Background & Statutory Basis for
"Africanized Honey Bee Certification Training for Structural and Agricultural Pest Control Operators"

Sponsored and instructed by Pest Control Operators of California Inc.

On January 1, 1995 Senate Bill 250 (Sponsored by San Diego County and the California Cooperative Africanized Honey Bee Task Force) creating a voluntary certification training program in the control of Africanized Honey Bees for licensees of the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the Structural Pest Control Board became effective.

The new laws created by Senate Bill 250 recognizes licensees as experts in the control of Africanized Honey Bees, if they complete the "Africanized Honey Bee Certification Training for Structural and Agricultural Pest Control Operators" developed by the Governor's Africanized Honey Bee Task Force in cooperation with Pest Control Operators of California. (The California Cooperative Africanized Honey Bee Task Force is an advisory committee to Governor Wilson.)

The "Africanized Honey Bee Certification Training for Structural and Agricultural Pest Control Operators" is completely voluntary in nature. The AHB Certification Training offers a higher standard by which to judge licensees, giving public agencies, and the public at large a method by which to recognized licensees who are "officially" experts in the field of Africanized Honey Bee Control.

The New Africanized Honey Bee Statutes:

Section 8565.6 of the Business and Professions Code:

"An applicant for a Branch 2 license may elect to be certified in the handling, control and techniques of removal of Africanized honey bees. The board shall develop a program to certify applicants in this specialty, or may approve a program for certification developed by the Pest Control Operators of California."

- In November of 1994 the Department of Consumer Affairs, Structural Pest Control Board officially adopted Africanized Honey Bee Certification Training for Structural and Agricultural Pest Control Operators offered by Pest Control Operators of California as the only authorized certification program.

Section 12203 (c) of the Food and Agriculture Code:

"The director may develop a training program that covers the handling, control , and techniques of removal of Africanized honey bees or may approve a training program developed by the Pest Control Operators of California or any other equivalent training program subject to the following requirements:

(1) A certificate of training shall be presented by the training provider to the applicant upon completion of the approved training program.
(2) Providers of approved Africanized honey bee training shall submit to the director a list of those persons who have completed the training, including, but not limited to, the following information:

(A) The full name of each person who has completed the training.
(B) The license or certificate number of each person who has completed the training, if the person trained is licensed by the Department of Pesticide Regulation.

(3) The providers of approved Africanized honey be training shall maintain a record for three years of the individuals who have completed the training.

Section 14153 (c) contains the exact same language as in Section 12203 (c). The difference is that Section 12203 deals with the issuance and licensing categories of Qualified Applicator Licenses, and Section 14153 deals with the issuance and licensing categories of Qualified Applicator Certificates.

Africanized Honey Bee Certification for Structural and Agricultural Pest Control Operators offered by Pest Control Operators of California is currently the only program authorized by 12203(c) and 14153(c).

More than 1600 licensees and government officials have completed Africanized Honey Bee Certification Training for Structural and Agricultural Pest Control Operators which was first offered in January 1994. Lists of the licensees who have completed the program are being made available to county agricultural commissioners and other interested government bodies. (Soon this information will be available on this website) Each licensee is classified by the type of bee control that they offer, and the licensees that they have. The following outlines the different bee control classifications:

CLASSIFICATION OF BEE CONTROL LICENSEES:

Non Structural Only:

a) Controlling swarms, and hives in non structural areas only requires the appropriate DPR license

Partial Structural Only:

a) Controlling swarms and hives in structural areas only, but not removing hives from wall voids requires Structural Branch 2 license

Complete Structural Only:

a) Both controlling swarms and bee hives in structural areas
b) Removal of hives from wall voids. requires Structural Branch 2 license

Partial Structural and Non Structural:

a) Controlling swarms and hives in structural and non structural areas
b) No removal of bee hives in wall voids requires Structural Branch 2 license and appropriate DPR license

Full Service AHB Experts:

a) Controlling swarms and hives in non structural areas
b) Controlling swarms and hives in structural areas
c) Removal of hives from wall voids requires both a Structural Branch 2 license and appropriate DPR license.

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