The issues you write about have come up occasionally for me, but I?m able to address them pretty fast because I NEVER do cutouts on a ladder and I never do them alone. I mean never. In my opinion and in my experience - and I mean no insult to anyone who does - it is extremely unwise to work alone - AND dangerous.
You are much more disciplined than most beekeepers then, kudos. I know many NWCOs that would starve if they tried sticking to this. I guess it all comes down to the area of the country and client base.
The other reason I can avoid many of the issues you describe - and I mentioned this before - is that I never use a hose longer that 8-10 feet. From my experience, long hoses are a disaster and kill bees. This is a rule that has no exceptions for me.
Most of my guys use a 20ft as standard. Some do not hesitate adding up to another 20ft if needed with minimal increase of dead bees. The added stress of a few more feet ride down the hose is much less than hours being quarantined in a strange cage and then being dumped out later.
Thanks, Robo. I am very fortunate. I?m a retired teacher with a pension. I don?t need to do cutouts for the income. I do them for the fun. And the challenge. So how an NWCO would approach these jobs, and how I approach them are very different. And I can understand that completely.
I recently had a conversation with the husband and wife co-owners of a NWCO in Westchester County (bordering The Bronx of NYC - for those unfamiliar with the geography) about how we could mutually benefit each other. One day, I was invited to join his crew of FIVE on a cutout. (Why he had five men on his team for this is a mystery to me). When I arrived, I told him that neither I or nor my assistant would go up 20-25 feet on that ladder to reach the soffit with the bees. There was no fall protection for anyone - no safety mechanism. My assistant and I started to go back to my vehicle, but my assistant Nowel said he?d rather do it and make some money than go home. There were two ladders with a man on each and the extra guys were spotters. I was on the ground cutting and mounting comb and placing them into boxes.
The cutout was done and needless to say it took much longer than necessary, was messier than necessary and killed more bees than necessary. Lowering brood comb and honey comb in a bucket up and down a ladder is sloppy, shoddy work in my opinion. I?ve seen it on YouTube and when I do, I cringe. They were using an Owens by the way.
That would have been a scaffolding or boom lift job if I had taken it on.
Regarding client base.
I agree with you. Most of my jobs come from pest management company referrals. (Some from listings on the bee forums and other sites.) One is the largest in Westchester County, NY I have been subcontracting for, for many years. Their client base is mostly all millionaires; probably a few billionaires. They will wait to get the job done. They will pay extra for scaffolding and/or boom lifts. I?ve seen that money isn?t really a big issue with most of them. It?s a plus that the company recommends me and my references are good.
Regarding bucket vacs:
I want to make clear that the Owens is ALWAYS a last resort for me. I also want to make clear that I have had bees remain in cages overnight, sprayed them with sugar water before putting them to bed, and the next day they were just fine. My theory is that the few dead on the cage bottom were weakened or died during the vacuuming - not from being left in the cage. If it?s a swarm, they are gently released (not dumped) the next day into an empty super on top of a super (or two, or three) with frames of honey and pollen with a dash of lemongrass oil on the top bars. If its a cutout, the same but the cut brood combs are beneath them. No problems yet.
Regarding long hoses:
Anecdotal reports of '
a minimum increase in dead bees' in long hoses is a relative expression/term. ANY dead bees inside a hose is TOO many dead bees for me. And frankly, I think most guys who use these extended length hoses don?t realize how many die inside their hoses (or won?t admit it). I have been there. I know. I was absolutely astonished when I first realized the mortality inside those long hoses. The losses were unacceptable. Moderate length hoses for me produce NO dead bees inside a hose. In my view, NO is substantially better than ?A MINIMUM?.
The reasons I never work on a ladder are many:
Its exhausting
Its dangerous.
Its sloppy.
It takes forever.
If cutouts every stop being fun for me, that?s the day I stop doing them.
