe an IPM screened bottom board. IF I use foundation, it is drone foundation for IPM mite control.
I will not feed inside a hive except for 2 reasons. 1) the weather conditions are so bad that the bees cannot get out or 2) I have put the bees in a situation that they cannot forage. For example, if I put them in a closed observation hive or if the weather is consistently bad for a number of days, especially if it’s a newly hived swarm, split or cutout that is very small.
Chemicals, specifically meaning natural or synthetic formulated pesticides, are not allowed in my hives under any circumstances. IPM methods such as screen bottoms/sticky boards, drone frames, entrance reducers, etc… are the only methods we use to encourage colonies to adapt and develop strong survival traits in the face of mites, pesticides, mice, beetles, moths, pathogens and everything else the bees must face day to day.
The last thing bees need is to be killed out of fear and ignorance. I understand many people don’t want bees sharing the same living space with them and that’s ok. Our message is that we can get those bees out just as any pest management service provider can. We do everything we can to help the bees be taken alive and keep them alive. The bees don’t necessarily have to die just to have them removed.
It’s true that the bees may not survive the removal process. The great amount of stress a colony endures in being removed and relocated can be enough to kill them. Sometimes, the queen might be killed, requiring a new queen be introduced or the colony will die. We still feel that the effort to keep them alive and the possibility of them dying is still better than guaranteed death.
We run a “Bee Market” here in Omaha. We sell new beekeeping equipment and supplies with a good variety and in-stock assortment so that beekeepers can have access to the items they need to increase, care for and otherwise take care of their bees without waiting for expensive shipping from online suppliers.
I am licensed in the state of Nebraska as a pesticide applicator in structural/health and turf & ornamental as well. I focus on providing Integrated Pest Management services to residential and business customers as well as to area beekeepers.
For beekeepers who want assistance, I provide comprehensive hive inspections, proper and responsible application of pesticides in their hives if they choose those methods. This way, I can help in the overall goal of reducing cases of incorrectly applied chemicals and perhaps help people find effective, non-chemical control methods thereby ultimately reducing how many chemical pesticides are used in general.
“Bee Doctor” service is offered to those who want hives maintained on their property, but they owner themselves do not are or not able to maintain the hives themselves. This is where the “Bee Doctor” (yours truly) steps in to maintain the hives on behalf of the hive and property owner(s).
Please help us to keep bees alive.