Navy Veteran Campbell Opens Second U.S. Skedaddle Franchise

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Maryland residents are no strangers to the growing wildlife species inhabiting the state. That’s why Phillip Campbell decided to open a Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control franchise to bring humane wildlife removal and exclusion services to home and business owners in Maryland.

Skedaddle was founded in Canada in 1989 and has since expanded operations into the U.S. The Maryland team joins Wisconsin as Skedaddle’s second U.S. location and will service communities throughout Calvert, Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties.

Campbell served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years. During that time, he held a number of key positions and served overseas in Greece, Australia and Japan, before settling in Maryland in 2011.

While serving in the Navy, Campbell earned a master’s degree in business from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University.

Now a Calvert County resident, Campbell initially got the idea to open a humane wildlife control business several years ago after his own attic became home to a family of squirrels.

“When you wake up at 2 a.m. and you hear those little claws, you’ll sell a kidney to get rid of it,” he said. “I remember being very relieved to have it out, so when the broker presented the idea to me, it connected with me.”

Campbell said when he was deciding on his next business investment, working with Skedaddle was an easy decision for different reasons, one being the people and company culture.

“I didn’t want to work with a bunch of guys in suits,” he said. “I wanted to work with people who can laugh, and I can have a beer with, and that’s [Skedaddle owners] Bill Dowd and Barry.”

The other reason is that Maryland has some wildlife peculiarities. Urban wildlife in Maryland commonly makes their home in attics, crawlspaces and chimneys. Instead of trapping and relocating wildlife, Skedaddle conducts a comprehensive inspection of the home and uses hands-on techniques to humanely remove unwanted home guests, clean up the mess that’s left and install barriers to prevent re-entry.

“I think there are seven bat species in Maryland and several of them occupy structures, and some of them are endangered,” Campbell said. “We are currently under the time frame of the year in Maryland where you have to get a permit every time you do a bat job. It’s a pretty demanding space in terms of regulation.”

Campbell’s future business goals are also tied into his personal goals, hopefully making his Skedaddle franchising endeavor his retirement plan.

“My wife is a second-grade school teacher, and she is eligible to retire in five years with her full pension, so that’s my timeline, and in that five years, I plan to grow the business as much as I can and own states beyond [Maryland],” Campbell said.

Campbell’s decades of military experience have prepared him for the obstacles that lie ahead as a new business owner.

“One of the things you learn by being in the military is agility and flexibility of the mind and to adapt to whatever situation comes up, and that’s really valuable,” Campbell said. “It’s my intent as I grow to target the veterans community for work.”

Campbell recently used his agility and flexibility skills to keep up with the supply chain issues and heat wave trials that have already set some challenges on his lap.

“The heat wave we have been going through, it’s really been a challenge to adjust to it,” he said. “There are a lot of supply chain issues still out there and it’s something I have to plan for, because just getting ladder racks takes eight to 10 weeks.”

On top of running a full-time business, Campbell is also the chief technology officer at Luminis Health Systems. He recently hired two employees to his franchise operation who are “hungry for doing something new and important.”

“We don’t really have a book of customers, but we have been booked since we have been [in business],” Campbell said. “The business just exploded, and now I am in the position of just trying to keep up with everything and how I can grow the business.”