May 29, 2011 – Not A Problem To Be Ignored
QUESTION:
If those of us who do bee control do not also "open walls" and remove the nest do you have any particular suggestions for how to go about enlisting the services of a contractor. I have had several customers ask me to take care of the construction process/hive removal or have wanted me to arrange to have it done for them. Now, I can see a possible opportunity here to work in conjunction with someone to our mutual advantage. I guess what I'm wondering is if this sounds reasonable and practical. If it is, what do you think might be the best approach to doing it? I don't want do construction work but I want to see that my customers are satisfied with the work (both mine and the construction guy's). What are your thoughts?
ANSWER:
This is a good question, and I will say that around my own neighborhood we have sort of an informal list of building and maintenance contractors who we have had good experience with and who we can feel confident sharing with our friends. Word of mouth advertising is some of the best, and I suspect that nearly all pest control companies also have gotten business from referrals by satisfied customers. As with any business there will be good building contractors and really bad ones, and you might just start asking friends and customers if any of them have ever hired someone to do repair or remodeling work and were very satisfied with what they received. I regularly watch the TV show out of Canada of the contractor who goes back in and repairs the work done by other contractors who were so horrifically sloppy, so short cuts do happen. Bottom line on honey bees is that their wax hive really should not be left in a structure once the bees are eliminated. You are in Arizona, and this becomes really important there where the temperatures that would melt the wax are going to be present more months of the year than in most other states. Once the bees are no longer there to maintain the integrity of the wax hive it will melt and the wax and honey will flow wherever gravity takes them, which results in serious messes and damage to the home's interior. You should put this recommendation for hive removal in writing and have the customer sign it so you can prove they were told. The process should be to locate the hive itself so that the minimal damage can be done to open and remove it physically. Then you or someone else can take the hive out and dispose of it and follow up by thoroughly cleaning the surfaces the hive contacted. This removes as many traces as possible of the honey and other substances that would attract ants, carpet beetles, and other scavengers that could come in to do their work. There even are a couple of moths that will feed within old bee hives. I would think that building contractors, along with most other service businesses, would be hungry for legitimate work, and if you can determine a few that are reputable, licensed properly, will take out the necessary permits and treat your customers with a good sense of Customer Service (since it would be a reflection on you) you could interview them to see if they would be willing to receive these kinds of referrals. I can't imagine why anyone would turn down the chance to make a few hundred bucks. We had a local contractor redo the texturing on our sheetrock walls after we removed wallpaper, and other neighbors had used him also with glowing recommendation. I would imagine this kind of person would be willing to do removal of the wall materials to expose the hive, allow you or a cleaning service to come in and remove the hive and clean the interior, and then he could replace that wall surface properly and finish it for painting by the customer or some other contractor. It is really a matter of YOU finding someone you are comfortable with who is willing to accept this kind of small job, so ask around and do the interviews and hopefully you can get a network that will do good work.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
If those of us who do bee control do not also "open walls" and remove the nest do you have any particular suggestions for how to go about enlisting the services of a contractor. I have had several customers ask me to take care of the construction process/hive removal or have wanted me to arrange to have it done for them. Now, I can see a possible opportunity here to work in conjunction with someone to our mutual advantage. I guess what I'm wondering is if this sounds reasonable and practical. If it is, what do you think might be the best approach to doing it? I don't want do construction work but I want to see that my customers are satisfied with the work (both mine and the construction guy's). What are your thoughts?
ANSWER:
This is a good question, and I will say that around my own neighborhood we have sort of an informal list of building and maintenance contractors who we have had good experience with and who we can feel confident sharing with our friends. Word of mouth advertising is some of the best, and I suspect that nearly all pest control companies also have gotten business from referrals by satisfied customers. As with any business there will be good building contractors and really bad ones, and you might just start asking friends and customers if any of them have ever hired someone to do repair or remodeling work and were very satisfied with what they received. I regularly watch the TV show out of Canada of the contractor who goes back in and repairs the work done by other contractors who were so horrifically sloppy, so short cuts do happen. Bottom line on honey bees is that their wax hive really should not be left in a structure once the bees are eliminated. You are in Arizona, and this becomes really important there where the temperatures that would melt the wax are going to be present more months of the year than in most other states. Once the bees are no longer there to maintain the integrity of the wax hive it will melt and the wax and honey will flow wherever gravity takes them, which results in serious messes and damage to the home's interior. You should put this recommendation for hive removal in writing and have the customer sign it so you can prove they were told. The process should be to locate the hive itself so that the minimal damage can be done to open and remove it physically. Then you or someone else can take the hive out and dispose of it and follow up by thoroughly cleaning the surfaces the hive contacted. This removes as many traces as possible of the honey and other substances that would attract ants, carpet beetles, and other scavengers that could come in to do their work. There even are a couple of moths that will feed within old bee hives. I would think that building contractors, along with most other service businesses, would be hungry for legitimate work, and if you can determine a few that are reputable, licensed properly, will take out the necessary permits and treat your customers with a good sense of Customer Service (since it would be a reflection on you) you could interview them to see if they would be willing to receive these kinds of referrals. I can't imagine why anyone would turn down the chance to make a few hundred bucks. We had a local contractor redo the texturing on our sheetrock walls after we removed wallpaper, and other neighbors had used him also with glowing recommendation. I would imagine this kind of person would be willing to do removal of the wall materials to expose the hive, allow you or a cleaning service to come in and remove the hive and clean the interior, and then he could replace that wall surface properly and finish it for painting by the customer or some other contractor. It is really a matter of YOU finding someone you are comfortable with who is willing to accept this kind of small job, so ask around and do the interviews and hopefully you can get a network that will do good work.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
