Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC

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Company Brochure

Does your wildlife control company provide customers with a company brochure? If it doesn’t, I think it should. Company brochures are an inexpensive form of advertising for your customers. Company brochures, when they are well done, show your company is professional and not just someone who decided to start “trapping.”  When I ran Wildlife Removal Service, Inc. in Springfield, MA, I created my own company brochure. It consisted of three 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheets of paper stapled together with a copy of my business card. It covered a variety of topics. One reason why I loved that brochure was that many customers would read it while I was inspecting their house and thereby would not be bothering me.

Stephen M. Vantassel when he owned Wildlife Removal Service, Inc. in Springfield, MA.
Stephen M. Vantassel when he owned Wildlife Removal Service, Inc. in Springfield, MA. in 1998.

What should your brochure contain? I suggest the following elements:

  • Company Name, address, contact information, including e-mail, phone, and website. If you have a Facebook page or other social media accounts, include them too.
  • Brief history of the company. Don’t write the great American novel. Just provide a little information about your company. Personalize it. The goal is to help bond the company with your client. It’s here that you want to highlight the owners and/or the technicians. I understand spotlighting technicians can be tricky as you don’t know how long they will be with your company. But many wildlife control companies are run by owner-operators so take the opportunity to highlight the owner(s), you. Do you help with little league? Have interesting, non-controversial hobbies? Include them.
  • List services your company provides. Here is where the brochure becomes a sales brochure. Be sure to use excellent photos. Show customers before and after images and warn them about potential problems that are common in your area and how your company helps resolve those problems.
  • Highlight important wildlife laws. This suggestion may be a bit controversial. But I think it should be added to your company brochures. I included laws because a lot of my customers didn’t know that Massachusetts regulations prohibited the translocation of wildlife. Yet, despite this fact, I encountered many clients who told me that the “other” wildlife control company promised they could release the problem animal elsewhere. My response was well if they said that they were either lying to you or breaking the regulation. I didn’t ask them to take my word for it. Rather I provided them with a copy of the state regulations for them to read on their own.

Why not give this business idea a try. See if it helps you grow a stronger business.

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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Euthanasia & Carcass Disposal

Surface carcass disposal is one, albeit a rare option, for disposing of animal carcasses. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel
Surface carcass disposal is one, albeit a rare option, for disposing of animal carcasses. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel

I recently gave a talk entitled, “Euthanasia & Carcass Disposal: Tips and Pitfalls” at the National Pest Management Association’s (NPMA) 2018 Pestworld in Orlando Florida on Friday, October 26. It was a tough time for a presentation as it was right after lunch (1:00 pm) and on the last day of the conference. Plus, let’s just say that animal euthanasia & carcass disposal are not the most riveting and profit making topics for a pest control operator (PCO) or wildlife control operator (WCO) to attend.

But I was grateful for the opportunity. I was honored that the NPMA chose me to present on this important and controversial topic. The fact is, unlike bugs, the public cares deeply about how vertebrate animals are killed and disposed of. Even if the animal is a pest, the public cares. I explained to the approximately 32 people in attendance, that failure to have proper animal handling protocols in place can put your business in a public relations nightmare. Not all publicity is good publicity.

Attendees learned the distinction between euthanasia and humane dispatch and why that distinction matters. Likewise, I spoke on why translocation is not necessarily a humane way to handle nuisance wildlife. I ended the presentation discussing various ways to dispose of animal carcasses. I described methods that would work in either rural or urban settings, and sometimes both.

If you would like to see the Powerpoint, visit my Academia.edu site and download the pdf.

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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Principles for Baiting Coyotes

Principles for Baiting Coyotes

Coyote (Canis latrans), for most trappers, are the most difficult furbearer to trap. Trappers that have success in catching them are held in high esteem in the trapping community. Major L. Boddicker has a Ph.D. in wildlife management and has been involved in baiting for coyotes. Coyote baiting has undergone significant research because of the coyotes’ tendency to predate on livestock. The government, seeking to help manage coyote predation, has invested a lot of money and time into learning what works and what doesn’t to improve coyote control activities. Baiting coyotes is essential as baits are used to lure coyotes to traps and to M-44s.

Coyote (Canis latrans) is a highly sought after predator. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.
Coyote (Canis latrans) is a highly sought after predator. Bait makers work hard to create baits/lures to attract them. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.

In an article entitled, “Spring and Summer Testing: Results of Spring and Summer Testing of Baits and Lures with Non-lethal Devices. How Does Temperature Affect Catch Rates? How Often Should a Trapper Re-bait Sets” published in the American Trapper 55:5(Sept-Oct):18-22, Dr. Boddicker revealed some of the findings from his research.

