I am in mo way trying to disparage another wildlife removal company, I just want your alls thoughts.

Recently heard a podcast interview with the CEO of Skedaddle pest removal and apparently the big thing that sets them apart is they are “humane”, meaning they do 100% exclusion and NO live trapping. No relocating either. Their business model is basically to exclude the animals and repair the building to such a degree rendering it impossible for the animals to return. They also offer a lifetime warranty on the repairs, so If an animal returns they will repeat the job for no cost to the customer. The real eye brow raiser for me was the numbers he threw out. $2500 for average animal exclusion and as much as $6000 for rodents. Not sure who would pay that much as I just don’t see myself spending that kind of money.

Being a sole operator in the NWC area, as I assume most are also on this forum, what are your thoughts? Does this new model of pest removal threaten our tradition of Trap, remove, repair? They way I see it if you leave animals on the property eventually they will return,…. No matter what repairs you perform to the building. The other thing is if they get as much as 2500 per job, and say they return once because animals come back, the company is still making $1250 per occurrence. I always try to look at it from the customer’s perspective, and If it were me I’d rather hire someone to trap and remove for maybe 500-800 , because even if you have to call the contractor back you’re still paying less than 2500…..

What are everyone’s thoughts?

I'm sure you know that Skedaddle is a Canadian company and that Wisconsin is the only U.S. state with a franchise. If that price is legitimate, I don't see them lasting very long. As far as I know, they haven't bothered our business ( Advanced Wildlife & Pest Control ) one iota.

Yes, I did hear they’re Canadian. And I’m in Wisconsin too, guess thats what piqued my interest

In sales, it’s best not to confuse your wallet with that of your customer. Just because you wouldn’t spend that much, doesn’t mean others won’t. That cost may be entirely reasonable to the customer.

Exclusion isn’t trapping. Exclusion is keeping the animal from getting in there in the first place. That costs more than trapping, and can save the customer over time. Perform exclusion around a deck and shed, and that woodchuck can’t get back under them. They may spend 2500, but that beats woodchucks every year for a 500-800 yearly cost.

As far as a 6000 job for rodents? What does that entail? We’ve done them for more than that. Some houses are a mess. They need metal around the siding lip, masonry work, insulation tear outs and replacement, etc. Just insulation tear out and replacement alone can run 6000.

And the customer is paying for that lifetime warranty. That’s quite a selling point if you choose to make it one. “Yes, I’m $1500 more than Jim Bob’s trapping, but he only has to work to a quality that will keep them out for 2 years. My work has to be solid enough that I can keep them out for the rest of my life, or yours, and I hope both of us are around a long time.”

Since we don’t know the details of the job, I find it hard to make a blanket call that these prices are outrageous.

Not real hard to tell that Eaten is from New York and not Wisconsin!

I don't think you have anything to worry about. First off they are an exclusion company, they do not remove any animal. Their own estimate is only a 20 percent profit margin. On that 2500 job that's only 500 profit, if called back that's now less than 250 per occurrence.
Logic says that the concept of lifetime warranty is not a sustainable business model. Properties age and change over time, so how do you warrant that? As more properties are warranted, the potential volume of customers eventually becomes self limiting within the territory. From the customer's perspective, a warranty is only as good as the company standing behind it. A lifetime warranty needs to show durability and longevity.

Exclusion is more profitable than the removal portion of animal control. So why not capture both revenue streams?

Just my thoughts.

True, their business model is up to them. I guess I’m more worried about this idea of “humane” or no-kill animal removal. As more customers jump on that bandwagon it may become more difficult for those of us who believe wildlife management includes population reduction. That shift in perception on the part of the customer may seriously disrupt the entire industry

Wistrapper97, are you going to the WWCOA meeting at the Dells in February?

The importance of this in some scenarios cannot be understated.

I had a bit of a nightmare-ish raccoon job about 10 years ago
Had raccoons getting under a house in a crawlspace with very difficult access. There was an underground stream channeled next to the structure in a concrete tunnel. Nearest access was 100 feet away in a four foot high tunnel with 6 inches of running water.
Took a lot of hard work carting traps in and animals out. I caught 8 raccoons.
The raccoons swam through the water to get to the bottom of the house. Someone , however was there before me. There was a massive exclusion job done with chain link fence. They even left the construction lights there that they had used to put about 50 feet of chain link fence ( steel not the aluminum stuff )
The raccoons had made holes in the chain link fence by brute force and in such a secluded area could do so without anyone bothering them.
I did a 'patch' exclusion by putting two 4' wide X 25' long strips of vinyl coated 1/2" X 1/2" hardware cloth on top of the damaged areas.
There was no garrentee given. Just a patch job.

I just happened recently to be able to see my work that I did 10 years ago. It held. I was totally shocked.
Removing the animals was key to that job.

Change is always a constant. I would imagine that such a pivot would be dependent on the political and environmental demographic of the service area and any changing regulations. That said ... I see money whichever direction change happens.

I had to clean up from behind one of their jobs recently. Exclusion job at a church after covid.
They did such a good exclusion job that they prevented a mother from removing her babies.
The mother ripped shingles off and bored a hole through vinyl siding to get back in, but not before the babies died.
What a mess, the Place stunk to high heaven for a few weeks. Church was charged 2k cdn. Warranty ? What warranty?
I’m not saying they are not good at what they do, but you would think that putting a one way door on in may and hope for the best is not the best idea.

Some are always looking for an easy fast way out of doing things. Many times it turns out not being the right decision. I have a younger employee that does that and thinks that way. He only knows part of the job at this point but most certainly will learn down the road it is not always the best solution or job application tool. This usually happens with pest control mind set folks in my experience.

This is VERY true and you are spot on with that comment! Too many people sell things based on what THEY like, or in this case what THEY would spend, which doesn't necessarily translate to what the customer likes or is willing to spend. I have a friend in the Memphis area that charges $5500-7500 for rat exclusion work. His waiting list is sometimes 4-6 months out and people pay half to secure their place in the schedule. Whereas in my area, people will complain about spending $400-500 for proofing on their $800k + house that is done within a day or two.

I don't see people talking about add ons much here. They are a great way to increase the sale.

Yesterday I was installing a garage door. I grab another guy from our wildlife side to help on the installs. While he was standing in the garage he noticed a mouse trail going up a block chimney. He pointed it out and offered to take a quick look around and give him a price to seal the house. We added on a mouse job.

This is where I dont see blanket statements on ridiculous prices as helpful. We don't know what the job entails. They may be getting a new garage door, lol.

I wish we could schedule out months in advance! That would level out seasonal ups and downs.