I went to school to go into Powerlines but the job i found isn't where I want to end up. I have thought about a career in ADC because I love the outdoors and teappings. I live in a fairly rural part of the state but there is a larger city within driving distance if I have to. The problem is all the jobs I can find are pest control.Not that I mind bugs but I want to be in it more for the larger animals because of my love for trapping. I also saw the game fish and parks has state trappers but I dont see any openings coming up soon. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Hans

be a politician.. they make better money than ADC guys do. and the benefits are better. but i love my job anyways.!!! good luck!

I'll throw out a few things: I got into it after retiring from another job and love it. SD is no doubt different from GA with different critters/problems/clients etc, but here in GA a lot of the work is not in the outdoors as such, except for being on a ladder or on a roof. Still better than cooped up in an office. Also, you need a fairly large population base so go ahead and figure on driving to the city. Another thing is....a lot of it is not trapping. Way more of the work ends up being exclusion work than trapping work. Don't know how this will work in your area but I got in with an exterminating company that had neither the license, knowledge or equipment to handle wildlife. However for 50 years they have been receiving wildlife calls. I do their wildlife calls on a contract basis and instantly had about all the work I want to do.

Be aware that you will need to do a LOT of studying as being a trapper really doesn't help a lot. There are so many critters to learn: coyotes, bobcats, fox, coons, 'possums, bats, bees, moles, squirrels, flying squirrels, rats, moles, birds, geese, snakes, wood chucks, ground squirrels, chipmunks, skunks etc etc. Also considerable equipment is required with different types of traps for most of the animals. Also lots of carpenter tools, ladders etc.

Don't know what the license requirements are in SD, but you will need to look into that. In GA we have to pass a state exam and maintain a trapping license. You will need insurance in case some kid climbs your ladder and falls off while you are on the back side of the chimney or if you fall thru somebody's celing or if a kid sticks their finger in a coon cage and draws back a knub.

Good luck with whatever you end up doing!

Thanks for the information. I knew and expected there to be a lot more than I planned on.

I just handed out bat removal job this morning in Red Shield SD near Watertown. But Bats are different from fur trapping.
Most of the real high dollar nuisance work is already being done by the USDA WS (Grrr don't get me started).

If your gonna work in SD your gonna have to be aggressive and good and willing to travel but I can tell you there is a need for ADC work in SD .

Good Luck!

Another tip...if you are going to be a professional, buy professional equipment!

Ya it's all fun at first but then it goes job and no days or nights off . Takes time to work up a customer base and sounds like you will need to move where there's animals causing damage and people looking to hire out for control . I was lucky and had a buddy that's been at forever and for some reason he was willing and still willing to help me out when i can't figur out what is going on . Still learning and trying to get better . What every you do just run honest and try your best . It's hard right now , not only are people getting hurt at the pump but look at how much there paying for food . You do meet some very cool people . Ran it a nice family the other day . I said oh looks like your tomatoes are doing good . She said ya it's my second year grow tomatoes . She goes we haven't eaten any yet we just can't bring are selfs to . I said oh you don't like tomatoes , ya she said we buy them at the store but we feel the ones we grow just wouldnt be safe to eat . I ate one see there good tastie thanks . Been taking a pole here lately and you would be surprise at how many
People feel about growing there own tomatoes weird

I learned fast its not about catching a animal, its about catching THE animal. Goodluck.

hans #11

Many of us here started with the same thoughts. Many have come and gone too.

I offer these words of encouragement because I can tell you the guys that last 3 years are a special breed.

First of all you become the boss and now call all the shots !!
You are gonna have to accept you alone are responsible for your own destiny.

Whats your marketing plan ?

How big of an area will you need to cover to support you or family?
What exact skills do you have and is there a market for just them or will you have to offer additional services to survive.

Do you have a business plan?

Its not easy and you are gonna want to be proud deep, really deep inside to really accept that you wake up every morning unemployed.
You become Mr PayCheck stops here.

The economy really sucks and you had better confirm you have a potential income stream before quitting any day job.

Now if that still appeals to you and you want to obey the laws in your state PM me with your phone number .
I will point you in the right direction.

Here is a recent podcast with Ron Jones that started out with a short tribute to a man who inspired me to doing how to be a WCO Podcasts for the first 3+ years before his death in 2010 Bob Evans . All he wanted to do was teach trappers to become profitable wcos and I still do. http://www.anytimewildlifecontrol.com/page/bob-evans-cwcp-1944-2010

Another man Ron Jones, my recent inspiration to keep on doing podcasts heading to the five year mark in March 2013.

Ron Jones hosted the Starting A NWCO Business Podcast May 2012 with Mike Flick, Chip Ayers and myself.

http://thewildlifepro.com/about/our-podcasts/bob-evans-cwcp-tribute-starting-a-nwco-business/

Do not get depressed about being able to make a living doing what you love best. You live in the absolutely worst state in the union for wildlife work. Everyone you know has a gun and can probably legally stick it out the window and blow away his problem. I've been to your state and I loved it and loved the people. ( Until one overly protective parent came after me with a shotgun )
but I regress, all you have to do is move one state to your north. North Dakota is the new Alaska. They have more oil than Alaska has gold and I bet they're just waiting for someone to take care of their animal problems. ( Yep, I've been to North Dakota too )

I herd something about there being a good new oil supply up that way . I was thinking why not build a pipe line pumping it south to get refined into gasoline . Might work .

