I Found My Compitition

I've researched it and found out that I am the ONLY state certified Wildlife Damage Control Agent here in my home county.

So why can I not get my ADC business up and running like it should be?

Too much competition!

Not from other WDC agents but from other trappers, hunters and even city and county Animal Control who have no idea that what they are doing is illegal. I got people telling me that Joe Blow from down the street will come and shoot what ever problem critter they have for nothing. Then there are the city and county guys that are going out and trapping coons and possums and such and charging the home owners nothing because they are getting paid anyway.

Then I find out that they are just relocating most of these critters, coons and fox as well as possums and squirrels. And not even getting permission for release. They just take them down to the boat ramp and chunk 'em out! But yet, I have to dispatch the ones I catch.

How can I possibly hope to compete with that? I'm not getting paid by the state, city or county.

What boggles my mind is that the class that I have to take every third year is all about legalities and what I can't do. Then all these other yahoos are doing whatever because they've not had that class! And I'm talking about people who work out of the police department as their office! I found the same thing happening at the sheriff's office when I went there!

Any body else had to deal with these problems?

YES I would say that every proffessional on here deals with those exact problems all of the time. At least I KNOW I DO. There is always going to be Joe Blow down the street who dabbles in animal work on the side, and in most areas you'll find at least some sort of gov't agency dabbling also.

Everyday, for 20 + years.

I would move to upper Michigan in a min if I could do what I do in southern Michigan . Mark June moved to Nebraska because there's where the well furred coyote live . If I wanted to trap lobster I would move to Main . Sounds like a good area to open a tow truck company there Dudley NC

In florida,you simply call FWC they have more authority than any other law enforcement org. They can come o your property " without" a search warrant,to simply look in your freezer to see if you have illegal game.they dont care if you are a sheriffs deputy,police officer ect..
And if you transport live coons( totally illegal) or any other critter that the department of agriculture deems is a rabies carrier( or whatever,because you are supposed to dipatch them,gators,coons ect...)they will ruin someone's day!!!!so i am sure there is a simular organiztion there,if it becomes an issue

Just like everyone else deal with it all the time. They do help the bottom line often. Great for locking momma raccoon out of the attic when baby's are inside. Emergency middle of the night calls because of raccoon ripping apart the house + add on repair work. The neighbor gets the six pack, we get the paycheck. Do the job professionally and your business will grow. The ones that have the neighbor screw up the job are one of the best advertisers (at least for that neighbor hood). The do it your selfers seem to keep it to themselves.

nothing like a 3am coon is ripping of my shingles call .

Need to charge double for the kit removal because you know they harrased the mom so much before they get the bright idea to just board up the hole after she leaves that she placed her kits in some imposable place to get to . I just say well wish you would have called sooner because now I need my saw

You don't want the customers who are having Joe Blow do it for a 6 pack.

Since you are the only one in the County licensed maybe that is the reason why the Animal Control has been doing it. I would bet money that they would rather sit behind their desk than be out chasing raccoons or skunks. Give them a stack of your cards and let them know you are the ONLY licensed show in town and they will start sending you the calls.

Not everyone in your County wants Joe Blow showing up with his shotgun. You need to get to work letting the customers you want know you are there. Canvass your county with flyers and maybe run a few ads in the local classified paper. Maybe even consider getting door hangers and start putting them around the better neighborhoods.

Word of mouth is going to be your best friend and it will take some hard work but you can succeed.

In my county the County Dog Warden was upcharging the local municipalities $xx.xx per resident to provide wildlife removal for the residents of the town when needed. the municipalities have recently started realizing they were not getting their moneys worth and not renewing that part of the contract, or putting it up for public bid.

Muddawg,
I did a quick search and looked up the demographics of your area (county), to me they dont look promising. I hope you have a LARGE metropolitan area close by that you plan on servicing. Yes it is possible to be succussful in less populated areas, but the simple fact is that more people equals more animal conflicts. I would want a service area with at least a population of 500,000, if you are trying to make this a full time living. your county has a pop less than 120,000. Also people in more rural communities are more likely to have access to an uncle that trap it for them, or neighbor that will shoot it etc. where as people in larger cities will more readily pay for our services. IMO.

Not being a lawyer, but the reference to the Constitution (4th Amendment I believe..."unreasonable search and seizure") does not apply if the Law Enforcement Officer observes a felony being committed or has good reason to believe that one is being committed.
So if a cop or any other LEO hears gunshots, screaming and sees people running out of your house and bleeding to death, yeah, he can enter without a warrant.
Oh, BTW, with regard to the original topic here...we have no licensing/permit/registration for WCO's in Missouri. Any goober with a pickup and a coupla traps can call himself a WCO (and many do!).
Be professional and market yourself accordingly. Get training, join a state or national association, and you will get work if customers see you as trustworthy.

