Hey all,
I have a friend who is a cop in a neighboring town, the other day he called me and asked if he could start dropping my name to do ADC work. My problem is as follows,
1) I don't feel that I am a good enough trapper to consistently catch the problem critter in a timely fashion, I don't want to disappoint the customer
2) its a good 45 min drive one way on the interstate and I work a full time job already
3) I don't have any idea on where to start, do I need a contract? Where is a good place to start for pricing? How much different new gear do I need to purchase?
These are some of my concerns, I contacted the Game and Fish and was told what I needed from their side of things. Does anyone have any advice on where I can start getting some information so that I can make an educated choice on if I want to start doing this as a side business. Thanks for all the help everyone.

Don't underestimate your abilities , have confidence in yourself . If it's something your interested in go for it , you'll never know unless you try . Pricing varies from region to region . Bunch of good guy's on here I'm sure will give you some good advice .

Catching animals is a small part of the job!

Solving homeowner problems regarding wildlife is the job. If there were no animals, then there wouldn't be a need for services.

This business is a word of mouth business and you will already have that going for you with your buddy. No harm in trying it on the side and see how things go. The biggest recommendation I can give you is to under promise and over deliver to your customers. As for contracts I would recommend using one but usually not required. They are mostly there to cover yourself. You can search google and find some and NWCOA has some templates as well.

Thanks for all the help so far everyone.

Your biggest hurdle is the first thing you listed. You need to get rid of that type of attitude. It’s incredible what people CAN do, but they have to believe in themselves and make whatever sacrifices have to be made to get it done.


A big part of being successful depends on you. Believe in yourself. Always. Stand by your work. Always. You may not be able to depend on other people, but make it clear that people can depend on you. Always.

I really like that "You may not be able to depend on other people, but make it clear that people can depend on you." I am going to have to keep that one.

Be honest and fair, do what you say you are going to do and when you were going to do it.JMO

Aix,
That's some great advice. Thank you.

Don't get caught peeing into the wind. They might have second thoughts about you

ADC work is like all public relations work in you make money by catching the person. For example we had a most successful bone cracker here, who didn't do anything but let people whine, tell them they had things to whine about, as he sat them in a vibrating chair and billed the government for a fortune. Every person you come into contact with already knows less than you about wildlife or they would have had their idiot brother in law setting landmines for the gophers. You are not going to get called for hard to trap animal, but instead the trash that birds digging holes in the roof or the woodchuck eating cabbage. You are being hired to listen to people's problems, so act like it is the worst thing ever in a vole is eating potatoes.
Your main objective is to trap out of sight and remember to tell people NO in taking not taking on something which has disaster written all over it. Example the old woman with 500 cats and one raccoon she wants gone. The man who hires you and has lunatic PETA neighbors stalking you.

Time is money, as doctors now charge 150 bucks a visit, charge 50 bucks plus mileage for your first two visits. If people will not pay up front, you will learn that they are not having as much problems with a possum as they thought.

Lastly you are not opening a teaching school. You have a client. If the client wants to believe that you take all your animals to a Born Free reserve where they order take out, let them, and deal with the problem in the traditional way.

Hobbs- Check PMs.

Remember that your time is valuable. Also realize that there will be wear and tear on vehicles and tools. Don't work for free.

There are many, many horrible trappers out there. Coming from a fur trapping background puts you ahead of 95% of the ADC guys I've met as far as trap placement and therefore results go. Don't sweat it. Be aware of how your set is going to look to the crazy PETA neighbor. The more that they don't see, the better. Leave the foot hold at home.

Don't forget that there's a lot of money in repairing damage and exclusion. Trapping is the low dollar part of the game. Making sure their problem never comes back is worth more to them.

45 min one way is a serious obstacle, you need to think about how to organize that. Not saying it can't be done, but driving 1.5 hrs every day to check an empty trap for some old lady is a problem. I definitely try to have my ADC work within 15-20 miles of my house. Ideally it lines up with my way to work or causes just a small detour. if it's 45 min in the opposite direction, I would probably not take a job.
otherwise, try it! take it one job at a time. It's going to be a lot of fun and the addtl. money helps supporting my trapping hobby. I'll tell you, a $50 ADC coon is a lot better than a $5 fur coon incl. skinning and fleshing!
It will require buying some gear, but you don't have to buy everything under the sun right away, start slowly, see how it goes, and if you made some money, buy another trap or two. you will quickly find out what stuff you need.
having a cop buddy recommend you is huge, they get a lot of calls for that kind of stuff!

Hobbs, What part of Wyoming?

Pretty much dead center, in Natrona County

Thank you everyone for the advice, this has helped a ton.

Hobbs, if you want to get into the work seriously, I can put you in touch with a company out there. The owner is a rock-solid guy in a board member on the National Wildlife Control operators Association. He does not just the trapping but high-end structural repairs and prevention as well. He's a great guy, offers Fair wages, I believe he's even offering benefits here shortly. Can be a career