Paul Jackson told me over the phone that the electronic devices mentioned included Bee-vacs. Perhaps that has also changed. I might call him again one of these days. But as I have said before, don't tell.
I think it is basically his interpretation of the statute. Quite frankly, I don't agree with it. The statute states:
"does not use pesticides or electrical devices
other than conventional bee smokers or equipment as defined by Section
131.001, Agriculture Code;" (bold added for emphasis)
Section 131.001 of the Texas Agriculture code is pretty general and defines beekeeping equipment as:
"hives, supers, frames, veils, gloves, tools,
machines, or other devices for the handling and manipulation of bees....."(again, bold added for emphasis)
I fail to see how a bee-vac would not qualify as a machine or other device for the handling and manipulation of bees. I think that they would have a tough time upholding or enforcing the restriction based on common sense and the generality of the Agriculture code. What reasonable logic can possibly explain a restriction on using a device that is designed specifically for you to use in the course of your normal beekeeping activities? I can see electrical devices that are designed for the pest control industry as they could be more complex and require a certain amount of training for their proper use, but come on, a bee-vac? Give me a break! No way a citation based on that would hold up in court. His comments make me wonder if he bothered to even read the section in the Ag code.