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iWatermark+

iWatermark+

Readers of this blog, along with those that have attended my trainings, know that I am consistently talking about the importance of taking photos. Time and time again, I speak to wildlife control operators (WCOs) who have seen some incredible things done by wildlife but when I ask them, “Do you have photos?”, they typically answer, “No.” Thankfully, more WCOs are beginning to learn the importance of taking photos. And with the quality and availability of cell phone cameras, there is no excuse not to take photos. Which brings me to the main point, what apps do I recommend that WCOs have to manage and manipulate their photos? One of them that I recommend is iWatermark+.

  • iWatermark+

iWatermark+ is an app that allows you place copyright information on your photos. Placing copyright information on your photos is essential for three reasons. First, it shows the world, who took and owns the image. As one whose photos have been used by others in a commercial fashion without compensation, I can tell you that it’s annoying to see your shots on someone else’s website. But the second reason is to help market your business. Placing a name on the photo helps advertise your company whether it’s a separate entity or you personally. Finally, iWatermark+ will remove location data from your image, if you want it to. In case you didn’t know, but every time you take a photo with a cell phone, the GPS coordinates are embedded into the image’s information known as the EXIF file. If you don’t remove it, anyone with some simple photo editing software can see the exact location where you took the shot, such as your client’s house.

So, do yourself a favor and check out iWatermark+. It costs a few bucks, but is well worth it. You can obtain a free version but I would suggest bypass that and go right for the pay to use version. Note, that I or my company have not received any compensation for this article, but I am willing to accept some.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Attending Training

Wildlife control operators (WCOs) and pest control operators (PCOs) attend training events to improve their skills and to maintain their licenses. PCOs preparing to attend a training event.

PCOs preparing to attend a training event.

But as one who has attended many training events both as an attendee and as a presenter, I have a few tips to help attendees make the most of their time.

First, come with an open mind. Sure you may know a lot on a particular subject be it bedbugs or raccoons. Maybe you know more than the person giving the training. But regardless, you should take the time to either refresh your awareness of the fundamentals and you should be open to learning a new techniques because sometimes even the less experienced can offer something of value to the more experienced.

Second, bring a notebook. I am regularly surprised at how rare it is for attendees to bring notebooks. But don’t just bring any notebook, bring a notebook that will become used in the future for reference. I suggest getting a notebook, and using the first few pages as a table of contents. Then regularly add to the material as you attend various meetings. Over time, you can cross reference material so that you can find that bait suggestion for a species you normally don’t deal with. I have done this and found it helpful in reminding of things learned but long-ago forgotten.

Third, bring business cards. I think this is a no-brainer but frequently neglected. Training is about networking not just filling your brain with new knowledge. Sometimes who you know is more important than what you know. Meeting new people, even competitors can be quite helpful in improving your business. Who knows you may need that competitor to help you work on that “monster job” or help you lobby legislators to stop animal rights legislation.

Bottom line. Attending trainings may not be the highlight of your week, but a little preparation can make the experience more informative, profitable and maybe even a little more enjoyable.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Tactics for Identifying Difficult Identifications

Yes, I know it is a strange title for a blog post. But what I mean by tactics for identifying difficult identifications is how do you go about identifying a vertebrate pest complaint when the normal clues are absent? Say the client is complaining about thumping or scratching noises in the wall or attic. You arrive, and can’t find any sign of an animal cause of the problem. You don’t see scat, scratch marks, nesting, trails, holes, nothing. Yet the client swears to that the problem exists and it is an animal? What do you do?

Let me tell you what not to do. Don’t jump to delusional parasitosis. While that diagnosis may prove out in the end, you have a long way to go before you reach the conclusion that the issue is a figment of the client’s overactive imagination.

Here are some of the steps you should take when you can’t match the client’s complaints with the available evidence you can see. Choose the ones that fit your situation.

  • Movement indicators. If you find holes, gaps that could allow animals to enter, use movement indicators to tell you whether those gaps/holes are being used.
  • Track traps. Create track traps using bait and flour, talc, baby powder or orange line chalk to see if any animals are consuming the bait. Keep in mind that flour will attract insects and rats. So use carefully.
  • Trail cameras. Choose models that use black-out technology and have good shutter speeds as in less than a second.
  • Set traps. Traps can be placed, either set or unset, but baited to see if anything approaches the traps.
  • Enlist client’s help. Have the client record when/where sounds are being heard. Have the client ask neighbors if they have seen any wildlife on the house.
  • Contact a colleague. Explain the situation to a trusted colleague. He/she may be able to help you consider possible causes that you haven’t thought of. This is one advantage of being part of trade associations like the National Wildlife Control Operators Association of which I am a founding member and a board member.
The orange chalk line powder is preferable because it fluoresces under UV light. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel

Thankfully, difficult identifications get rarer as you gain experience and knowledge. One way to speed up your learning process is to read books to help you in the identification process such as The Wildlife Damage Inspect Handbook, 3rd ed. But when they do come, having a plan of action will help you resolve the situation for your client in a speedy and cost effective way.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Book Review: Among the Pigeons

Book Review: Among the Pigeons: Why Our Cats Belong Indoors by John L. Read. Mile End, South Australia:Wakefield Press, 2019. Pre-Press.” Expected publication 2019.

