Dag-gummit!

How are you supposed to build a wildlife business when your friends and family don't even think to call you when there's a problem?

A lady from my church post picture after picture on Facebook of her wildlife encounters. She can't keep the rabbits from eating up her garden. She keeps loosing cat food to possums. 5 snakes killed in her back yard just this season, and it's only May. Does she call me?.... Noooo!... Her neighbor across the street gets all the glory for chopping a snakes head off with a shovel, but he does NOTHING to keep them away!

A buddy of mine from the plumbing supply house tells me of a squirrel he knocked out of his pecan tree. I guess he was looking a pat on the back.

My own Scout Master from my son's Cub Scout pack says I'd be proud of her for killing a Cotton Mouth in her back yard. There were two that I know of from last season.

Another friend of mine, who is a roofer, saws through a bunch of bats while cutting a hole in a roof but doesn't think to call me to get the rest out.

One of my best friends wants me to loan him some of my traps so that he can get the squirrels out of his sisters attic! Not to mention, wants me to tell him what the best bait is and show him how to set them up!

And that's just the trouble I'm having with FRIENDS!!

I got a call from one lady who tells me up front that she isn't going to pay me. Then wants me to recommend to her someone who will do my job for FREE!!!

I had a message written down in my appointment book, from a lady at a local church that says, "Snakes.... Wants free service". I mean, does she even EXPECT me to call her back?

Another one from another lady who wants me to remove a coon from her back yard but tells me up front, "I can't pay you."... Huh?... Then. I'm sorry! I can't help you!

One, who spoke to my wife about a bobcat, even got angry when she found out that I have to charge for my services and cussed out my wife over the phone! ...Yeah! ... I'm REALLY in a hurry to help this woman out!

And these last 4 calls were just a few of the "No Go" calls I've gotten JUST THIS WEEK!!

How do the rest of you guys handle this kind of thing? Don't it ever just make you want to go outside and break somethin'?

I tell ya.... The more I deal with people, the better I like critters!

That's the problem with rural/semi-rural adc work.

Farther you go from the city, the harder it is for that pocketbook to open up.

I was raised in rural Indiana. I am now living in New Hampshire. When I told friends back home in Indiana that I was starting an ADC business they looked at me like I was stupid. Who's going to pay you for trapping beavers and removing squirrels. Well, back where I am from the farmers take care of it themselves or their boys or girls do.

Chuck

With a grain of salt and patience.

I've taken so many grains of salt now, my blood pressure is up!

Muddawg, I'd reevaluate your networking circle because if these folks know you do this type of work and didn't think of you when a problem arose, there could be a problem or an honest mistake and didn't think to call.

My best friends and my pastors/church property i take care of....other than that all in my church know it is my job and when they contact me...they know they get a friends/family discount but there will be a charge...at church and to my non trapping friends...they all call me "trapper"....many still dont know my real name

And i need to say this...i do not go to church there to get leads...if someone says something to me there....i get their number quickly and end the conversation about the problem as will call them during biz hours

Have to find your way into the richer communities. People that pay 75 a week to get their lawn mowed. I get referrals from a pest control company. They have over 1500 clients setup biannually at 250 per visit. Those referrals call to schedule, not ask how much.
I dont get much work from friends or family.
I know we always talk about internet marketing. That is one of my criticisms about IM. Its not very discerning in customer selection. Try getting in with pest companies, lawn services that might see moles, and other service industries where the services are discretionary, not necessary or emergency. Then you will be targeting people with money.

We're suppose to get paid? I knew I was doing something wrong. Especially when the raccoon job I started yesterday the lady said the corporate ADC operator wanted $380 to come and set for her raccoon. I'm sure he was going to inspect too. Yep did that. It's a raccoon,

I lost a skunk job to the local police just now...seems one came out and shot it a couple times, problem is he left it still alive. The guy that owns the property wanted to know what to do now....I told him to call Barney Fife back, tell him to get another bullet and kill the dang thing. He said he did that, and they were sending another officer out to try and kill it.. You just can't make some of this stuff up.

