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Not everyone goes through the licensing for insect control which in my world is a different ballgame altogether in a corporate structure, like the Mexicans mowing lawns. For me I do it part time and then it is enjoyable as you can specialize in the easy cage trap or tunnel vermin. I trade off for hunting various areas as it is good PR, and tagging coyotes and fox during the trapping season, keeps that work to a minimum for calving and lambing, when it is more difficult going after target animals. Sometimes when the state has poisons it is just easier to let their trappers deal with it, as you honestly get more people upset about raccoons eating sweet corn than coyotes pulling calves. It is a better supplemental income and for income tax deductions than a living in how I go about it.

I enjoy the heck out of it, but my wife makes better money working for the us govt. so my income level does not need to be high. I only do adc no bugs or mice. But I also choose not to push growth on the business yet. Going on five years doing it. Could I make $70k-$100k Yep, but I choose not to work that hard

I would say if you are in the right location and you want to bust your hump you can do well

But there are hardships too, work 7 days a week from April to August
Calls at 10 pm that the neighbors cat is caught
Or maybe a kill trap didn’t quite work and it’s 11pm and you have to drive 30 miles to take care of it

Definitely a different line of work

But I use to work in the corporate world and where a suit everyday so this has been a totally different thing from some past employment.

Lots to consider my friend

I really enjoyed my full time work in beaver control for the railroad.Money was very good with per diems, full pension and benefits.The work was hard and very physical especially the inland work.Days were long 10hrs straight time and 2-4 hrs Overtime at time and a half each day 4 days a week.3 days off.

I enjoyed it immensely for the 6 yrs I did it

made good money too

beaver removal was nearly 75% of the work

had I not ruptured discs in my lower back, I'd still be doing it.

I love my job. sure I work 7 days a week but i got to stay busy doing something

It is pretty hard on the body but not as hard as my last profession

can't think of anything I'd rather be doing

I love it, I pick and choose what type of jobs I do and for the most part I don't answer to anyone besides the customer, because 99.9 % of the time they are always right...so they think. That's solely because they pay the fee. I don't deal with bugs, I have a bug guy I refer all my bug work out to. In return he sends wildlife over my way. Money is good and it is refreshing to solve someones problems regarding wildlife. It allows me to slow down on details and ot during the busy season and then when the wildlife call volume slows down in the winter, I pick up ot and details to make up for it. No complaints here, yearly income stats for this type of work really doesn't interest me on who makes what. I rather do a wildlife job and make ok money than stand in the roadway and direct traffic any day of the week. My money hungry days aren't like they use to be when I would work every ot shift and take every detail on the board.

Best job ever!

I worked in finance for a decade. I met my wife at a brokerage house. That was stress! I decided on a career change.


I went back to school for wildlife mgt figuring I'd end up working for the state, fell into this work by accident. Fell in love with it.

We do pest control and ADC work.

I saw that article yesterday linked off drudge. Meh. I suppose if you worked for a bad company it could be one of the worst jobs, but that would be true for any industry.

It's funny, lots of customers have said they could never do what we do. I look at other jobs and think I'd hate to do that. It's all subjective.

26 years as a WCO last 22 self employed full time beaver control. Railroads, power companies, state forest /parks and flood control water shed areas. 12 months a year, certain time of the year 7 days a week. 67 years old going on 20. Would not change it for anything. Sold construction company to do this. Lost money first couple years but now make more then my old partner still running construction. Snow, sleet, freezing rain. ...bring it on. (Keeps the Do Gooders away.)
Never did pest control, not part of that business.
100% beaver control and having the best time of my life.
I am who I always wanted to be....a trapper.
Don LaFountain

I have been self employed most of my life. I had a regular job for about 8 years in my 20's. I was trapping in college and grad school as well as dabbling in the lure trade but it didnt satisfy my lifes calling with all the schooling. Great knowledge that i still use frequently.

Trapping, hunting, fishing and lure making got me into a new phase in my life. I was tormented in these early years to continue to med school and continue my drive to be a doctor. The cost and devotion after a couple more pre med years was no longer burning in me. Mom and dad I can say weren't real happy with me. This I can understand, as the costs for my schooling were considerable for them. But as the years grew they saw me achieving my new life goals and learned to accept my new lifestyle.

I would venture a guess that our collective business incomes would most likely exceed some physicians annual income. So all is not lost as they say. I am doing my life's calling.

So, trapping seasonally for fur, doing ADC out West in the Fall and spring grew into local nuisance work year round all the while the lure business was growing every year . In growing with the nuisance work I saw the demand for filling in the slow periods with pest control work. So we added that service to our work load. It has worked out well for us and has been a good add on for clients that were not satisfied with other companies work.

My daily routine is 7 days a week and quite complicated to the normal individual seeing what I do daily. I dont have much personal freedom as my work consumes most of that. But that is the price you pay for doing what I do.

When I look back at what I have learned and what I can now do can be mind boggling for me to think about it now. Trapping, lure making, working outdoors and helping/teaching others gives great gratification to me. Helping others achieve their personal or life goals and to catch animals that may have been difficult for them in the past is reward enough for me.

Life is good when you can walk your own path......... and make it pay.