I dabble in control work part-time but handle it as a professional, charging for services just like professionals should do. My business is growing one call at a time and Im showing a profit. If a homeowner wants to take the matter in their own hands it definitely affects my business. Thats one reason why I am going slow and deliberate-- trying to carve out my niche in the market.

You dont hear mechanics talking the same about back yard mechanics. Half the time they do better work than the bigger shops. We all started out as part timers and fur trappers in one form or another.
I never thought it was a big deal when someone told me my prices were too high and they could get someone to do it for 20 bucks. Do you realy want that person for a customer? I want customers that want it done right, done now, and are willing to pay my fee. I dont want to burn my truck up competing in price wars.
As far as state or national certification goes, You all know my opinion on that. Support your local trappers assn. to keep others from dictating how you do your job.

Our fish and wildlife dept.here in RI is broke, so all the calls they get for critters get referred to private companies. And I dont think animal control officers around here really wants to deal with it either,I get referrals from them too!I guess in that respect, I'm lucky RI's economy is in the toilet.

The agencies have a ways to go before they are all out of money, but its going to be another 10 years before they have any to spend on bat and raccoon removal.In my opinion the govt. doesnt have a shortage of money flow, its more of a spending problem. Once the right guy gets ahold of the situation they will make cuts to spending and animal control will be back to cats and dogs again.

or worst case a JUST A TAX and anything wildlife, bat bird and animal related becomes the sole responsibility of the local-federal government.

Muddawg your not gonna make much money in that part of the country overnight. Treat your customers right and offer better and more services that your competitors will send you referrals for specialty work. The offending animal also opens many doors for other sales opportunities attic cleanup, replace attic insulation, chimney cap installation, deodorization, sanitation, customized metal solutions to solve a particular wildlife concern etc.

Animal damage repair and exclusion work go hand in hand & can be very profitable if you have the skills and equipment to do it right.

Always ask for Referrals. Good luck!

Granted, there's not much metropolis here but we do have a lot of cattle growers... And a lot of coyotes! Maybe that could be my niche.

If I could get the country clubs around here to start paying me to catch moles and gophers, along with the coyote calls, I could probably make a pretty decent living at it. We've got no less than 5 18 hole golf courses here that I know of. There are still several more gated communities that may have private courses that I'm not aware of.

Then when you consider how many private ponds there are with muskrats infesting their shorelines, I should do well here.

I think the Yellow Pages are gonna be my next bet.

The city where I am is doing wildlife control. They weren't holding a current ADCO license. They really hurt my business in that city. And they did shotty work. Yep I turned them in and now they have a license. At least they are legal

Check out what florida wildlife commision( state police) they only have to have reasonable doubt( anyone that reports a " suspected" offense
( this can be a rumor,hearsay ect....) and,because they are saving/ rescuing wildlife,can obtain permission through that loophole

Have you tried dropping off your business cards to the agencies involved? Im sure they probably rather be sitting on their butts back at the office than deal with some of the more smelly critters.

Trapping is one niche, but the bat and raccoon removal and attic clean outs is where the money is made in my neck of the woods. In my opinion the feds can have all the trapping work, and let them burn the tires off there trucks doing it.

Sounds like you have the sign reading figured out, and that is part of it. Seems like you are missing the one species of animal you need to have in abundance to make this job work ; lots and lots of people critters. Is there anything keeping you in the one county? I'm guessing most here put a hundred or two miles on the truck most days, except for the really smart ones like Mike.

Absolutely- Ill go anywhere in the state to look at a bat problem, Im loading the travel trailer to go north for a few days and hand out bids, do a couple jobs, and do some serious fishing! My first time pulling doubles, wish me luck!

Dropping cards and flyers off at these places is how I found out that they have been doing it.

But now our city dog catcher is a pretty good guy. We talked for a long while about what he does and what I do and the similarities between us. While we were talking he just kept chunking stuff in my truck.

I've got dog leashes, mixer valve key, tie cords, gloves and an aluminum, quick release catch pole! Oh... He gave me two coons he had caught. While I would rather have the service charge from the two coons I do appreciate his generosity.

And the travel?

Yeah, I cover three counties now. It's just a matter of the further from home I have to travel the higher the price is when I get there.

Put adds where ever you can...be consistant, charge right, put adds every where, do good work, put adds every where, dress well, put adds every where, contact companys, put adds every where clean neat well written with a good looking add.

oh yes...advertise !!

So, what do you think? You recon I ought-ta put an add up somewhere?

Sorry, I had to take that shot.

But you're right. Look professional, act professional and charge reasonably and folks will advertise for you!

I'm working on it.