EDEN, Utah - A beehive of about 60,000 bees was found in the rafters of a cabin in Eden. Last month, the family who lives there called Vic Bachman of Ogden, a man they thought could handle the job of removing them.
"It’s amazing what bees can do," said Bachman, who until recently was better known for his family's business, Mike Bachman Plumbing. "I'm a fifth generation plumber. My great, great-grandfather started the company."
But three years ago, Bachman decided to take up beekeeping as a hobby, and has since transformed his backyard into a home for several hives.
"I'm adventurous, I guess. I do all kinds of crazy things," he said. "I have lots of hobbies. My wife kind of gets tired of them, I think."
The hive he removed from the property in Eden had more than 120 feet of honeycomb and is by far the biggest he has seen.
"It was amazing. I was like, 'Oh man!' It was just incredible to see how big it was. We'd cut a small section, and we just had to keep cutting more and more," said Bachman.
The 15-pound hive now rests in his yard with several others he has bought for what has become a buzzing business in town. He and a partner, Nate Hall, opened a store in Ogden to help them meet customer demands.
"It's doing really well. We had a hard time keeping up this year," said Bachman.
The Deseret Hive Supply houses some of their bee byproducts, like honey and candles, which they've been selling, along with the hives themselves.
"I go to work and then after work at night I go over to the bee store and do bee stuff until it gets dark and then I come home," said Bachman.
Despite a shortage of bees nationwide, Bachman said their business has done well thus far, and he only expects it to get busier.