Albert,

Since starting this urban suburban realm I've been constantly amazed at the variety of civil servants who will come and get involved in a variety of wildlife issues. Skunk, bat, or chasing coyote through city limits with sidearms drawn! I can picture it but I couldn't imagine it, and these are not bite cases but simple "I just looked out and saw a coyote."

At least Barney only had one bullet on his belt to get himself in trouble with.

I can only imagine the hours of paperwork those two officers filled out over discharging their weapons.
I had a great one, years ago in the middle of winter with a lot of snow on the ground. An elderly lady had a skunk In her yard she wanted removed. I told her a price, she balked a little bit and asked how much if it was dead. I was feeling generous that day, and never really thought it would amount to anything, so I told her if it had been dead, I'd pick it up for 99.00 plus tax. She said thank you , and hung up. An hour later the phone rings, she said I could come get my dead skunk now. I thought she was kidding, so I asked what happened ? She called the Troopers, and one responded and shot it, at least 5 times. When I got there the whole neighborhood stunk, and it looked like a massacre from all the blood on that white snow...I just shook my head, got what was left of my skunk, and a check....told her thank you for calling, and have a great day. Some days your the windshield, some days your the bug....

x2. Your current "customers" suck.

Although I was involved in nearly the same type of skunk call that Albert posted, years ago, my how things have changed. I fully

expect that one of these days I'm going to get a call from one of our fine police officers and that it's going to go something like

this: "Paul, I'm chasing this bank robber on foot and he took a shot at me. I'd like to shoot back but you know how much paperwork is

involved. Could you bring your gun and come over and fire a few shots in his direction? I'd be eternally grateful!"

P.S. Muddawg, 17 years ago I sold my home and moved an hour closer to customers who could afford to get rid of their animal problems.

bjansma hit the nail right on the head with a bulls eye.

If you want to increase your per capita in mole work particularly, spend some time speaking with landscape companies, individuals/sole proprietors and lawn care outfits and you will have more work then you can handle. In a short while you will run out of traps and time in each day to set and run equipment.

We pay 10% for every job sold via a referral on the gross bid amount of each job. Cant find a better reference tool then thru these folks.

Good ideas to keep in mind.

Thanks guys!

I'm wit' ya, dawg!
I have an acquaintance (thought he was a friend, but that's a special category for me) for whom I did quite a bit of free trapping. He now traps for others or "shows them how", cutting me out of income. The funny part is, he releases animals at the nearest creek!
...but to answer your question, I act shocked, pause for a second, then say very firmly "This is the way I make a living. Yes, I charge; as long as I have to pay for gas, electricity, groceries, etc., I have to charge my customers."

Dave, we are trappers; no gas. covered wagon or boat. No electricity; fire made by striking flint together. Groceries? we live off

the land; lots a wild game and water. Okay, you got me. I don't know how to explain away the smartphones.

It sucks but you just can't expect people to pay for something they do themselves, like the snakes. If you change your own oil, you cut someone out.

Some people don't get it though. A guy I ran I to from high school asked how business was going, I tol him moles and gophers were keeping me,busy.

He laughs and says "we), you know I got my own way of dealing with problem animals". Alluding to shootin them. Yeah, good luck shooting moles

Here, a lot of what folks do on there own is illegal. I heard about one guy sucking up bats with a vacuum cleaner and hauling them off to the landfill. That's a BIG no no here in North Carolina.

Anther guy just down the road from me shot a coon in the front yard cause he saw it out in the daylight so, of course, it was "rabid". The animal was causing no damage, showing no aggression and he had no depredation permit. It was just simply walking across the front yard in the daylight hours.

Even our own city dog catcher, who you think should know better, catches coons from folks back yards in town and hauls them out to the river and turns them loose. AGAIN, something we're not suppose to do here. We must euthanize all animals in the order carnivore that we pick up.

