EP 410: What Happens To A City Without Pollinators

What makes Richard Siegrist with Amrit Bee Removal & Rescue a good neighbor?

A humming wall, a worried neighbor, and a choice that shapes your whole block: spray or save. We sit down with Richard Siegrist of Amrit Bee Removal & Rescue to unpack what real, no-kill bee rescue looks like—and why it often conflicts with quick, cheap extermination. Richard walks us through the four-to-six-hour live removal process so homeowners understand exactly what they’re paying for and what they’re protecting: locating brood with thermal imaging, gently vacuuming worker bees, cutting and securing comb, and safely relocating the colony.

Richard’s road to the hive wasn’t linear. Raised around a cowboy-rancher father who kept bees, he later worked as a heavy equipment operator before reinventing himself in Texas. Along the way, he led crews and even taught a five-week beekeeping course to incarcerated students. That mentorship lens still guides his mission today: respect the colony, respect the neighborhood, and leave every property safer than you found it. We also confront common myths—like the belief that bee removal should be free or is a simple DIY task—and the real risks that come when swarms meet bravado instead of training.

We cut through the marketing fog, too. Many large pest control companies advertise “bee removal” but arrive prepared to exterminate. Richard explains how to vet a true rescuer: ask where the bees will be relocated, look for proper equipment like a bee vacuum and thermal imaging tools, and expect a clear plan to repair and seal entry points. For gardeners, landowners pursuing agricultural exemptions, and families across Fort Worth, Watauga, Dallas, and Frisco, choosing humane rescue protects pollinators that sustain food systems and local ecosystems. With three out of four bites of food tied to pollination, saving a colony is more than compassion—it’s stewardship.

If you care about safe neighborhoods, thriving gardens, and honest craftsmanship, this conversation equips you to make an informed choice. Press play, learn how to spot a professional from a pretender, and share this episode with someone who might otherwise reach for a spray can.

To learn more about Amrit Bee Removal & Rescue go to: https://beeremovalz.com/

 Amrit Bee Removal & Rescue
📞 214-864-0695

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in native of a bee removal and rescue company? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Richard Segrist, with Emirate Bee Removal, Bee Removal and Rescue. Richard, how are you today?

SPEAKER_02 0:31

I'm doing great. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Great. Well, it is great to have you on the show today. Now we are excited to learn all about you and your business. Please start off by telling our listeners just a little bit about your company and your background.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

Well, um, we're a no-kill uh company and we do live removals. We don't gill uh go in and kill any bees. Um so that it's a whole it's a whole different ball game when uh when you roll up and you're it's you're you're looking at a four or five hour, sometimes six hour job. Um other than I mean some people roll up and just uh say they're gonna rescue them and they kill them, you know, which only takes a sm like 30 minutes to an hour. Um so we're we're uh we're in it for the bees, really.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Wow. Now you must really vouch for these little guys. So what background did you come from that made you want to get into an industry like this? And where does your heart for protecting the bees come from?

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Well, I'm a heavy equipment operator by trade, but um through a chain of events, I ended up in Texas. And um and my dad, he always had his hands in something. He was a he was a cowboy, he was a farmer, rancher, and uh he he had a couple of hives, so I knew a little bit about bees. And uh while I was in uh my son and I were in Austin, um we I kind of had to reinvent myself. So uh the opportunity arose where uh I had a chance to run my own crew, uh, which led to uh teaching a five uh week course at TCC uh to prisoners. So when they came out, they could do something productive with their lives. And uh and it just kind of blossomed from there.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Wow. So you really started this as a mission to help other people.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Now, zooming into your industry today, what is the most common myth or misconception you come across when it comes to bee removal and actually saving the bees?

SPEAKER_02 3:06

Probably the biggest mixed misconception is that um bee removal should be done for free, and anybody can do it. Um, I can tell you uh uh numerous times, you know, that um that people have died thinking that they could do it. Uh, not far from us here in North Richon Hills, an older gentleman thought he could take care of a B problem and uh he didn't make it. Uh they rushed into the emergency and and he didn't make it, you know. So it shouldn't be tried by just anybody. Uh you should uh you should at least have uh some knowledge of what your you're uh you can get into and what could uh end up hurting the public if you don't take precautions.

