Specialists

I am hoping to write an article on Generalists and Specialists for WCT. I would like to know those of you that specialize in a single animal or group.

I will not promise that your name will be included, but if you don't let me know what your specialty is, that's not my fault.

I am and hopefully always will be, a generalist. I personally can't wait for the next species of reptile, mammal, bird, or whatever, that I have never captured before, to make its appearance.

Now I know that you guys, for the most part, don't make your entire living on a single species but there are some of you that are synonymous with certain animals, Example: Moles, ground squirrels, etc.= Steve Albano.

I would like you guys to not only include yourselves but also give me an idea of who you think is an expert on a certain species. Example: Biggest BSer= Paul Winkelmann

Thanks for your help! PM's are always welcome.

I guess I would fall in the specialist category since I specialize in moles. However, I also trap other animals that dig or root in the lawn and landscaping including voles, armadillos, groundhogs and skunks.

Thanks Mike, we've talked on-line for years and I never knew that. I will be shipping all my lawn animals to you from now on.

No thanks Paul, I don't want to pay the import tariff on them - or is there an Obama export tax on them? Either way, you earned them so you can keep them.

Wink,

You already know this of course, but from before I launched my company I was on here seeking and taking
advice and learning from posts even though I wasn't in the field yet working with what I am now (bats/birds).

I consider Ron Scheller and Eric Arnold to be two folks who were always willing to share advice and had the
years of experience and time in the field to provide outstanding information gained through great expense
and time to themselves as they built their companies and skills with bats/birds.

Since then honestly I've had way too many folks offer great info, but if I need something in terms of these
two species I generally turn to them.

**

On a side note as a business model we have taken a page from Eric and ultimately if I leave the house for
something other than bats or pigeons it is a rare event (or at least has been the last 3 years now).

Choosing to "specialize" in these two categories was based on wanting to run an exclusion based business
without a need to check traps and other associated things that come with raccoons, skunks, squirrels, etc.,
and some other intangible strategic and background related things.

I think even the most specialized specialist I know of still does other species as Mike mentioned and that is
the nature of the beast I suppose. Today I was handling a pocket gopher situation for a client who I just enjoy
talking to enough to make me willing to go get out some of albanos gear and go solve an issue... I have 4 pocket
gopher clients and they are all people I will tend to just for this reason alone (yes they pay but it isn't on parr with
exclusion and clean out work).

I've received some great advice from Jason R, Dixon, Charles H, Kevin C. Charles P., Dave S and others as well by posting questions on .info or by talking on the phone.

One thing I love about this industry is folks are willing to help you if you need it and are willing to share what takes lots
of time and money beyond most peoples comprehension to become so skilled in.

I was at a training for another avenue we are pursuing a bit departed (though not completely) from our wildlife work and the instructor has a statement that I've seen before in his materials that states.

"They say it takes 10,000 hours of work in any trade to become a master."

Though I've heard it before the instructor is a young man who loves what he does is passionate about it and it shows in his attention to detail, however he had others just as I've had who helped him step ahead over obstacles that can be costly and even ruin a business because they had done their 10,000 hours already!

I'm thankful that anyone, everyone is willing to share in this industry and though yes we all protect certain things it is rare I don't see someone answer a question that is floated even if it might be something they spent a lot to learn.

In case anyone is wondering this equates to 416.66 days (24 hour days). The other aspect is in relation to Wink's thread, this means doing the same task over and over again, not a variety of tasks but that one task whether it be trapping pocket gophers in an alfalfa field, or handling a rattlesnake with a hook.

10,000 hours doing that same repetitive action to where it is completely second nature.

Hope some others will share about those who have helped them, if I didn't have to delete on occasion the pm's on here I could look back 6+ years and see all the folks who have shared ADC advice including business related thoughts.

Thanks folks, and good topic wink!

Justin

I am in the category of "JOT" (Jack of all Trades) for the most part. Not too much I havent done alot of over the last 45 years. Diversity makes for a good business plan and a successful steady cash flow business. I really like mole trapping but bat work has always been a speciality of mine over the years. That is a difficult thing to put a title too.

