[Wildlife Control] Roaches...and Raccoons

Several years ago I read an article in which the author stated that providing wildlife remediation services was less profitable than providing pest control services. He said that the dollar per man-hour service rate was much lower when dealing with wildlife issues than with the pest control service industry. After reading this article my first thought was, "Why would anyone want to be in this business if this statement were true?" After reflecting on the subject for a while, I figured that the author’s statement may have been true for the way he was conducting his business or this individual didn’t want other folks getting into the emerging urban wildlife remediation industry. I can assure you that our firm struggles with profitability and efficiency issues every day, however I feel that I can share some thoughts with you that may be beneficial when you consider how to operate your wildlife remediation business.

PRACTICING IPM. With the general decline of most fur prices and a myriad of restrictive trapping regulations in many states, it is extremely difficult for an individual to make a living strictly as a fur trapper today. Due to the lack of fur trapping activities, combined with expanding urbanization, certain wildlife populations are increasing. Human conflicts with many of these "traditional fur bearers," such as beaver, raccoon and coyote, are on the rise. Many fur trappers who have a passion for the outdoors and the skills to trap wildlife have begun offering wildlife removal services in order to make a living or supplement their income. Often these individuals don’t intend to operate an urban wildlife remediation business, nor do they have a business plan to maximize their service potential. There is definitely a place for animal removal services, however, there are many additional opportunities associated with wildlife service needs.

I feel that approaching urban wildlife issues from an integrated pest management approach common to the structural pest management industry is a natural fit for those individual firms that are actively involved in this industry. By fully addressing such needs and issues as inspection, monitoring, exclusion, sanitation, habitat modification and physical removal, a valuable comprehensive service program can be offered to customers that have a need for assistance in dealing with urban wildlife issues.

PROPER PRICING AND EFFICIENCY. There are many similarities in pricing structural pest management services to that of wildlife remediation services. If we are going into a food-grade warehousing facility, we will first meet with the management of that facility to establish their perceived pest management service needs. We’ll then obtain as much historical information about pest activity as possible during our initial meeting and begin to share information about our firm and our abilities that may set us apart from our competition in being able to meet their perceived needs. We will then make a complete interior and exterior inspection of the facility to establish what are their specific service programming needs. We will then evaluate our equipment, labor and materials costs, and complete a proposal for presentation. We are able to routinely complete this process because we have the knowledge of potential pest concerns that this customer may be facing; we know their regulatory requirements, industry standards and our costs associated with labor, service equipment and materials.

The process of pricing work for profitability is similar as well. You must first establish both the perceived and actual need of a customer. You must accurately determine what wildlife pest(s) are of concern, how to correct the concern and how best to prevent its recurrence.

You may have a call for squirrels entering into a wall cavity where you can go out and simply set a few traps to catch the offending squirrel(s) and seal a known point of entry. On the other hand, you may go out to this same property and make a full inspection to determine what their current and preventive needs may be. A complete inspection may reveal such things as a need to prune back several tree limbs, screening louvers with ¼-inch mesh hardware cloth, installation of chimney caps or even another pest concern or prevention need about which the homeowner/property owner was unaware.

TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT. Rarely do we have our customers agree to pay us our hourly rate based solely on how long it takes us to effectively take care of their pest concern plus all of our material costs. In actuality we price our work based upon our anticipated time and material costs. Our efficiency in providing our services directly impacts our bottom-line profitability.

How can you afford not to invest in training for yourself and your employees? If an employee is properly trained to evaluate and address a wildlife remediation need then his or her efficiency is increased. Efficiency results in satisfaction to both the customer and employee, as well as increased potential for bottom-line profitability. Keep in mind that technology changes, new equipment is constantly being developed and the investment in keeping abreast can make a major difference in the success of your business.

Learning from our own mistakes can sometimes be our best hard-earned lessons to drive home this point. One of many of these lessons that I have experienced occurred earlier this year. We received a call from a business that had a single skunk that dug a den next to a set of windows of the office building. Right about dark each evening the skunk would emerge from its den and amble across the lawn in search of dinner. I sent an employee out to set traps to remove the skunk only to find that two days later there had been no success. I then personally went out on site and blocked out the den opening with a cage trap and some hardware cloth. The next morning I was greeted by a sleepy skunk in the cage trap. This story is not told to illustrate my prowess as a great skunk trapper but my failure to properly instruct my employee on possible techniques that might have been beneficial in effectively and efficiently trapping a skunk. What should have been an overnight skunk removal job requiring two on-site trips turned into four trips and an unprofitable job. If you don’t learn your lesson from these types of episodes and they frequently reoccur, then the chances of running a profitable wildlife remediation service business will be pretty slim.

Back when our firm first started providing bat exclusion services I can vividly remember cutting ¼-inch mesh hardware cloth with a pair of tin snips and using a screw gun to install Phillips head screws to secure the hardware cloth in place. We were using screws vs. staples because they could be removed if needed and would not rust. I can also remember having my scratched hands looking like I held onto a wildcat and had lost a fight. Fortunately, I found out that the DeWalt Tool Company had started manufacturing a 14-volt portable pair of tin shears. Even though that one tool cost a little more than $350 the cost was more than made up for within the first month through time saved when cutting hardware cloth. (Not to mention the lack of scratched hands!) We also began using hex head screws to secure all of our hardware cloth with 18-volt portable drills equipped with magnetic drivers. We now buy our hex head screws in bulk, which also saves on material costs. Sometimes we all have to get by and make do; however, if you or your employees don’t have the proper tools to work with then it’s hard to efficiently get the work done.

CROSS MARKETING. I feel that offering urban wildlife remediation services often puts our staff in front of customers who otherwise may not have called our firm. This would likely hold true if we offered other "non-traditional pest control" related services. When we are at a customer’s home for a wildlife service need we will take the time to discuss our inspection findings that apply towards general pest control and wood-destroying insect service needs. This will often result in additional service opportunities. Please note that we will often get referrals from other pest management service firms and we have a standing policy not to solicit or take over any general pest control service work on any of our wildlife referrals. By strictly adhering to this policy we have been able to maintain a referral network from many of our general pest control competitors.

QUALITY SERVICE. It goes without saying that honesty, integrity and offering quality service are several of the keys to long-term business success. When human conflicts with urban wildlife occur many individuals may be scared and in a panicked state. Providing accurate information, fair pricing, and effective solutions will result in a satisfied customer, potential referrals and long-term business success.

CONCLUSION. The urban wildlife service industry is similar yet different when compared to the structural pest management industry. There are needs for different pricing structures, different equipment and additional training needs. There are also many specialty market areas in which you may or may not want to be involved with.

If a pest control company commits to proper preparation, service program implementation and constant reevaluation then there is a definite potential to run a successful and profitable urban wildlife remediation service business.

The author is owner of McNeely Pest Control, Winston-Salem, N.C. He can be reached at smcneely@giemedia.com.