Sometimes The Laugh's On You

We all thought that it was pretty funny that a customer requested 20 raccoon cages because "They are everywhere!" Well he didn't

get his 20 cages but so far we've caught 17 raccoons and now it's not so funny any more.

Things like that can really humble a man!

That's impressive! Was this just from a ground set, or entering leaving a structure? My biggest raccoon job to date was 14 raccoons from one soffit vent! (This was in Jan ,Feb)Well 13 actually and 1 from a live trap in the living space they had holes all over the dry wall and ceiling, but only one entry point lol. After that one was caught I couldn't even get them to touch open bait trays let alone another cage. . These things had a run of the household. It was a vacant log home over 12,000 sq ft. . I typically write up insulation removal and blow in. But It was all vaulted ceilings . The only access we had was a 12x12 space in the upstairs bedroom and a floored area above the garage. Any of you guys doing insulation. How do you go about those situations ? I popped a roof vent off in the vaulted area and there was maybe 15inches of clearance. I didn't mean to hijack your post Paul!

As long as it's interesting, hijacking is one of my favorite pastimes. We do do insulation but once again, I am not involved. We have

a big blower and a trailer for everything but I have no idea how my son would have handled a job like you described. And again, it's

my grandson that's doing the raccoon job so I'm only familiar with the count as his mother gives it to me. My grandson got that

raccoon job because he needs tuition money for college this year. Sounds like he picked the right job.

Yea that should pay for at least one class and books lol. But heck if he just sells the fur like my customers suggest and seem to think I do , he could have his masters degree pre paid in no time! That's really cool that your whole family is involved like that! That is my ultimate goal! I am really stoked about this new chapter in our lives, my fiancé and I are going into this thing head first and hope to one day have al family business that our kids can take over. I can only dream of the day when I can make the big bucks pick and choose my jobs and no longer have to crawl around tight spaces sucking up soiled fiberglass insulation .

This is for Pez77. The family thing is usually pretty boring reading but you and your fiance ( I didn't know how to get the hash mark

above the e ) are hoping to start one, so here goes. All three of our children graduated from the same University with teaching

degrees and minors in coaching. Stacy, the oldest, started working in our business right from the start and probably paid most of her

tuition catching skunks. ( She has probably caught more than any of us ) Stacy is now a full-time office manager for our company.

Beth has remained true to her calling and actually teaches. Her husband, Larry, is a whizz-bang on vehicles and takes care of our

minor repairs. P.J. took over running our company right after graduation. Stacy's husband Tom quit his job a year ago in March and

is an excellent technician. Stacy's sons work for us during the summer and the oldest one drives our mosquito truck. The other five

grandkids are much smaller but we're trying to train them to crawl in the soffits where the bigger guys don't fit. Good luck to you

and your intended. It's a long trip, but it's worthwhile!

That comment about the grandkids was made me LOL , that was great! Funny you say that about teaching degrees my fiancé (my phone auto corrects that) and I both planned on being teachers. I think a large part of that is because we love the outdoors, and they get weekends off and summers and all that! But I dropped out 3 years into my degree when I was presented with the opportunity to purxhase an existing ADC business. My folks were not thrilled , but they are glad that I am happy. And recentlyy fiancé changed her degree from teaching to accounting and business management. She finishes in a year , I finalize the purchase this December. I don't think the area I am in will allow the kind of growh you experienced , but I hope to expand , once everything is paid off. Appreciate you taking the time to reply.

You can see by my post it is probably best I didn't finish that teaching degree. I will be much better teaching my kids how to trap and problem solve than I would be teaching other folks kids how to spell! In my defense I was a biology major !

Well I guess I fit in with some of you. I graduated with a teaching degree and psychology degree majors and minors in language Arts and Physiology. Went for further accreditation to get my Masters Degree in education and took pre med along the way as well. Then for a brief moment I thought I wanted to be a surgeon until I saw how much more schooling and residency time would cost me and how long it would take to pay it all back.

All the while I was fur trapping doing ADC work and building lure formulas for my business. Talk about a varied repertoire. No wonder I turned out so confused.

I go to work every day teaching folks about wildlife and insect behavior, evaluating them psychologically then diagnosing them for systematic ailments that they complain about. Turns out I was spot with many of my diagnosis' over the years. Talk about being a screwed up individual.

Made for an interesting career ending up doing what I do.

What's that old saying about knowing just enough to be dangerous.

Wow! Thanks for that post Bob! That is one of the most interesting resumes that I have read in a long time. I would encourage every

one of you to write something about your past history on here. Keep in mind that this site can be viewed by everyone in the world and

that a prospective customer could read something about you that he likes and gives you a call. ( I personally get a lot of calls from

Alzheimer's patients who identify with me after reading my stuff )

Bob It sounds like you are well past the point of knowing just enough to be dangerous.
This goes along with what Bob and Paul are talking about, but my uncle, is a neurosurgeon , and he was recently diagnosed with ALS, and dementia/Alzheimer's him and his wife have 8 kids. He is a brilliant man just recently bought an R22 (a helicopter) and completed all of his pilots training. So please say a prayer for my family this is a very tough time.
Paul I like the idea of posting some background funny hearing how we all end up here!

You'll certainly get my prayers. My mom had Alzheimer's and although I don't believe it was real tough on her, it certainly was on us.

My wife has Dementia brought on by radiation therapy that she received when treated for brain cancer. However medication is helping her from slipping into the acute stages so quickly. It is not something many can cope with easily at first. I had diagnosed her over a year ago at home as a result of so many clinical symptoms she was exhibiting.

We did however consult a certified Neurologist for her evaluation and that Dr. confirmed that she had the classic symptoms all of which I knew before making the appointment.

I don't like it when I am right particularly when it's a loved one, friend or close associate.

The patient is many times unaware or in denial of having a mental disorder/impairment of some kind. The care givers and family members carry a great burden as this kind of condition plays out in front of them on a daily basis. Many cannot cope with the condition or accept it about their loved one, but it is nonetheless a very credible burden that is a daily reminder of how fragile and complicated our body and mind can be.

Our prayers are extended to your Uncle and his family as we fully understand and appreciate the stress and frustration of those trying to cope with such a condition.

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers. you both are absolutely correct in that it seems much more difficult on our family than it seems to be on him. He seems fairly happy and content most of the time. Bob my family never thought anything was wrong at the time, but now that he has been diagnosed , it is clear that there have been signs for some time. He was diagnosed about 4 months ago, and is already loosing function of his extremiti and lungs. He's lead a great life , and accomplished so many of his dreams and goals,he has touched and saved so many lives. it's just a shame that he won't have much longer to enjoy these things his oldest daughter is 17. His drive, motivation , and ability to accomplish anything he set his mind to has inspired me throughout my life., He is very happy I am pursuing dreams though. Bob I will continue to pray for you and your wife as well. I hope you all continue to find peace and happiness in the little things in life because just as you stated, life is so very fragile.

Sent with prayer my friends.

How many coons did he end with Paul

We ended up with 21 raccoons so we would have been short one trap anyway. I'm not making this up.

How many cages did he get?

I'm pretty sure the number was six but if I'm wrong I'll let you know. Now I guess we've got another problem. A family in a dead end

flue and mom is not falling for the eviction fluid. I saw a dead male on the side of the road not far from here. What if I tied a rope

around him and lowered him into that flue? I imagine putting a camera around his neck to record the action would be out of the

question, right? They are closing on the house in a week and need them gone by then. I haven't seen the site myself so I can't answer

many questions.