As the habitat for many creatures has been fragmented by human activity, the introduction of protected, fed, and indiscriminate predator, the house cat, has greatly multiplied the threat to the survival of many native species. John L. Read is a trained ecologist who hails from Australia, a continent that has struggled mightily with the negative environmental impacts of non-native animals like the house cat.

I learned of Read through a social media page of people dedicated to fighting the scourge of free-range cats. Read was kind enough to send me a pre-publication version of his book, Among the Pigeons. My comments will be on this pre-publication version.

House cats are everywhere as seen by the tracks on this vehicle window. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.
House cats are everywhere as seen by the tracks on this vehicle window. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.

Among the Pigeons belongs to that genre of books that can be entitled as narrative science. It’s a scientific book in that Read has done yeoman’s work sifting the published literature. He deftly and smartly weaves that information throughout the books, 300 plus pages. But the book is narrative in that Read tells stories, lots of stories from his personal visits around the world with people involved with cats. He discusses meetings with people from Australia, Japan, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Africa, Spain and Pacific Islanders. Throughout, Read avoids creating straw men or demonizing people who have different views about cats than himself. But nor does he let them off the hook for the consequences and impacts of their actions and choices, and sometimes lack of action. In this way, the book also delves into the social-cultural aspects of the cat debate. He rightly understands that facts don’t change people who don’t have the moral fiber to integrate those facts into changing their behavior.   

If the book sounds complex, it’s because the subject he is dealing with is. Frankly, I found myself quite depressed at times. Read tries to soften the blow but the news is not good, though there are glimpses of hope. I particularly appreciated learning about the research being done in finding new methods to control free-range cats in the field. As a professional in the wildlife control industry, I do think he was a bit too negative on the efficacy of traditional controls. I understand that agents have had difficulty catching the last few cats in various locations, thereby casting doubt on the benefits of traditional methods (e.g. hunting, trapping). I just wonder if part of the problem is the rules governing control methods were too restrictive. I have said, hunting is easy, legal hunting is hard. Readers should not take my slight criticism here as a reason to avoid this profound book.

If you want to learn more about the impacts of cats, how people are working to manage the problem (or not) and insight into the psycho-social complexity of the problem, then this book is for you. You can learn more at Johnlread.com

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Wildlife Expo Myrtle Beach 2019

Want to make more money? Want to decrease your liability risks while increasing the quality of your service? How about learning from some of the best wildlife control operators in the United States? If you answered, “yes”, to any of these questions, then you should plan to attend the Wildlife Expo in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, February 4-9, 2019. 

Training session at NWCOA's Wildlife Expo.
Training session at NWCOA’s Wildlife Expo.

The Wildlife Expo is the annual trade conference sponsored run by the National Wildlife Control Operators Association (NWCOA, pronounced NEW-Koh-Ah). NWCOA is a professional association dedicated to training, organizing and enhancing the growing trade known as wildlife control.
Training classes follow two main subject lines. One line covers the control side of the WCO business. Tips on handling birds, trapping, tools, repairs, etc. fall under this category. The other line, focusses on business issues, such as marketing, legal, insurance, etc. The two lines are run concurrently. So, in (almost) each session, you will have a choice of a business-related subject or a control related subject. Take for example the 11:30 am -12:30 pm session on Friday, February 8. One class is entitled, “Increasing Customer Happiness and Your Revenue Through Exclusion” while the other is “When It’s Time to Grow Your Business.”

Attendees regularly remark how the Wildlife Expo helped them increase business revenue. But education is not all. Networking is a key element of the event. Attendees can meet key industry vendors, learn about new products and tools. Of course, I haven’t mentioned the importance of networking. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having personal connections. Need personalized advice on a particular problem you are having in your business? I doubt you can call your competitor. But what about a colleague in another state that you met at the Expo? What would be the economic value of that kind of “service.”

Want to learn more? Visit http://nwcoa.com/we2019.html That link will take you to the full-color brochure as well as the registration page. If you write out the pros and cons, I am confident that the pros will win out in spades. So why not sign up today?

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.