Making Your Mark

There is a largely untapped revenue source in most urban and suburban markets. This service is generally referred to as vertebrate or wildlife pest control and it is one of the ways a pest control company can diversify and hedge against economic and seasonal pressures.

Doing your homework. Before considering adding vertebrate control and removal service, some research must be done. A visit to a local zoo is an excellent way to begin. Zoos typically have displays of regional wildlife as well as books on the subject. It is important to be able to recognize the various animals that might be encountered and understand their biology and habits.

The next step is to check with your state to determine if any special permits are required. Some states have a category that specifically names birds or requires a trapping license from local fish and game officials. Additionally, states may have specific rules regarding disposal or release of captured animals. Generally speaking, any animals captured will have to be killed. It has become fashionable to talk about releasing captured animals back into the wild where they will live happily ever after. This is one of the great fallacies of vertebrate control.

Releasing an animal that has learned to live in human habitats into the wild will result in a disoriented and frightened animal that is doomed to starve to death. This release may also result in the spread of disease into the natural population. The most unpleasant reality is that in nature, there are no vacant territories for newly released animals to occupy. The preexisting inhabitants of the violated territory usually attack the intruder, resulting in the violent death of one or more animals. The most humane action is to quickly dispatch the captured animal.

The most common methods are by drowning or carbon monoxide gas (truck exhaust). Of course, exclusion is generally easier on the animal, the homeowner and the service technician. Some species, however, are not easily excluded. Raccoons, for example, are persistent and often strong and bright enough to rip their way back into a structure. Before deciding to take on the responsibility of capturing wildlife, the PCO must come to terms with the fact that many of the animals will have to be killed.

Determine services. Depending on the region of the country and the specifics of any given market, the species of vertebrates that can become pests varies. Deer, rabbits, badgers and Canada geese may be problems in the Midwest, while in the Northeast, pest animals may include tree squirrels, raccoons, opossums and stray cats. In the Southwest some bizarre animals may be encountered. Jackrabbits, bats, javelinas (a cross between a wild boar and a large rodent), rattlesnakes, pocket gophers, ringtailed cats (a two-pound weasel that looks like a cross between a raccoon, a mongoose and a Persian cat) and coatimundi (another weasel that looks like it is part monkey and part raccoon). Of course, pigeons and starlings are virtually everywhere.

After determining which species will be covered with your programs, the necessary gear must be obtained. Again, here a little research can pay big dividends. Live traps, repellents, killing traps, snares, snake sticks, "drowning tanks," ladders and other devices will have to be purchased and/or constructed. Safety equipment will also have to be obtained. This equipment may include leggings, safety straps, gloves, eye protection and a dependable flashlight (with a backup). Wildlife control can be challenging and may require technicians that are in good physical condition. Snaring a 30-pound raccoon from the top of a chimney with a 15-foot pole while standing on a steeply sloped slate roof can be an exciting — and exhausting — experience.

DO you cover all pests? As people expand into rural areas from urban centers, displaced animals are more frequently encountering humans. The tolerance of these people for wildlife is usually low.

I have a customer that lives in a box canyon set high in the mountains of the Arizona Sonoran desert. When she built her home she cleared as little land as possible. The desert comes literally right up to her door, touching the house on all sides. She put a large fountain in the front yard so that deer and other acceptable wildlife would be attracted. One day she called us because a mountain lion was sleeping on her front porch — waiting for deer to visit the fountain. Another time she called because she left her garage open to get a breeze through the screen door and a bobcat had taken up residence in her garage (cave), refusing to leave for days. We wisely chose not to cover these large pests and she eventually found another company.

In many parts of Arizona, fire departments have been privatized, resulting in a subscription service to homeowners. In order to lessen the blow of this fee, they offer a number of additional services including free rattlesnake removal. It is difficult to compete with that sort of pricing, so our company chose not provide rattlesnake control services.

Getting business. Once the decision has been made to enter the wildlife control market, your service technicians have been trained and the necessary equipment has been obtained, it is time to go get business. The best place to start is with your existing customer base. This should be done with postcards with eye-catching graphics and by word of mouth by current service technicians. Billboards and radio ad campaigns can also be effective. These should be timed to coincide with the increased activity cycles for the dominant vertebrate pests in the region.

For many of these animals, the times of increased activity are fall, when they are seeking shelter or a place to hibernate, or spring, when the animals are emerging. Adding a line to your Yellow Pages ad can be helpful, but including additional small box ads under "Bird Control" and "Wildlife Removal" can substantially increase traffic. Inform local universities, fire departments and cooperative extension offices that your company is available for emergency service (expect that service will have to be rendered in one to two hours from receipt of the call).

Finally, the most important step in obtaining wildlife control leads is establishing your company as the local experts on the subject. Writing articles for local magazines and newspapers gives the new division credibility. To ensure that the article will be used, provide high quality, clear action photos of human/vertebrate pest interaction. That’s what sells papers. Invite a television news crew for a ride-along so that an animal capture can be taped. Just a word of caution, get the customer’s permission and scout out the site to make sure that the animal will not be killed, abused or mutilated on camera.

CONCLUSION. These are the steps toward developing and marketing a wildlife removal division within a pest control company. It’s hard work, but exciting and profitable. It also provides the best stories. For example, at one account I serviced I heard a growl in the crawlspace I and shone my flashlight on a raccoon, making his eyes glow. Just then the charge on my flashlight goes… but that’s a story for another article! Good luck and by the way, tomato juice will remove the odor of skunk!

WILDLIFE TRENDS

The growing wildlife control market offers PCOs a variety of opportunities. As has been the case the past several years, the wildlife control market is on the move — literally. Wildlife continues to be a big market for wildlife control operators and PCOs alike.

"Wildlife control is still a growing industry — it is a niche market," said Kevin Clark, president of Critter Control, one of the nation’s leading animal control firms. "The same factors that have caused the market to grow in the past have continued."

As humans continue to become more like "country mice," the real mice have suffered. Urbanization of former animal habitats has caused some problems for the people (and animals) moving into those areas.

Animals have to adapt to their new environments, Clark added. "For example, if a raccoon is born in a chimney, it will look to live in a chimney once it has become an adult, not its natural habitat tree trunk," he said. "So to the animal, the chimney is its natural habitat."

Several other factors have contributed to the growing wildlife population. Clark said that there are fewer hunters and trappers around helping to control wildlife populations. "There have been more mild winters as well," he added.

So who do potential pest control customers call when they need help with a wildlife problem? Although most pest control companies perform rodent and bird control, fewer companies control the more "exotic" species. While some PCOs offer services to control raccoons and squirrels, not as many do work to remove bats, skunks and snakes. This market, therefore, may provide an opportunity to an industrious PCO looking to add services to his or her company.

But PCOs interested in such work need to be aware of their region’s specific pests. Clark, who operates offices in 37 states and Canada, reports that wildlife control operators in the Southwest, for example, may have to deal with pack rats and ringtail cats.

— Doug Seeman