One thing to understand is that adc in SD is that the state has its own agents. If you are referring to Sioux Falls they have animal control that takes care of ALL animals both domestic and wild that is funded by the taxpayers.

3 things that I think are more important than trapping solving wildlife problems in structures and making enough money to have fun when your off. 1 is business the things Robb referred to and he is a good source. I would check with your state government they probably have an small business section in theireconomic development cabinet that can help with business plans find finacing etc.
Under standing constuction and how things are built will help you figure out answers.
Understanding how fire moves thru a structure following air currents animals do the same.
Then good tools and you will be able to amaze your clientel.
Good Luck and work hard and you will never be bored.

start out part time like me and learn the business!I work a full time job during the day but I do critter work before and after my 8 hours.I work 7 days a week now and I love it! The business end was a big transition for me but I am starting to get the hang of it.Someday fulltime? maybe!Robb Russell has been a big help! Do yourself a favor and listen to all of his podcasts(which will probably take months)!

X2 Part Time But treat it as a business. Get real comfortable with local laws in each municipality you work in. Figure out who your competitors are and have a real grasp of what a job is really worth. How would you be different from your competition and not sell yourself short!

Paul Winkleman made a lot of sense with his recommendation of going to North Dakota and starting a business there vs having to cover vast areas to make SD work. I get a bout a half dozen calls a year for SD and all people frustrated because no wildlife services were locally available in South Dakota. These same desperate callers have already ruled out "firing a shot gun at a squirrel on the ceiling or gassing bats out of there attics" an option.

My point there is a need but follow the money you will have more success in investing in a new exapanding economic market with potential versus trying to start back home in SD. If they begin moving furniture in Washington DC after Nov 6th you probably will have a chance to find good paying full time work and grow a business over time.
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Thanks Steve & Paul for the kind words.

My business manager says we have over 800 hours of discussions and instruction up for FREE now!

That's over 100 8 hour days just to listen to ALL of them.

I will be adding another 14 hours to that list before the Rondi this Fall.


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Robb I think suggesting a try in North Dakota is a good one. I get a call now and then from there but I especially have gotten a lot of calls from the NE corner of Montana, Wolf Point, Plentywood, Culbertson and Sidney to name a few. These towns are just over the state line and with the oil fields booming every crappy little farm house is being sold or rented and they all have varmint problems, especially bats and snakes. Thanks to you I'm busy enough within 100 miles of Billings I don't need to do those 300 mile jaunts.
Robb how's the storm effecting you?

If I was 30 years younger I would go to ND myself.



This storm we have had just a few outer bands of TS Isaac and glad to hear Tampa was spared because that meant us up here too. It has rained everyday here since Memorial Day, our rivers have flooded all of our best swimming rivers flooded so I can honestly say we don't need no hurricanes here.

They call it Rainy Season for a good reason and all the nuisance armadillos love this special time of year and so do I. It is also young squirrel time here in North Florida .

But I pray for those folks along the Gulf Coast in MS & LA .

Make sure you do the math. You need to work backwards on this.

Lets say you are making $25k a year now. What will you need to gross to replace that income?

Remember, you will need to replace any benifits too (health, dental, life Insurance) that your current employer is providing. So lets just say you need to make $30k a year to replace your current income. Oh, forget about paid vacations too!

Since you are now self-employed, you will be responsible for your employer's previous contributions to Medicare and Social Security, so whatever they are taking out of your check for that, figure on doubling it. Not to mention the higher rate for self employment tax.

Okay, we got all that out of the way. You need to make $30k.

Lets assume you are going to operate at a 30% profit. That means you'll have to generate about $100,000 of revenue per year to replace your $25k a year job. Divide that by the number of days you plain the year and you get what you need to make per day ($274 per day). Take out 6 major holidays (3 days each)gives you 347 days ($288 per day). Either way we figure it you need to average right around $300 per day, every day.

If your average ticket is $300, you need one new customer per day, every day.

Now you can formulate a marketing plan to generate one customer per day every day.

Easy as that!!!!! Not really, you will have days you think your phone line has been cut and others you wish it had been.

Don't know if this helps or hurts, but you need to make and set goals. Then formulate a plan to reach those goals. Study the demographics of the area you want to service. It may never be feasible in your area.

You have to have several factors. I call these the genetics of a successful Wildlife Control Operator Business. You must have a population of "Service Oriented People" and a corresponding population of "Problem causing Wildlife". If you have both of those, a successful business can be established. If you are missing one, you are done.

For example, a high rise in New York City has hundreds, if not thousands of residents that pay other people to do everything from their laundry to walking their dogs, these are Service Oriented People, but marketign to them would be foolish, as they have few wildlife issues. The marshes of Louisiana are over run with nutria causing untold damage, problem causing wildlife, but there is no one willing to foot the bill for their removal. Both of these scenarios would doom you to failure.

However, if you have one rancher with 60000 acres that has enough problem animals, that may be all you need. Most of us have a bunch of clients with a couple problem animals each.

Good luck in whatever direction you go.

Dirk you are my hero.

X2.