I could give you case after case of someone relocating, disposing, poisoning, or otherwise molesting wildlife, without license, permits or even cause. And we get no support from the state.

Our biggest problem is we just don't have enough Wildlife Enforcement officers. Most of our game wardens now have to cover multiple counties. They are stretched entirely too thin and so when someone shoots a bat, poisons a fox or relocates a coon, they just simply do not have the manpower to address the problem.

I don't know if anything can be done, but it makes me feel better to gripe about it a little.

Throw Back, I think some of the automotive engineers are solving the "Change your own oil" problem. The first time I tried to change

oil in our 2010 F-150 was the last time. I can't imagine that anyone is too happy with that screwed up procedure. One of our guys had

a bill for $74 for an oil change which I thought was ridiculous. Full synthetic oil is almost always on sale for $3 a quart and Fram

oil filters are about $3 too. So you've got less than $20 in cost and more than $55 in labor.

The law breakers are a problem for sure. A woman asked me if I could,poison a raccoon for her and I told her it was illegal, and she says "well so, you can still do it". Got mad when I wouldn't. And another customer told me the last company she called was relocating animals to a farm. I told her he was either breaking,the law or lying, and I would neither.

Paul, I hate working,on cars with a passion. I can change a tire quicker than most, but past that I won't for anything

Muddawg, I used to be bothered by the same things and they bothered me a lot. That was when I was a lot younger. As I grew older, I

looked at things a little differently. What is the overall population of the species? If you have raccoons coming out of your ears

like we do, no warden is going to issue a citation for anyone shooting a raccoon on his property in broad daylight. Most every game

animal in our state is enjoying huge population increases and car kills are everywhere so you will find our game wardens spending

their time checking fishing licenses. But if you think that they don't care about violations, just shoot a bald eagle and see how

long it takes before someone with a badge is knocking at your door. I call it "Enforcement with Intelligence" and I love it!

Muddawg,

I decided after this last go round with the raccoon litter where the homeowner was left to wait till they died versus a bit of extra effort, that from now on I'm reporting what I hear and see.

For a long time I think my brain had somehow thought that it wasn't a good thing to report about illegal, unethical or just plain things that are wrong.

I'm not sure how I got there, but I am committed now to making sure it is known when something is said to have happened or I've seen it happen.

I see bad bat exclusions every year, just one example of what I know is happening. Female bats blocked from pups, pups dead inside walls or crawling out into homes. All of this with bats
makes the problem seem worse than it is because it isn't being done properly or ethically.

I've heard from people in at least 4 states about shop vacuum incidents with bats being routine for many companies and some are brand name national pest control companies.

I've never seen it here or heard of it from a client but if I do you can bet I'm reporting it.

In most states as you mention about NC it is illegal to "intentionally" harm or kill bats.

Then moving on from bats we have the folks who know it is maternity season and yet don't tell the client that the skunk, raccoon or other might have young in their home or under their home, etc....

The end result is like the week I've had, 3 companies, 3 different orphaned litters left to die or to cause a decomp/odor issue for the client.

Is everyone doing it out of malice?

No, surely not, we all know this field isn't perfect some issues are complicated and result in a variety of outcomes.

However when the companies people believe (due to marketing) are wildlife friendly, are actually perpetrating some of the worst incidents, I think we should be reporting as an industry when we
hear of or know of something.

If we aren't reporting we should at least be sure the client knows who to report to.

We are an industry that desires to be considered professional, yet how can we hope to ultimately be truly professional if we don't protect the resource and the laws and policies we agree to work
under in our respective states.

Today I had multiple calls for newborn skunks (eyes closed) where companies folks consider animal friendly hauled the female skunk off without ever talking about options or issues, and in both
cases these were simple skunk under shed where you could literally see the litters before you set the trap.....

*****

If folks in my state hear I violated a policy or law I hope they report me, I understand folks not wanting to get involved or wondering if it really happened or what the truth is, but don't we have
an obligation to at least let officials investigate for themselves?

