Any special permits required. Did u just start advertising. I'm just curious I need to start makin a little extra money

G-man:
You are going to have to make application thru your regional office of the
PGC. Seeing you are in the NW I would assume that your regional office is Franklin, PA.

After you get your app you will need to take a test the PGC can tell you where and when and
you will have to pass the test by 80%.
If you want to talk to someone in your area that is/has been in the business a few years
or do a ride along, I would suggest Eric McCool his phone # is 814-392-6587 cell.

Good luck!!

pick65

I built the business first...and gambled that there would be customers. I figured that I needed a contract, liability insurance and equipment first. If you build it....they will come....

Came off fur trapping in Feb 09. There was no construction work. Mike Mcmillan put me on a yote job and a few others. I seen the potential. I was catching yotes for $125 instead of $20! Mike help me in a large way! I owe alot to him for all his advise. Started on a shoe string and kept working the farm. I pounded the pavement then I met Robb russell. And it's been all sunshine since! lol. I also put faith in my Provider who supplies the critters and customers. Now for 2 years I'm full time. Praise God

gunnerman, this is a fine example of why I was recently given a brain scan. In 1989 I was tired of working for good companies with good pay, benefits, and constant layoffs. I decided that I was talented enough to catch animals and intelligent enough to talk to potential customers, so I thought I would try the nuisance animal business. ( Here's the kicker; I thought that this was an original idea! )

As Mr. Antczak said, God was with me. The Wisconsin DNR quit removing animals for free and the only other wildlife service went out of business the same year. Thanks to my wife and the rest of the family, we are now listed in top 100 companies in the country. ( No we're not; I was just checking to see if you were paying attention )

Thank u guys that is very helpful

Gunnerman,

First off, you might want to do a little investigating to see if there is enough work to support this business in your area. Then investigate a little more to find out if there is a market for your services. In other words, once you've determined that there is a need, then find out if anybody will be willing to actually PAY you.

In my area, there is PLENTY of need for this type of work but dang little pay off. Too many folks think that I'm supposed to be a free service of the county or state. They actually get mad when I tell them that I charge for my services. Less than 10 percent of my calls actually turn out to be paying jobs.

Then, there are the ones who really NEED my help but don't know it. They think they can handle the problem on their own. Examples are the ones loosing calves to coyotes who will not pay me to set up a line because they think they can just run out there and shoot the coyote and solve the whole problem. Or the guy who's trapping squirrels on his own and then hauling them a mile or so from the house and turning them loose. These fuzzy little tree rats are beating him back home but he thinks he's doing a good job.

I had a guy call me last week about squirrels in the attic. I set up a time to come out to fit his schedule but by the time I got there he had already stunk up the house with moth balls and rat poison and only wanted me to do the exclusion on the chimney, three stories up.

Then there is the guy who figures that the critter or critters I catch should be pay enough. Uh, uh... It don't work like that. In fact I charge for each critter I DO catch PLUS my initial set up fee or "service call". If I catch it, then it automatically becomes my property. If the customer wants to keep it then I'll be glad to SELL it back to him.

I don't want to discourage you but if you live in a rural area, these are the problems you're gonna face. If, however, you live in or near a metropolis area, you'll likely have plenty of paying work. I've noticed around here, the guys who do the best in this business are in or near the big cities.

I've been doing this for almost 5 years now and still keep my plumbing repair business. I love ADC work but still have to pay the bills. It's picking up a little all along as my name gets passed around but it may be 5 more years before I can retire from plumbing repair.

By all means, if the numbers bare it out, then give it a try, BUT, in the mean time, don't give up your day job.

Good luck.

Muddawg makes a very good point: there are some areas where everybody is a DIY-er, and you rarely get business from them. Your target customers (and I think this is true for all WCO's) are the people with the money to hire you and the disinclination to try to solve the problem themselves.
If you go into certain neighborhoods, you will see many tradesmans' trucks - everything from lawn care to trash pickup. None of these tradesmen live there, but the owners don't do any labor for themselves. That's your target demographic.