Pricing a rabbit job

[higgins 75]

been looking for a topic like this for a while,i need to change my job,fecking sick of it,if i could find jobs like

sidebyside has had i would go for it big time,if anyone out there has similar circumstances and would like to join me in setting up a operation,then pm me,it's just a matter of finding the big firms that pay,snareman maybe you were born at the right time,no way would people pay that sort of money in the past,all the best,

Higgins.

Edited May 27, 2007 by higgins

[ABDog 0]

I'd do this just for the bunnies in the freezer.

 

Sounds like decent money to be made, fair play to you guys

[Guest Scuba1]

I'd do this just for the bunnies in the freezer.

 

Over 800 bunnies ..... you must have a big freezer

[RatSnatcher 0]

I've been thinking about it for a while now me self............Fair play lads .......but I supect its not so easy to set up as you think........Any good books to look out for lads or places for info

[mole trapper 1,693]

HIGGINS,

dont get me wrong, but it is not all beer and skittles, you say it is just a case of finding the big farmers who are willing to pay, that is not the difficult part, if you advertise effectivly and build a good rep over many years the work will come, No the difficult part is providing the service to the customers expectations everytime, finding the money to set up in the first place, insurance, advertising, tidy vehicle that will give confidence to the customer, remembering to keep back a large chunk of what you earn to give to the tax man, accountants fees, etc etc.

Rabbiting for a living, there are only a handfull of people who can honestly say that is how they earn their living, most like me also have to do moles, wasps, squigs etc, Once you are on rabbits for pay, forget enjoying yourself, every rabbit you let slip is one you have to try and account for again, long hours whatever the weather, a few people on here recently have thought they were going to make a living at it with an airgun, a ferret and a terrier, reality check, its not going to happen, FAC, will be needed, many traps, snares, box traps, cage traps, at the very least 8 ferrets, long nets, hundreds of purse nets, locators etc, and obviously the necessary knowledge to use all this kit in the appropriate situations.

Obviously it is not impossible to attain all of the above, if it was there would be no independent pesters, if people out there genuinly want to go for it fair play, like mole catcher, chalk warren myself and a few others have said before its a hard life but it is a good life, but it is a major life change, especially if you have family, and or financial commitments.

all the best if you decide to go for it, MT.

[higgins 75]

MT,thanks for taking the time to explain a few of the unseen factors that need to be taken into

account(the business side etc;),your point is well taken and appreciated,for me it was more about

a change of jobs and i'd rather be doing something that gets me out and about,than doing mundane

work,the bonus side would of course be getting paid from time to time,but i was thinking if i could get it

together it would be great,but your right about taking it's time to build up and all that,and i will give it some serious thought,thanks all the best,

Higgins. :thumbs-up:

[mole catcher 1]

Many a true word spoken by mole trapper there.

 

How many sportsman on here rabbit for the sport of it and dont get paid for it? many i expect. this is something else your up against, the lad in the village who can do it for free. not that im down crying any who do, fair play to you all. Is it realy that simple to go to the large farmers and tout for bussines? sure you will get the jod or rabbit clearance but wait till you ask to be paid for it by them thay would soon as tell you to piss off and dont be so silly, a farmer paying you to rid them of their rabbits, not round here they want you to pay sporting rights.

 

As MT has said it is a hard life also, take this week, mon out all day checking trap lines till 5.30, out again at 9pm to shoot rabbits, home a 4am. tues, out a 8am after 3.5hours sleep to check trap lines, home at 5ish, out again at 8pm to shoot rabbits, back home at 11.30pm, out at 4am to shoot roosting ferrels in barns didnt get home till 5.30pm ect ect ect and thats how many of my weeks pan out. if you dont have an understanding family your off to a bad start from the off.

 

it is a good life but its a hard life and its not all about hanging out of a 4x4s sun roof shooting rabbits on the lamp with your nice new .22 rim fire. If any of you fancy it, go for it but dont go into it with rose tinted glasses as its not as it first seems.

 

all the best to anyone willing to give it a go.

[higgins 75]

MC

i agree with you totally about how you say it all pans out and i expect it would become

'just another job' eventually,also having an understanding family needs to considered,

the points about farmers and lads who do it for free,i am aware of,i was thinking about industrial

business locations and such like when i read sidebysides job recently,i don't expect everything

would be like a sporting day out,i suppose when i think of my current situation and other unpleasant

alternatives at the moment it would still appeal to me,but all the comments from yourself and MT

have given me an 'insight' and are very much appreciated,i certainly will mull it over for a while

now and try to put the idea into a more 'businesslike perspective',thanks for your advice,all the best,

Higgins.

[Rabbithunter 456]

I took the job on. But i didn't charge full whack. I used to ferret there years back, but lost the wil to ferret on there due to the thick hedges, year round.

 

I took it on for £100, for approx 9 hours work. I've hammered the rabbit population by upto 75% and they are well chuffed.