If they find no violation or issue, so be it, but at least I didn't let it go.

*****

Wink, I get what you are saying about how wardens spend their time and what they do and don't get serious about.

When it comes to homeowners in most states they can do as they please on their property and it isn't them I have quarrel with.

What is a problem is licensed or unlicensed companies that are doing these things that are illegal and getting away with it.

Do I believe that folks will get arrested or even possibly fined in a large percentage of cases?

No not at all, I went to school in part for conservation law enforcement and one of the truths of law enforcement of wildlife code
is that the judge can toss whatever they want right out the window in most areas.

Poaching even is difficult to prosecute, I remember ride alongs in college with game wardens in NYS and all the cases they had
tossed by the judge even though everything was legit.

The facts are that most of these issues just don't rank on the scale most judges care about, on top of the fact that most states
barely have enough wardens to catch or write up even a small portion of violators of game and fish code let alone what may or may
not be going on in our industry.

*****

Guess that was a rant of sorts, I just truly love working with people and wildlife conflict and I'd like to someday think that there
will be less stories about these hacks and unethical people, however I guess that would be in the land where beer flows like the river
and everything smells like apple pie....

Far from true or likely... but a guy can dream right?

I hope more folks will start to report on what they hear, many folks don't realize just how much is happening out there, one good reason
is they don't hear it in real reports!

Best,

Justin

Thanks, Justin,

I got into this business to start with because it's where my passion drove me. I've been a hunter all my life, and a trapper for most of it and I can truly say that I am a conservationist. I like the challenge and the rewards of dealing with wildlife. I also like to know that we will have these critters around for the next generation to enjoy as I have.

If I take a female animal out without knowing it has little ones, is one thing. But if I can clearly see that she's nursing or, as you said, can clearly see the litter, I will move he ll and creation to get them out. Leaving the small ones to die from starvation is just down right unethical.

I'll not do a bat exclusion until September to begin with and even then will try to be sure all the little ones are flying. Bats are too valuable to us to waste them.

I am gonna try to be more diligent in reporting the wrongs I see in the future. I've remained quite on some that I felt may not be as important as others, but it stuck in my craw when I did. And it's not so much about them knocking me out of a business call as much as it is about just being plain WRONG.

Thanks for your comments. It makes me feel a bit more vindicated.

You bet Muddawg,

I think you bring up another great point, most folks that do this grew up hunting, fishing and trapping. Everyone had to follow laws then and good rules and ethics are part of that culture so
should be part of what we bring into this field.

I know I felt an obligation growing up if someone was poaching to report it, doesn't mean they were prosecuted, but I was raised to do so and raised to follow the seasons and laws laid out for us.

Bat exclusion is one of my great loves now, not only as a business, but I love truly talking to folks about bats and it is a challenge to get that conversation to get to where they understand why
exclusion is done in this way versus that way and then versus now.

We employ a lot of different talking points to get folks to wait, but generally there aren't any we've had that balked when we explained why we wait, or that an interior seal could be done if needed
due to bats in living space prior to fall.

Have had 100% of them have us do the exterior that year or the following and as has been said by others, you can get deposits from folks so you have some funds during summer that will be completely
paid in the fall when you wrap up the job.

Just got a bat pup in last night from miles and miles away. About a week old max and the first I've seen this year. Hearing from folks in VA and across the states that big browns are giving birth too.

Hoping more and more folks are following maternity season and trying to help bats as they do need it and it doesn't mean losing business, just using your head to discuss with your clients.

Best and thanks for your dedication to this issue!

Justin

I guess I'm surprised that you guys would know people and companies that openly violate the game laws in your respective states. If

there was a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a violator, I would still be penniless. I hear stories all

the time about companies and individuals that seem a little shady in their dealings but nothing concrete. We will not refer companies

whose name has come up a couple of times with complaints but I think most of our warden's time is spent doing the impossible; TRYING

TO CURE STUPID!