So you have a hive inside your home and you want a professional to extract it. Where do you start when deciding who to hire? Before just going with the cheapest bid for your business be sure to ask what we like to call the “Big 5” questions to ask before you hire a Bee Removal company.

Q1: Are they licensed by The Structural Pest Control Board?

A:It is important to know that unless a company is licensed by the Structural Pest Control Board they are not legally allowed to use pesticides…even over the counter products and “green” products. Many companies claim they are licensed because they have a Contractor’s License or a Beekeepers license, but those licenses do not allow them to use pesticides legally. It is against the law for any paid company to use any pesticide without a license by the Structural Pest Control Board. Only a valid license with The Structural Pest Control Board allows a company to both apply pesticides and open a structure to remove a hive. To check and see if a company has a valid license visit the following website: https://www.pestboard.ca.gov/license.shtml

Q2: Are they certified by the State of California for Africanized Honey Bees?

Many companies claim to remove bees alive from Structures. Did you know the Structural Pest Control Board of California considers live removals from structures in San Diego County to be reckless and dangerous? Choose a company that is killer bee certified to help reduce the risk of stinging incidents to your family, pets, and neighbors.

Q3: Will the company you hire be performing the work or will it be subbed out?

Many companies online don’t actually have employees on their payroll who perform the work…they subcontract with individuals who may not be licensed, may not be insured , and may have a criminal background! At Bee Best Bee Removal, Inc. all of our employees go through intense criminal background checks and are fingerprinted by Live Scan. On the rare occasion that we subcontract another company for specialty repairs, we verify that they are licensed, bonded, and insured.

Q4: Do they carry Workman’s Comp and Liability Insurance?

Mistakes can happen anytime, but mistakes that happen when handling bees can be disastrous! Before you let any company set up a ladder, inspect a crawl space, or even walk on your property make sure to ask for an insurance certificate to see if they are currently covered if anything goes wrong. Ask for a Certificate of Insurance proving that their employees are covered for Auto, General Liability and Workers Comp. Working with bees is risky and one mistake with an Africanized colony of bees could be deadly!

Q5: How many years have they been in business and will they warranty their work? Does the company you plan to hire offer a warranty for their removals? Will they be in business next year?

The industry standard is 30 days for eliminations and 6 months to 1 year for structural removals. Many bee companies are here one day and gone the next. A one year warranty is no good if the company you hire is out of business next month. Always check the number of years in business and where their office is located. Do they have a local physical address? If they are reachable only by phone, what do you do if you have a dispute? How will you know if they will stand behind their work? Bee Best Bee Removal, Inc has been serving San Diego County since 1993 and we have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.