  • Temperature affects how well baits/lures work. As a rule, when temperatures dip below freezing, you will need to apply 1-4 times more bait/lure to achieve the same attractiveness level.
  • Coyotes progressively loose interest in baits/lures as temperature rises above 79° F.
  • Sets should be refreshed with bait/lure every 7 days or so depending on relative humidity and temperature.
  • Coyotes showed the greatest interest in baited/lured sets between 3-6 days. So be patient.
  • Urine and liquid lures have the shortest attraction times as they dry out quickly.
  • Coyotes have incredible smelling ability. When using quality baits/lures, only a Q-tip or pea-sized glob is needed.

These are just a few of the principles that Boddicker suggests. But he does have one more. He always recommends that trappers and by extension, wildlife control operators, keep records of the types of baits/lures they use. Learn what works by season, temperature in your neck of the woods. When you have some good data, then determine how well the baits/lures work by creating a success index for each bait/lure. Calculate the index by furbearer visits to your set and divide by the number of lure/bait presentations (each night). A simple Excel spreadsheet will make this easy.

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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Attractants

Attractants are materials, foods, lures, baits, etc. used by Wildlife Control Operators (WCOs) to entice an animal into a trap. In other words, attractants constitute an umbrella term which covers a variety of materials. What are those categories? There are a couple of ways to classify them, but I will only deal with the sense model one in this blog entry.

Skippy Peanut Butter, Don’t let your customer see this. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel
Skippy Peanut Butter is a common example under the heading of attractants. Don’t let your customer see this container. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel

You may recall from elementary school that we have five senses, namely

  • sight,
  • taste,
  • smell,
  • hearing, and
  • touch.

Touch is usually not included for attractants because if the animal is close enough to touch the attractant, he is close enough to be trapped. The other four are useful so let’s explain those.

Sight attractants use visual means to cause an animal to notice the trap set. Sight can be utilized by color (e.g. white for nocturnal animals) or motion, (e.g. hanging a fake feather to attract cats). Smell, uses a volatile chemical, such as urine to entice an animal to notice. Urine is a powerful attractant because it can indicate sexual or territorial status. Taste, is pretty obvious because we all want to eat something that taste’s good. Animals are no different. Food is an important need and something that animals spend a great deal of their time searching for. Give them something that tastes good and of high energy value and the animals will go where you want them to go. Lastly, is hearing. Predators often use hearing to find hidden prey. Coyotes and cats will often hear a mouse before they see it. Thus, manufacturers have created sound-producing devices to mimic sounds that are meaningful to animals. As effective as some of these devices can be they have a significant downside, namely the sound may be annoying to clients or neighbors.

Why is knowing the categories of attractants important? Because you need to know how to diversify your baiting/luring of traps. If you encounter a trap-wise animal, you may need to change the attractant to help it overcome its fear. Just as using the same pesticide for decades can lead to resistance, so can using the same baits/lures can lead to lower effectiveness, particularly in areas where people trap and release.

Finally, check with your state’s wildlife laws to see if there are restrictions on visual or audible lures.

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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Why WCOs Should Be Regulated

WCO regulations?

Wildlife control operators (WCOs) are individuals that charge a fee to resolve problems customers have with vertebrate (i.e. a spine or backbone) animals. In this regard, WCOs are very much like pest control operators (PCOs), who help clients with insects (animals that lack a backbone) such as cockroaches and bedbugs. You may know that PCOs are regulated but are their any WCO regulations?

Stephen M. Vantassel at the 25th Wildlife Society Conference in Cleveland, OH explaining how wildlife agency neglect of wildlife control operators harms wildlife and consumers.
Stephen M. Vantassel at the 25th Wildlife Society Conference in Cleveland, OH explaining how wildlife agency neglect of wildlife control operators harms wildlife and consumers.

What most people don’t realize is that in many states, WCOs have few regulations and in some instances virtually none. In other words, the WCO you hire may not have any official training in wildlife control and may not even  have a business license. This is one reason why I believe, WCOs should be regulated. But there are also other reasons.

I recently gave a talk at the 25th Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society in Cleveland, OH (Oct 11, 2018). There I explained that state wildlife agencies that ignore regulating WCOs are not fulfilling their responsibilities to follow the North American Model of Wildlife Management. Wildlife control operators handle thousands if not tens of thousands of animals every year. Where are all those animals going? Are they being translocated, relocated, dispatched? If moved, what are the environmental impacts of moving those animals to new locations? If the animals are being dispatched, are there guidelines for dispatching and disposal of carcasses?  I recognize that the animals typically being controlled are not in danger of becoming extinct. But there should be some oversight given the volume of wildlife being handled on an annual basis.

Unfortunately, many WCOs oppose regulation. They mistakenly think that regulation is automatically bad. In fact, regulation means the government has an interest in protecting your work. The solution to bad regulation is not no regulation but good regulation. But that is a topic for another blog.

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.