Pest controllers

[Les]

My wife has just spoken to an old friend who told her that she has had a pest controller come to her house to sort out some ‘bees’.
They were in a bird box – so probably bumble bees.
He put insecticide in the box and then put it in her dustbin, and then charged her £200.
Any thoughts?

 

[YorkshireBees]

Sounds like a complete rip off tbh.

I work with a local pest controller that I met when he got a call for a wasp nest that turned out to be a bee swarm that had built comb at the top of a tree.

He now calls me if he has any calls for bees and in fact the other day he called me to ask advice as he had a job with bees in a roof that was being removed. When he got out there they urned out to be bumble bees and he was relocating them instead of killing them.

There are some good ones about.

 

[Bob Bee]

Sounds like a complete rip off tbh.

I work with a local pest controller that I met when he got a call for a wasp nest that turned out to be a bee swarm that had built comb at the top of a tree.

He now calls me if he has any calls for bees and in fact the other day he called me to ask advice as he had a job with bees in a roof that was being removed. When he got out there they urned out to be bumble bees and he was relocating them instead of killing them.

There are some good ones about.

There are lots of cowboys out there....
I work with two local pest controllers who pass on honey bee swarms and get me to talk to folk with bumble bees about keeping them. If people insist he does destroy them and a call out is around £70 plus mileage.

 

[Neil]

Idiots they waltz around with poison and don't have a clue what their killing. This happened to me with a swarm of mine, the council sent some idiot around and killed all my honey bees that were hanging from a neighbors tree. He didn't have a clue what they were just killed them! This is a frightening concept to think these people are walking around with poison getting paid and don't have a clue what there doing!!!

 

[merylvingien]

Idiots they waltz around with poison and don't have a clue what their killing. This happened to me with a swarm of mine, the council sent some idiot around and killed all my honey bees that were hanging from a neighbors tree. He didn't have a clue what they were just killed them! This is a frightening concept to think these people are walking around with poison getting paid and don't have a clue what there doing!!!

Hang on a minute. I am a pest controller and i dont waltz around with posion without a clue.

Always talk people down from killing bumble bees. Once you give them the right information they are happy to leave them alone. Most people are worried about their homes being damaged.
Bumble bees in bird boxes are easy to deal with, simply move them.

Never kill a honey be swarm that is gettable. But sometimes they do get into peoples homes. Would you like a colony of honey bees living in your home?

Wasps and bumble bees i charge £40

Honey bee treatments for when they are in peoples houses are slightly more expensive because of a repeat visit to block up the entrances.

So lets not tar all pest controllers with same brush thank you very much.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

So lets not tar all pest controllers with same brush thank you very much.

not all - but in this day and age when you can attend a day's poisons/pesticide/chainsaw/whatever handling course - sometimes paid by the government under some re'training scheme or what have you. A person walks away with a sustificite and they think they know the damn lot. So you do get quite a few cowboys.
Years ago now when my sister and her then fiancee bought a house with a little dry rot and some mould/dampness problems, this cowboy came along wanted to strip out the wallplates, scarfe new roof joists in one corner (which of course meant getting all the newly laid slates off) and then quarantine the house for seven days while he splashed chemicals around. Luckily my sister got hold of me before now brother in law (gullible townie) signed on the dotted line - nothing wrong with the roof timbers, I replaced the dry rot affected joists and got an associate with a reputable damp proofing company to sort out the mould with a 25 year guarantee. all for a fraction of the price this bloke with a certificate was going to charge.
House is still standing BTW

 

[pargyle]

There's always some rogue traders out there ... My mum (bless her she's now 93 but this was a few years ago) got charged £250 by a drain cleaning bloke when her sink blocked up ... he freed it with a plunger, didn't even take the u-bend off - if he had he would have discovered her engagement ring which she had lost in the middle of a load of chip fat which was still blocking the sink drain when I got to it ! Last time she got anyone in without asking me first !

 

[bees4u]

My wife has just spoken to an old friend who told her that she has had a pest controller come to her house to sort out some ‘bees’.
They were in a bird box – so probably bumble bees.
He put insecticide in the box and then put it in her dustbin, and then charged her £200.
Any thoughts?

I'm in the wrong job!

 

[Russel]

My wife has just spoken to an old friend who told her that she has had a pest controller come to her house to sort out some ‘bees’.
They were in a bird box – so probably bumble bees.
He put insecticide in the box and then put it in her dustbin, and then charged her £200.
Any thoughts?

Remove from bin if not already gone to tip and dispose off responsibly.
Then report him to his Pest control body(?),Trading Std's, Environmental Health and maybe Watchdog.