Marketing Struggles And Word Of Mouth

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Wow, my goodness, I had no idea it was so serious. Now, switching gears for a second here, we know marketing is the heart of every business. So, who are some of your target customers or audience? And in terms of marketing today, how do you stay attractive to them?

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Um, pretty much, I mean, before Google, for some reason, they became a little more difficult. I've always had a web page, uh, bremovals with a z dot com. Before I I would run ads with Google, uh then they switched things up and I found it harder to do. So um, even though I've got 17 uh plus years uh of doing this and teaching people how to do it, there's uh up and coming uh uh younger generation of people doing it that don't have quite the experience as some of us do, uh, but they know their way around the computer. So that kind of cut me out of the ballgame. So right now I kind of go by word of mouth. I have uh friends that have ag yards, I have ag yards, but uh they uh stopped doing bee removals and switched solely to ag yards uh for people to uh ag ag it so they could get ag exemption on their property. Um so there's probably more money in that. Uh, but I'm one of the old timers that still do uh climbing up and removing bees off a two-story, three-story, uh, off a ladder. And um and they uh word of mouth by them really, really helps me survive. Uh I should know more about uh broad, I mean, uh getting my name out there, but I don't. I'm just not that guy.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

So, Richard, today, who is your target audience that you really want to let know about what it is that you do? Are you still focusing on um people who have just come out of prison?

SPEAKER_02 6:18

Um, I don't do that too much anymore. Once once my son and I moved away from Austin, that uh that program I left, and I don't know if it still continues or what, but um yeah, we kind of just fly by the seat of our pants. Uh I uh I was a I've been a single parent since he was uh a baby. So I I I I I really um I really am targeting people in the area around Watauga, around Fort Worth. I do business around Dallas and Frisco. Um people that are very interested in uh making uh uh their own vegetables and growing their own vegetables and ag yards, uh and people that are concerned about the bee population and and uh and and all they have to uh to offer.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

Now, Richard, since you have such a diverse audience that you're targeting, have you ever thought about having your own podcast to extend your mission?

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Um, I have not. I'm not that guy. On a good day, I can barely check my email.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

Now, Richard, getting back into your business, why is making a difference important to you?

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Well, I mean, without the bees, one out of uh three out of four bites is because of the honey bee. You know, I mean, without their pollination, we we will cease to exist, you know. So um bee pollination is is is very important, especially this time of that we're going through uh in the world today. Uh, if we don't take care of nature, uh we will soon uh we won't exist very long.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

Now, Richard, for all of our listeners today, maybe those who are looking for a bee removal company that they can really trust, what words of wisdom do you have for them today?

SPEAKER_02 8:45

Be very um do your research. Google, uh, different businesses. Um, a lot of businesses that come up uh number one on Google. Uh they're paid advertising, and and they don't really save a lot of them, don't save bees, they go in and kill them. Um a lot of pest control companies have a bee, they they advertise uh or bee rescued or bee removal, but they don't tell you that they go in and kill them. Um, I would say uh do your research, and uh and if somebody pulls up on that you hire to to do a bee removal and they don't have a bunch of buckets in their back of their truck or uh a bee vacuum or they don't have a thermal imaging guns, uh be very cautious. It's it's not too late to change your mind if you see that happen.

Where To Learn More And Closing

SPEAKER_01 9:47

And a final question for you today, Richard. Where can our listeners go to learn more about Amrit B removal and rescue?

SPEAKER_02 9:56

You can uh go to Facebook. I have uh we have a web page, um B Removals. That's B-E-E Removals with a Z.com.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Well, Richard, I really appreciate you being on the show today. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gmpfrisco.com. That's gmpfrisco.com or call four six nine two two one nine three four five.