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Politics & Lobbying

Most wildlife control operators (WCOs) I know hate politics and lobbying. They don’t like the compromises and the betrayals and the slow pace that it takes for political change. Unfortunately, this attitude amongst WCOs means that we are subject to the whims of the anti-WCOs. If politicians only hear one side then that is the side they will

The Nebraska state capital building at night.
Lobbying government, represented here by the Nebraska State Capital Building is essential work for WCOs.

follow. Politics and lobbying are slow. Politics and lobbying take time, inordinate amounts of time. You have to continue to make your voice heard in order to convince people to your side. 

Other actions needed for political change include joining state and national associations. Numbers matter. Large organizations have money and money is power. Not just for ads but also for people to take the time to lobby and write politicians to block and propose legislation or rules. Money allows paying someone to represent your interests before regulators and hearings. I think you get the picture. I have provided tips for low level lobbying in a previous blog. 

My podcast below goes into further details. Enjoy. 

https://pestgeekpodcast.com/podcast/animal-rights-wildlife-control-and-the-ugly-business-of-politics-stephen-vantassel/

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, 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 available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] 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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Repair Warranties

Consumers love warranties. Warranties give us a sense of security, that the contractor or manufacturer is going to stand behind their work or product. Increasingly, more WCOs (wildlife control operators) are offering warranties for their work. One of the more common warranties are repair warranties. I think this is a good development. It shows a maturation in the wildlife control industry. But how do you know the repair warranties being offered by WCOs are real versus a warranty scam?

Signing a contract
Understand the contract before you sign. Image by Pixabay

There is a joke in the WCO industry called the Tail Light Warranty. The Tail Light Warranty is, “Maam, my work is warranted as long as you can see the tail lights of my truck.” Funny but only in a sad sort of way. The purpose of this blog post is to help you avoid this kind of warranty and its siblings.

Repair Warranties

One industry practice is to warranty a repair against animal reinvasion. Sounds good right? But did you really understand the warranty? Often it will say that the warranty is only for the actual spot. If the squirrel chews a hole 2 inches to the left of the repair, it’s a new charge because the warranty didn’t cover that area. Now, I don’t think this kind of repair warranty is a scam. After all, the warranty is not for the entire soffit but for the spot that was repaired. But I do understand why a customer would feel misled or perhaps even deceived with a false sense of security.

Key Question to Ask

So before you have the WCO make the repair, ask him how secure the material is on both sides of the repair. In other words, how likely is it that an animal will simply move over two inches and gnaw a new hole (that isn’t warrantied) there? Ask if there are ways to harden the house to make it harder for an animal to access the structure to gnaw in the first place. Often, trimming tree branches, removing food sources etc. can help reduce the attractiveness of your structure to animals. Why are these questions important? Because if one animal entered your home, it is more likely that others will.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, 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 available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] 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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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, ACE, 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 available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] 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, ACE, 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 available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] 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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Customer Service Policy

What is your company’s customer service policy? You know, what policies do you have in place for handling difficult clients? I understand that some out there suggest the policy should be “The customer is always right.” Well, as well-meaning as that perspective is, I think it is absolutely naïve. Perhaps that customer service policy works for other businesses, but it certainly doesn’t work in the field of wildlife control.

Is this your company’s service policy? Should it be?
Is this your company’s service policy? Should it be?

Even if you haven’t thought of writing down your customer service policy, you should think about some standard principles that guide your business practices. For instance, how often should you adapt your wildlife control practices to the specific convenience needs of the client? Some clients, are, shall we say, “high maintenance.” These clients are always asking for time changes, additional work (that they aren’t wanting to pay for), extra time to pay, etc. etc. Some clients are all nice at the beginning but begin to “turn” when the job is nearing completion and the bill is imminent. They are happy at first then out of the blue begin to find problems with the quality of work or the pricing or the alignment of the stars. The excuses vary but they are always the same, they cost you time, money, and of course your piece of mind.

So let me ask you, “What is your company’s customer service policy?”  If you don’t have one, or you haven’t thought about it because all your customers have been great, then let me say there is no better time than the present to create one. A customer service policy will help you be consistent with all of your customers (note I didn’t say identical, I said consistent) and it will help you know when you need to fire that troublesome client.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, 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 available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] 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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