I wanted to hand out a card to my neighbors with bee trees. I've already talked to many of them, but a card is handy to put on the fridge or bulletin board.VistaPrint happened to have a design on their "free" business cards that works well for my needs (shipping costs $10).
If I get many calls, I will pass along the bees or the jobs to others on the swarm list.
P.S. I printed out a handful of these "cards" at 3x5 and dropped them off at the neighborhood garden center. The gal there was super-interested and put one under the counter glass where you check out. Cool!
Well that's just the bee's knees!
ReplyDeleteI am glad I got here first so I could say that!
That's beeing real neighborly. And just how do you round up bees? I'm pretty sure you don't pull up in your car and offer them a ride to your hive.
ReplyDeleteNatashya, you made me snort!
ReplyDeleteBetts, kind of! I pull up in my car, put them in a box, then give them a ride to my hive.
What a great idea! Maybe up on Craigslist too? What category I don't know....
ReplyDeleteAre you going to collect them for free? Years ago I had to have a swarm removed from the front porch of our condo, and I had to pay $50 to have a beekeeper come and get them. My dad, who was once a beekeeper, was shocked that anybody would charge to remove a perfectly good swarm of bees.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I was not shocked, by the way. I was grateful.
ReplyDeleteWow! That *is* official what with the business card and the Bee Keeper title. Neat.
ReplyDeleteI know I've said it already, or maybe I haven't but I've certainly thought it many times: thank you SO much for adopting those bees of yours. I've learned more about bees in the last 6 months than I learned in all the previous years of my life. And I have a feeling that there's going to be a hive in my future.
ReplyDeleteVery nice card!
Hey, that's a great idea. Let's face --many people, upon discovering they had a swarm of bees, would likely either run away or try to kill them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty BEEsiness card. Heehee, are you tired of the bee jokes yet? In all seriousness though, your card is very pretty. :) I hope you get some business.
ReplyDeleteVistaprint is awesome! I had them print the save the date magnets when I got married. I really like your cards. What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks, JGH. I thought about Craigslist, but I don't want to post my phone number there. And swarms are so transitory that you wouldn't want to depend on email getting to you in time.
ReplyDeleteI think I have a pretty good chance of finding bees in the neighborhood, though.
Kathi, yeah, I'll take 'em for free. It's rarely really necessary to have a swarm removed if it's out in the open, anyway. The bees will all take off once they find a place to live, sometimes within hours, but at most a few days. But I can see charging in some circumstances.
Molly, I figure I *am* a beekeeper of sorts already, and it should reassure people. Maybe.
Pam, you're so welcome! I've learned more in the last year about bees than in my entire life, too. I didn't really know a thing. I hope you can get bees someday, too!
Amy, swarming bees are totally scary-looking! I can sympathize with that "reach for the Raid" reaction. Hopefully I'll have a chance for some teachable moments.
Thanks, Kasey! I still get a buzz from bee jokes, never fear.
Thanks, Mary! It's a handy service. I will have way more than I really need, but what the heck. Maybe I'll do a second hive next year.
I think what you are doing is so cool!
ReplyDeleteMy swarm went into the wall of our house to live, which is why I sent for the beekeeper. At least I knew (because of Dad) to have them taken away, and not killed.
I'm glad the round up question got answered. I was envisioning really tiny lassos.
ReplyDeleteKathi, oh, I would probably charge for doing a cutout, if I were brave enough to do one. It's a lot of work, with no guarantee you'll get the queen out alive.
ReplyDeleteDG (and everyone else), here's a decent swarm-catching video.
My guy was able to smoke them out--they were in an outside wall. Thanks for the video link, cool!
ReplyDeleteThat card has brought me a few swarms now. Here's one I captured after leaving my card at the neighborhood garden center:
ReplyDeletehttp://kittbo.blogspot.com/2009/05/another-day-another-swarm-capture.html