Kemperz21 65 Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Matt that's a shame to hear that is your view of pest controlling I'm not in it to make make it rich just want to make a living is it really that hard to make ends meat ? Quote Link to post
Matt 160 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 That's why so many give up. Save yourself the heartache, do it as a hobby, and find some other way of feeding yourself. Quote Link to post
shropshire mole 190 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Thought I would add my bit to this thread. I too work full time and have plenty of time off and am a part time pest controller. Works well for me as sole trader, but to really make it you WILL need a partner who you trust to share the work and money, so if your working and cant do that urgent rat job, then chances are your mate could. Saying that, i dont use anyone else, and for most people thay will wait for me, if they cant then too bad. Join the NPTA National Pest Technicians Association, go to their Pest Tech 14 day (details on their webpage - NPTA) they offer loads of courses to help get you started I started out by by doing wasps and moles, advertise locally on parish notice boards , telegraph poles etc get your name out there Most of my work is repeat business and word of mouth Hope this helps Chris Quote Link to post
Rowan 308 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Wow matt , that's made me think, I knew it would not be easy , nothing is to get started, i'm self -employed at the moment and it took me years to get where I am now , ( turning work down ),but this has been in the back of my mind for 3 or 4 years , I know wild life management is a very small part of it , hence the reason I have thought it over for so long , but you've stopped me in my tracks and made me sit up and listen , really is it all bad??? Quote Link to post
Matt 160 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Yes, it really is that bad. I've been in this game 25 years. I've worked my way up to as near as the top that I could get, and I've worked my way back down again. I'd be telling you porkies if I said that there is no chance of success, but the truth is, it's getting harder and harder out there. Some lads will work hard, sell hard and make a go of it, but most won't. There are very few millionaires made out of pest controllers. Quote Link to post
Rowan 308 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I was sure I would never make a fortune from it , but can easily downsize what I am doing to work the two careers alongside each other , good job I haven't booked a course yet , really confused.com now. Quote Link to post
Mr Muddy 141 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Before you spend any money on a course, I’d say going to one of the big trade shows is pretty sound advice; That way you can have a look at the competition – of which there is an incredible abundance – and you’ll either think “this all looks a bit professional for me” or you’ll think “I could do better than these muppets”. I’d probably steer clear of the trade associations – they all seem a bit shit in pest control, compared with other industries – and talk straight to the suppliers. Quote Link to post
DIDO.1 22,844 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I think what people are trying to say is yes you can do some pest control and make some money and its not rocket science.....but 1 little piece of new legislation like waste transfer licenses can make it a total ball ache over night, and take the money out of it......you then either carry on winging things and not keeping up with current regs or you take another expensive hit. You could also try and go big running big contracts and getting some of the more quality work....but you have to spend 10 times as many hours on mind numbing sales and paperwork to get anywhere and most people just cant do that side of it. Plenty of the big companies now take on ex-sales staff and retrain them as pest controllers it really is a different ball game. One of my sites was audited and they decided all my boxes needed to be fixed with floor clamps rather than wires and wall screws, massive increase in cost and just another bit of the daily bolllocks you have to put up with. 1 Quote Link to post
Matt 160 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Before you spend any money on a course, I’d say going to one of the big trade shows is pretty sound advice; That way you can have a look at the competition – of which there is an incredible abundance – and you’ll either think “this all looks a bit professional for me” or you’ll think “I could do better than these muppets”. I’d probably steer clear of the trade associations – they all seem a bit shit in pest control, compared with other industries – and talk straight to the suppliers. That's good advice Beware of suppliers and organisations like the NPTA and BPCA trying to sell you expensive training. It's in their interests to get as many people into Pest Control as they can Suppliers get to sell you a whole heap of stuff you'll probably never need, and the