 

[Dishmop]

My wife has just spoken to an old friend who told her that she has had a pest controller come to her house to sort out some ‘bees’.
They were in a bird box – so probably bumble bees.
He put insecticide in the box and then put it in her dustbin, and then charged her £200.
Any thoughts?

A.. Should have asked for a quote first.
B.. Found out what sort of bees they were.
C.. Shouldnt have paid him. "Send me the bill"

Report the **** to trading standards.
Tell everybody about him on FaceBook.

 

[TOBY-3652]

My wife has just spoken to an old friend who told her that she has had a pest controller come to her house to sort out some ‘bees’.
They were in a bird box – so probably bumble bees.
He put insecticide in the box and then put it in her dustbin, and then charged her £200.
Any thoughts?

yes lots of thoughts,, god i would have to treat 4 wasp nests for that.. and why dont these people ask the price {before] the job is started not after..

 

[TOBY-3652]

Idiots they waltz around with poison and don't have a clue what their killing. This happened to me with a swarm of mine, the council sent some idiot around and killed all my honey bees that were hanging from a neighbors tree. He didn't have a clue what they were just killed them! This is a frightening concept to think these people are walking around with poison getting paid and don't have a clue what there doing!!!

I agree some people just dont have a clue. i was called to a school the other day, they had just had a chap from a pest control firm { no names but just think of the biggest pest control firm u can think of} the school had got some bees in a classroom and had to close it down. the chap spent a hour on the school computer and ringing, then said there bumble bees and there protected, he hadnt got a clue, so i lifted the suspended ceiling near where they were going in, put the nest in a box, and because i had picked up a swarm that day i didnt charge them put the nest in a old wood pile.. and the big firm wanted to charge her £ 150-00 just to tell her crap... it does make me mad

 

[TOBY-3652]

hang on a minute. I am a pest controller and i dont waltz around with posion without a clue.

Always talk people down from killing bumble bees. Once you give them the right information they are happy to leave them alone. Most people are worried about their homes being damaged.
Bumble bees in bird boxes are easy to deal with, simply move them.

Never kill a honey be swarm that is gettable. But sometimes they do get into peoples homes. Would you like a colony of honey bees living in your home?

Wasps and bumble bees i charge £40

honey bee treatments for when they are in peoples houses are slightly more expensive because of a repeat visit to block up the entrances.

So lets not tar all pest controllers with same brush thank you very much.

well said

 

[Chris Luck]

Greed and ignorance, we find it in all walks of life, no need to look too far.

I'd stick the pesticides up their noses.

Chris

 

[TOBY-3652]

A.. Should have asked for a quote first.
B.. Found out what sort of bees they were.
C.. Shouldnt have paid him. "Send me the bill"

Report the **** to trading standards.
Tell everybody about him on FaceBook.

 

[psafloyd]

What they're or they are killing, Neil.

Outrageous cheek, mind.

 

[Karol]

I run seminars for pest controllers and I have to say that by far the majority that have attended have been professional, responsible and well informed. That said, as with any profession there will be 'rogue traders' and probably the prudent thing is to go via recommendation and possibly check if they are registered with either the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) or the National Pest Technicians Association (NPTA) and if they have references that you can check.

Regards,

Karol

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I run seminars for pest controllers and I have to say that by far the majority that have attended have been professional, responsible and well informed. Karol

Yes, but the ones who don't give a fig apart from rooking the gullible and raking in the cash and who do slap dash jobs don't go to seminars do they?

Bit like them people who'll tarmacadam your driveway for a few hundred quid cash!

 

[Russel]

Yes, but the ones who don't give a fig apart from rooking the gullible and raking in the cash and who do slap dash jobs don't go to seminars do they?

Bit like them people who'll tarmacadam your driveway for a few hundred quid cash!

.....and another example here http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=24381 money for old rope?

 

[Les]

Just copied and pasted this from a pest controllers website (not the one who charged £200).

When Honeybees Become a Pest
Honeybees will often build their nest inside the wall of a home or any building for that matter. This can cause serious damage to the building structurally and can pose significant health hazards. Honeybees nesting in the walls of a building are a serious problem and as such needs to be dealt with timelously. Unlike wasps which are seasonal, honeybee nests can last for years if not treated. The honey stored inside the nests can damage the walls and the ceilings if left untreated.
A honeybee nest often has thousands of bees that swarm around the entrance of the nest, putting you and your family at risk. Bee stings can be incredibly painful and if a person is allergic, it can be life threatening. If honeybees feel their nest is being threatened, they will sting and due to the large numbers of bees in the nest, this situation can be incredibly dangerous. Honeybees also swarm and anyone in the vicinity of the swarm is in danger of being stung repeatedly.

Any thoughts on this?