Charging Out Of Town Beek To Maintain His Hives

[Jen]

Last summer a gentleman bought 8 nucs from me, they are doing fine. He already had two. He went to Panama last fall and asked if I would keep a watch on his hives. He is vague on when he will return. The hives are about 10 miles away. Last fall all ten hives got three OA treatments and I have sugar patties on them. I want to ask him to pay me for maintaining his hives, especially with spring coming up with OA treatments and splits and possible swarm retrieval. He does have extra wooden ware and frames. I do believe he would transfer money into my account. Should I charge per hive, or per visit to his hives?

[tedh]

Hey Jen!  My take is that it might be a touchy conversation.  Not the conversation as such but the timing.  Negotiating a fee after the fact hasn't worked well for me in the past.  That being said, I'd try to come up with my total cost (gas, sugar, OA, etc) then add a percentage of that cost to the total.  So your cost plus 10, 15, 20, 25% for your time and trouble.  Just my thoughts on it.  Best of luck, Ted

[Bakersdozen]

The best time to ask this would have been during the initial discussion you had with him about tending to his hives.  I am sure you realize that now.
That being said, what is done is done and you are wiser now.  10 miles, one way, is no small trip not to mention your time and OA treatments. 
There maybe a negative reaction to your question.  Be prepared.
Perhaps he would be willing to reciprocate in some way like give you splits, honey, or free labor.  Some day you may need a bee sitter too!
We have members with experience in this field.  What do you say, beekeepers?
 

[Lburou]

One CAlifornia beekeeper I know charges $75-85 per hour, and he does whatever the customer wants. 

Of course, he lives in silicon valley and his customers don't blink an eye at paying $1600 for a bee hive.  He figures it would cost that much for any serviceman/serviceperson to go and work on a dishwasher or garage door, etc..  I would think that your mileage, expenses, and labor would be a reasonable way to present your case to the bee haver.  $30 an hour in California is cheap.  JMO

Won't they need a full sized box soon? 

[apisbees]

I Know of a couple of guys locally that charge $5.00 per hive to do OA treatments for keeps with only a few hives. Word it as wanting to be reimbursed for your costs of successfully looking after his hives.

[iddee]

Time, plus miles, plus expenses.

[Jen]

Pleading my case, here is a little more to the story. I was not under the impression that he was going to be gone for months, so it didn't occure to me to make an agreement.

The thing is, is that I was under the impression that he was taking a trip to New Mexico to sell his house than would be back by late fall. I think I got snookered. He's in Panama now and vague as to when he will return. Also, 8 of those hives came from me last year and I would like to see them survive, they are very good stock. It's hard for me to just turn my back on my own bees. Maybe it's a female beekeeper thing... I dunno.

Maybe I could attempt to get a hold of him, I think I can do that thru messenger, and ask if I could retrieve my 8 hives and take care of them here at my house thru the winter.

[NorCal]

Taking care of someone’s bees for a defined period is one thing, but this indefinite length of time would be troubling and not typical of a friend helping out a fellow beek.  IMO it’s not unreasonable to request recompensation for caring for them for so long.  I would add up my expenses to date, including OA, sugar, and gas, and let him know how much you’ve spent so far.  Then say that that cost doesn’t even include your time.  After this unexpected length of time the care of those hives is becoming a hardship and you’d be willing to take care of them, but need compensation.  If he wants you to continue taking care of his hives he should agree to reimburse you for your out of pocket expenses and agree to an hourly wage or per hive fee to keep maintaining each hive.  If he thinks that his hives will survive without further care from you a few pics of the lack of winter stores or mites counts that locals in your area are experiencing may sway him.  If he still declines, you have to decide to continue to do the work on your own as a caring beek or just leave them alone.   Good luck!

[Bakersdozen]

Pleading my case, here is a little more to the story. I was not under the impression that he was going to be gone for months, so it didn't occure to me to make an agreement.

The thing is, is that I was under the impression that he was taking a trip to New Mexico to sell his house than would be back by late fall. I think I got snookered. He's in Panama now and vague as to when he will return. Also, 8 of those hives came from me last year and I would like to see them survive, they are very good stock. It's hard for me to just turn my back on my own bees. Maybe it's a female beekeeper thing... I dunno.

Maybe I could attempt to get a hold of him, I think I can do that thru messenger, and ask if I could retrieve my 8 hives and take care of them here at my house thru the winter.

Sounds like this guy was misleading and I think you have every right to ask for compensation.  NorCal said it better than I can.   He is taking advantage of your good nature.  Let him know he needs to send you money before you go out there again to check on his colonies.  He's a dweeb!
I understand taking care of bees that originated under your care. 

[tecumseh]

I always presume innocences until proven guilty.  Sometimes people do not intent to mislead or their plans change.

Fuel is expensive in California and in most places labor of any kind is hard to find.  Experience imho also has a price tag that is difficult to define. 

Materials for things like OA and any homegrown treatment are secondary to the cost of transportation.  When I do on site consulting work I charge $100 per hour and I start the clock from the time I leave the house and punch out when I return. If I was doing the same thing in California (given the increase in expenses there) I would double that. 

At this point you are not out much money or time and in a decision format that is all water under the bridge... so if I was you I would change whatever (by the trip, by the hour) is enough so that it made the inconvience seem worthwhile to you.