Funny you should ask! I just recently answered that question on another site. If I was in any other line of work, I would have retired a long time ago. But I still have way too much to learn. I have probably made more money since I was 65 than I made all the years before it!

Good post Bob. I spent most of my younger years following the traditional path. Get a job to make a living and looking forward to the few days or weeks a year I could get out in the woods.
Now it's my life everyday. Stood on a beaver dam with a friend a couple weeks ago, cold wind, light snow and big smiles. We talked about how we are the luckiest guys on earth. Being here doing what we love and someone is paying us well to do it.
Your post got me thinking about that day. Can not think of what to retire from...Good point also Paul.
Don LaFountain

Cant see myself doing any other and i own/operate 2 wildlife control businesses and manage employees and subcontractors. My wife handles all business calls and billing/scheduling. I work in the field doing new set ups and inspections and bat/bird work.

Paul I would have to agree with your assessment on the income time frame. I would not have had any idea where my work would lead back in those early days and years. My family basically laughed at the possibility of me making a living from trapping and lure making. Now they just call me Mr. LOL

With desire, motivation and a good work ethic things can happen. It isn't always a smooth ride but get back on track and stay focused. It can happen for you or anyone with a vision and the will to succeed.

To be fair, most of the guys here are probably self employed or at the top of the hierarchy at the company they work for. They most likely make more and are more apt to love the work. Ask the seasonal guy at Orkin or Terminex who has to make 20 stops a day and has no way to rise in the ranks and you'll probably get a much different story.

There is no doubt many of us are owner operators in the business for many years. Either starting the business from the ground up or some may have bought into some franchise initially and gone out on their own after some time.

17 years as an owner here

That's gotta be a rough job doing 20 stops.

I've been at it for a couple decades now and still love it. I don't do bats or bugs. Don't want to deal with the possible health risks. Still get a kick out of setting up new jobs. I guess when I don't enjoy it anymore I'll find something else outdoor related to do. I don't see myself quitting anytime soon, but then again I have a messed up back from truck driving. I'm my own boss and know how far I can go before I have to stop. I'm probably the cheapest guy in my area because I don't do it for a living. I have many repeat customers because they like my prices and know I can get the job done.

I like my career because I am the owner, boss, and worker. As owner and boss I make the rules fair for the worker - me.

Seriously, I do have some fundamental business rules that prevent most problems. And I invested in good professional documents that clearly explain the terms.

I do not do bats or bugs. Some jobs are more fun than others.

If for some reason a job is not going as well as expected, I add a couple days at no charge. That is great for customer relations and referrals. When I quote a price, I also include a price for any necessary or desired additional days at a discounted rate since the traps are already set. For repeat customers I give a small discount and note that it is a good customer discount. Those people are great for referrals. One repeat customer wrote the best compliment and testimonial. “You sure aren’t cheap, but you sure are effective!”

When establishing prices, consider all overhead and somehow divide that into charges. Taxes take a chunk. I charge enough that overhead is covered and some left for me.

Still, the market will only bear certain rates. I read somewhere that if you are getting every job your prices are too low. If you get none of the jobs your prices are too high. If getting a majority of jobs your prices are just right.

The toughest jobs to quote prices for are jobs with a long drive. For example, I explain that this job involves 2.5 hours of drive time every day for 5 days which equals 12.5 hours of driving and expenses. The job price must include the cost for the driving time and fuel.

I turn down some jobs where there are already serious obvious administrative or business conflicts or problems. I also turn down jobs that would be a public relations nightmare. I am not willing to get involved in those situations.

Yes I like my career.

after all these years some days I love it some days it is a job.

I forgot to include that there are a few additional significant reasons to like an ADC career.

1. Huge amounts of money roll in constantly. Some people send me money just to get on my list in case they ever need to hire me.

2. The next reason is about the fast cars. I work out of a Shelby Mustang.

3. The last reason is, and you might have guessed this - yes, the women. Do you guys have a following of female groupies? Mostly from age 19 to 28? I am concerned that something might get cold in those short skirts. Sometimes they can be just too much of a good thing and I get tired.

Oh, the stresses of a professional trapper!

The best comment i got from a customer so far is " You are too d**n expensive but you are also too d**n good to go anywhere else"

Willy, that was a very nice write up. Thanks for sharing.


Convincing the next generation to pursue a career as a professional trapper is the easy part!

I think he is making a different point than the rough 20 stops. Might be wrong.

I only do (did) wild animals and birds, no rats, mice or bugs. Love the work, hate working with homeowners. Mostly transplanted city people who watched too many Bambi movies. Best time was winter, then they did not come outside and tell me how to do my job. Never charged the limited amount of farmers in my county (mostly beaver problems), as a result I have more places to hunt, fish and pelt trap than I can get to in my old age. One farmer had a deer hunting lease that was all state troopers. They complained to him about me trapping there (I was snaring mink on his creek). He told them "take a hike, I can find lots of hunters, but he is the only beaver man I trust". Eric
One other thing, I charged a flat rate for a job, not a setup fee and a per animal rate. Most of my clients were not home from 6AM to 6PM and if I caught and removed an animal when they did not see it they often would not believe me. Flat rate solved that problem.

Good for you!