SMILING BEE SERVICE

The job was completed in about one hour.

unknown

Prompt, friendly, came back the next day to check to be sure hornets all gone. Brian (and Spanish name), 3rd generation bee keeper. Very satisfied

Mr. Medina, the proprietor, arrived to review the situation and used a handheld device to scan the interior temperature pf the wall containing the bee colony. A laser pointer in the instrument allowed him to precisely locate the height of the colony inside the wall, since the entry holes on the exterior clearly indicated the entry point. He explained that removal of section of the exterior wall of about one square foot would be necessary to gain access, after which he would remove the beginning portion of new honeycomb along with the population of bees present at that time. He explained that his charge would be at the rate of $150/hour, and figured it would take between 2-3 hours to complete the work, including the patching of the wall afterward. Mr. Medina is a beekeeper, so he was prepared to remove the bee colony for his own use. Every bee removal expert I spoke with uses that same and quot;going rate.and quot; Communication was a major issue, since Mr. Medina struggles in English. He was almost 2 hours late in arriving for the review/estimating visit. I was repeatedly calling his mobile hone to try to find out where he was lost, so that I might be able to talk him through the path to the house. Professionalism was somewhat lacking in that he did not provide a binding estimate. for the cost of the work. I have dealt with other Mexican workers (in Mexico); after talking with him in person I felt I could trust him to not overcharge. He performed the work a few days later, returned after a day to remove remaining bees, and returned after another day to patch the hole and meet me for payment. He kept me informed through phone calls and messages on my answering machine. He left some debris on a walkway next to the wall and on top of some fence pieces attached to the wall, but aside from that performed accurately and according to plan. I consider the quality of his work to be excellent. He clearly understands the methods required and works carefully.

did not use this service

I had a very good experience with the owner of smiling bee, Braulio Medina.I had 15-20 bees come down my chimney on a Friday. I got a couple of recommendations (Yelp, Angie's, friends, HOA) to check into it. Pest companies just come and spray insecticide ("fogging") but do nothing to remove a potential hive. I had one "recommended" bee removal company insist that I had a bee-hive in my chimney, using scare tactics on the phone, without even coming to my house. I was not impressed with that company's aggressive manner on the phone (it had generally good reviews on Angie's list, so maybe they do good work, but the owner is unbearable). I understand that time is of the essence if bees are establishing a hive inside a wall, chimney, or attic, because it gets more difficult to remove as the hive grows (and thus more expensive). Although the owner of that OTHER company gave me good directions on the phone on how to temporarily seal up my fireplace (after putting mothballs in the fireplace to repel the bees) with garbage bags and duct tape, he refused to come out until a week and a half later (or more, they wouldn't even set up an appointment until five days later). Mr Medina came out on the same day that I called, and did a quick and thorough investigation of the chimney. No hive. He gave me other suggestions, too, which were helpful. He charges the same as the other company ($150 an hour), but what I have been told about Mr. Medina (by others who work in the Bee industry) is that he's honest, and doesn't drag out the work to make more money. Very good guy; his English is a little hard to understand, so you may have to work with that a bit. But he's very thorough and professional. The bee-hive removal business is not cheap, and he's totally within what seems to be the industry norm. I would use him again.

WE WERE HAVING WORK DONE ON OUR HOME AND THE WORKERS COULD NOT WORK DUE TO A LARGE SWARM OF BEES UNDER A BOARD ON THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE. THIS SERVICE WAS CALLED ON A WEEK-END AND THEY RESPONDED QUICKLY AND PROFESSIONALLY. SEEMED HIGH PRICED AT THE TIME, BUT WE DID NOT REALIZE THE SEVERITY OF HAVING A HIVE IN THE HOUSE. THE BEES WOULD NOT HAVE GONE AWAY ON THEIR OWN. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY.