Buzzing bee problem? State proposes changes to bee removal industry
CAPE CORAL, Fla. - For a buzzing bee problem, call a pest control company or a bee keeper, but is everyone following the right protocol when it comes to removing bees?
Four in Your Corner's Julie Salomone is looking at how the state might be making changes to keep you safer when it comes to those stinging insects.
Keith Councell's main priority is to save the bees no matter what it takes. On Monday, he's removing swarms of bees from a trailer in Cape Coral.
"We take the bees out and remove them and bring them to our farm. We put them back into honey production," said Keith Councell of Councell Farms Professional Bee Removal Service.
Keith is a registered bee keeper and caries a pest control license which allows him to remove bees from a structure like a trailer, but not everyone operates the same way he does.
"Interpretation of the law, leaves a grey area for bee keepers to do removals for a charge and what they found out is some issues with people who weren't doing it correctly."
While most are registered bee keepers, not everyone in the industry has a pest control license which leads to mistakes on site.
"Most pest control companies do not want to deal with bees because they are not really educated in it."
Keith and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are now working on proposed legislation that would require bee keepers to get a specific certification allowing them to remove bees without going through the lengthy process of getting a pest control license.
"It is definitely going to benefit the public . It's going to give us credentials to work with and allow public to know we're doing the best at our jobs."
A proposed draft could be finished as soon as next week. The proposed legislation would need to be approved by the legislature.
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