Georgia sets new guidelines for beekeepers, local business buzzing with customers

ELLERSLIE, Georgia (WRBL)– Earlier this month, the state of Georgia established new requirements for the control and disposal of bees. Local beekeeping company, “Darling i came home”Was able to anticipate these changes and is now buzzing with an influx of customers.

As of July 1, the Georgia Structural Pest Control Commission adopted a new chapter entitled “Control and elimination of bees and structures. “This requires the issuance of contracts for all bee control and disposal work and outlines the licenses required for anyone engaging in this line of work.

According to the Georgia Department of Agriculture, “Anyone engaging in bee control and disposal must be a certified bee control and disposal operator and must hold a structural pest control company license. in the operational category of bee elimination. “

The local beekeeping company, “Honey I’m Home”, is now reaping the benefits of its preparation. It is one of the few bee-mining companies that has already implemented these changes before they are required. Bee extraction companies used to be bundled with pest control, but now they have their own unique guidelines.

“So now they’ve gone their separate ways,” said owner and operator Woody O’Connell. “Bee kills are now a completely separate entity from insured or licensed pest control companies…. they can’t come in and take bees, they have to come and hire us.

The local company carries out the extraction of bee swarms and beehives from the houses, as well as maintenance and inspections.

“Honey I’m Home” is on a mission to “not only provide beekeeping services, but also training and education to enable those who were once affected by infestations to become full business owners” . Their hope is that people will have a partnership with their bees.

Because their business is located on the border, they operate in both Georgia and Alabama. Borders can make things difficult when it comes to live insects, and they already anticipate that Alabama’s regulations won’t be too far behind Georgia’s lead.

“We’re on the border with Alabama, so we do a lot of work in Alabama,” O’Connell said. “I can’t bring bees from Alabama to Georgia, I can’t bring bees from Georgia to Alabama. So we set up an apiary in Alabama where we can deposit the bees… we have apiaries in Georgia…. “

People can visit these apiaries and O’Connell, also known as the “bee whisperer”, shares his passion for the insect. He passes on his knowledge and expertise to clients to help them develop their passion for the hobby.

Bee season kicked off around Good Friday and O’Connell is optimistic about the influx of business for the remainder of the season.