Predator trapping is a specialty skill for me so we wont include that in this category even though it is one of our offered services.

I dont know many ADC operators doing a true singular specialty service as a stand alone.I think it would be like shooting yourself in one foot and stepping in a bear trap with the other foot. Small circle business' dont usually do well unless you are in a very good market area with many years of a good track record under your belt.

I hate doing only one type of animal, that would be boring, I do a lot of coon and skunks, muskrats are ever present, but I would have to say ground hogs is my 2nd specialty with you know Grey squirrels as my 1st. I do a lot of bats but I hate that work so I don't want to be known in that area LOL 36 years ago when I started doing this as a service I wanted to be a predator man, guess that didn't work out here in NJ LOL

Mike page I would say flyers, geese I would say Tim Julien. Bob J he is a predator man. Eric Arnold bats. there are more but these came to mind fast.

my bread and butter is moles....have taken over 8,500 in my career trappin em...that is about 11 years worth and only 7 years of that 11 actually hitting them hard for clients...

just about every advertising dollar at this point goes toward moles...i let the others fill in around them

Bugs that sting are my thing!

Beavers are my mission but I dont turn down jobs.
It is such hard work in the summer and I am not a fan of hard work but I love it!

Although I do have a full time job working at a papermill , I've been doing adc work for 35 years part full time I guess you could say.Now I ain't good at this typing spelling are putting down what I'm trying to say on print but if your getting paid to get rid of something you better know how too do it or you ain't going to be doing it long.lol.I caught a lot of problem gators for the state here and the state ask me to keep doing it after 15 years doing it for them .Now I do wild hog ,beaver,and predator control work.

Specialize in waiting by the phone.

I work on Beavers for the Rail Road year round.
The Beavers are the easy part, Opening up the culverts or dams is the hard part!!

I take care of all the wild animal calls for the PD, fox & coon in dumpsters along with wild animal and domestic dog bites.
I handle all the sick wild animals for the State Health Department in my area and send the heads out to be tested for rabies.
I specialize in what ever is thrown at me you could say.
I know they keep calling the crazy guy that is like the Turtle Man on TV.
Dave

Dave, the fact that you are willing to tell the world about what you do is a sure sign that the rest of the world is crazy and you

are one of the sane ones. I'm the other one!

Its the calls we get like a animal under this guys daughters bed up stairs in the house. He thinks it is a little coon. So i bring one cage and it is Mama and six little ones and she is MAD!!

I walked out with all of them alive in that one cage. I hear that crazy word a lot.
You have to be some times to do this kind of work.
Dave

Dave, just to show you why I'm only number 2; I get called to this very expensive condo complex and the customer, a beautiful looking

young lady takes me upstairs to her bedroom ( Yeah, I know what you pigs are all thinking and don't I wish ) She says, "there's a

rabbit under my bed." Oh yeah, right. Like that happens every day. So I look under her bed and sure enough, a cottontail rabbit;

and a big sucker too. Well, that was a lot easier removal than your family of raccoons, but none the less perplexing.

I specialize in exterminating fish from Pamlico river.

How is the transition coming along from wildlife control to fishing and margaritas on the shore.

Guess I'd be a specialist. Have a full time job at paper mill as well and do year round predator/beaver control. Everyone seems to call me after they've educated critters for a few months!

The above-mentioned plus Rob for coyotes/skunks, Don Lafontaine for beaver exclusion, David McLeod for bees/wasps, Ron Jones for squirrels, Bob Noonan on beavers/ muskrats: not necessarily specialists, per se, but definitely experts in those pursuits.

Annie and me are exhausted and in bed by 9:30 - a lab pup will do that to the old and feeble. Nap time is around the mid day heat. Evenings on the dock are pleasant, interesting and bug free so far. It will take me a while to figure out the fishing patterns. No complaints so far. Well one complaint. The PA phone line is forewarded here, jobs are then passed on to a network of guys back in PA, who give me a finders fee. Need a little bit of "pin" money you know. Hope you are well.