 

Tommorow is trap & snare lifting day. THis morning i was removing a few from hoop snare's & bodygrippers, and had a rabbit which had a touch of myxy, he had a large white patch on his back, and his ears were very stumpy

[sidebyside 0]

I don't think I know of anyone who is making a living from rabbit control only, rural pest control as has been mentioned in earlier posting is mostly done by a few local lads, rabbit control makes up for a very small part of my business. The main problem that I found when I got into pest control after years of Gamekeeping was shooting ferreting in fact most field sports were my hobbies, now that it's no longer a hobby it has become a chore, for instance here am I sat at a computer sad as you like trying to think of things to releave the boredum of writing invoices and quotes.

I am delivering a training day tomorrow for farmers, Gamekeepers etc in Rat & Mouse control, it's a course run by The Land Training Agency in line with Defra and City & Guilds, no doubt some of those that are attending will be thinking of what else they can do to make a living, pest control is one of the avenues they are looking into, should I tell them just how hard and demoralising it can be at the start or should I tell them about the good times? Be aware you will be fed up with eating rabbits etc. in no time at all if you go for it. I am in a very stable position work wise my portfolio of regular customers has reach the 100 mark but my God it was hard going for ages. If you look at cleaning windows a bit of gardening along side pest control to earn your income you will never get to the dizzy heights of having ALL your income from Pest control, you will too busy making a few quid here and there. You need to go for it full on, then you have to go out and hunt for the work not wait for it to come to you, doing other odds and sods takes you away from what the initail idea was.

I have seen it time and time again when the adverts go into the yellow pages offereng the earth when it come down the Pest Control, the following year no advert because they have had to get a job in a factory or what ever. You will need to be able to survive on your savings for at least 12 months then and only then will you start to get enough enquiries and jobs to pay yourself.

I always give people TWO of my cards one for them and one for their friend, word of mouth is the best advert by far.

If you want anymore advice or what ever from a doddering old fart like me send a PM.

Edited May 28, 2007 by sidebyside

[RatSnatcher 0]

I have seen it time and time again when the adverts go into the yellow pages offereng the earth when it come down the Pest Control, the following year no advert because they have had to get a job in a factory or what ever. You will need to be able to survive on your savings for at least 12 months then and only then will you start to get enough enquiries and jobs to pay yourself.

 

That above is the truest statement I have heard on going self employed business owner.......only bit I would change is the 12months........for me 36 months

 

I own an established landscaping business, I am also authority approved.......it took me 10 years to get here and now I fecking hate it.......people tell me all the time ...you lucky facker youve escaped .....I havn't escaped anything......I would sometimes prefer to do my hours for somebody else and not have to take my work home me knees are facked.....me hair is grey.....and people are getting tighter.......and there is more messers about these days

 

The grass is not always greener............

 

If I had a bigger dick I would go into the porn Biz......... ...now were talking

 

Great post sidebyside....moletrapper

[mole catcher 1]

I took the job on. I used to ferret there years back, but lost the wil to ferret on there due to the thick hedges, year round.

 

Thats the otherside of pro pest control, you cant pick and choose the jobs you do because they are awkward. feck me nothing worse than a holy hedge in its full winter leaf with last yrs on the floor making a hell of a mess of your hands and knees. But it is theses kinds of places that matey from the village wont work, its too awkward so they call in the pros to do it, what do you do then, say sorry its to awkward?

 

Rabbithunter: this wasnt typed to make you look an idiot, i was just using this as it is a good example of the mind set needed to become a full time pester

 

Ratsnacher: whatever we choose to do it still becomes a rat race, a job a pain in the arse. and like sidebyside said, many a bussines goes to the wall in the first few yrs.

Edited May 28, 2007 by mole catcher

[TOMO 26,421]

can i just add here, higgins dont bother having a partner . DO IT ALONE. you will only fall out over somthing.

 

good posts by all the other pesters. nothing for me to add , just to say this is my third year alone, away from a large local company. and its still hard earning enough. i still do some doorwork in the city .

 

another piont for anybody leaving a pest control company to set up alone, is dont fall out with your old company if you can help it.

 

i went straight to the boss and told him exectly my plans , he wasn't best pleased, but respected my disition .

i now get subcontact work off them. wich is a big help.

 

the other thing is you realy need the certificates from the bpca, because as was already said you wont only be doing rabbits, incectes. and rats and mice will play a big part whilst setting up . so get the training

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

Edited May 29, 2007 by CHALKWARREN

[Madcowz 0]

Some excellent advice there for anyone thinking about becomming self employed.

 

I used to run a Landscaping and Gardening company up in Edinburgh. We went through the Lothian and Edinburgh Enterprise Limited (LEEL) who gave us an advisor, training and all sorts of material/contacts etc.

 

Well worth finding out what your local council can provide. As said before, it is contacts that make a business. You need to go to the networking meetings they organise and get to know the 'movers and shakers' in your local area. These meetings will be full of local businesses trying to make contacts over a glass of wine. Excellent place to tout your business.

 

Don't go into it lightly, make a business plan that you can take to the bank and apply for funding/loan etc and remember what my advisor once said to me.

 

'Being Self Employed... The highs are low and the lows are even lower'

 

 

And what happened to our business? Well, we went from 2 blokes and a beat up tranny (the van not a man dressed in heels) to 3 vans, and several teams of employees. The money started to roll in, we worked 16 hour days, 7 days a week and then sold the business.

 

Never got rich but enjoyed every back breaking moment.

 

/Mad