organisations get another potential member. Do a google search for your area, and also take a look at the phone books. You won't be competing with the nationals to start off, it'll be the local guys that are either clamouring for the bit of available work, or doing it part time with something else to prop up their income. Don't get me wrong here chap; I've loved most of my career in pest control, but none of the changes I've seen over the years have been for the better If you enjoy getting out and about and doing a bit then good on ya Keep enjoying it as a hobby, or even a part time income, but be very cautious about depending on it for a living wage. If you look at the couple of videos I've put up in the last few days you'll see I'm trapping squirrels. I'm doing it for the fun; twenty years ago I had contracts to control squirrels in commercial forestry; nobody wants to pay for it these days. It can take years to build a successful business whatever your trade. Pest control just seems to be harder these days due to the competition and the plethora of new regulations. Quote Link to post
DIDO.1 22,844 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Iv spent massive amounts of time on my website and it now ranks top for quite a few searches. For wasp nest removal in a local town I'm top of the organic searches, yet some numpty has just put a pay per click ad just above it stating 'wasps nests £24'. Quote Link to post
the_stig 6,614 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 (edited) Iv spent massive amounts of time on my website and it now ranks top for quite a few searches. For wasp nest removal in a local town I'm top of the organic searches, yet some numpty has just put a pay per click ad just above it stating 'wasps nests £24'. is he getting more wasps nests than you ,,,,its not just pest control its every job/trade that's hard to get into it really boils down to do you want the freedom of working for yourself with all its benefits and pitfalls or do you want to be employed by someone else ----if its the first work your nuts off to get it ,,,if its the later be prepared to hate your job hate your boss hate the people you work with ,,,,sometimes you make you own luck I sooner fail trying than not trying at all... Edited July 1, 2014 by the_stig 2 Quote Link to post
Matt 160 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Iv spent massive amounts of time on my website and it now ranks top for quite a few searches. For wasp nest removal in a local town I'm top of the organic searches, yet some numpty has just put a pay per click ad just above it stating 'wasps nests £24'. is he getting more wasps nests than you ,,,, Even if he isn't, what he is doing is devaluing the service in that area Most folks are more interested in price than anything else, and even if they don't use the cheapies, they use it as a negotiating point. Quote Link to post
stormyboy 1,352 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 (edited) Wont be around long paying pay per click rates and only charging £24.........Probably one of the biggest mistakes newcomers make. As for negotiating,I drop the phone on them! Edited July 1, 2014 by stormyboy Quote Link to post
the_stig 6,614 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 (edited) Iv spent massive amounts of time on my website and it now ranks top for quite a few searches. For wasp nest removal in a local town I'm top of the organic searches, yet some numpty has just put a pay per click ad just above it stating 'wasps nests £24'. is he getting more wasps nests than you ,,,, Even if he isn't, what he is doing is devaluing the service in that area Most folks are more interested in price than anything else, and even if they don't use the cheapies, they use it as a negotiating point. whats the normal / standard rate ? under cutting happens in every game ..and in some cases pays off from re call and recommendations you need a bread n butter earner that puts your dinner on the table a loss leader maybe 24 quid wasps nest are his way of staying a small step ahead of the game.. Edited July 1, 2014 by the_stig Quote Link to post
Matt 160 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Iv spent massive amounts of time on my website and it now ranks top for quite a few searches. For wasp nest removal in a local town I'm top of the organic searches, yet some numpty has just put a pay per click ad just above it stating 'wasps nests £24'. is he getting more wasps nests than you ,,,, Even if he isn't, what he is doing is devaluing the service in that area Most folks are more interested in price than anything else, and even if they don't use the cheapies, they use it as a negotiating point. whats the normal / standard rate ? under cutting happens in every game ..and in some cases pays off from re call and recommendations you need a bread n butter earner that puts your dinner on the table The 'normal' rate is around £40-£50. Having said that, the nationals charge anything up to £200..... Wasps are the kind of job where you don't really got a lot of repeat work. You rock up, do the job and you may not go back for years.... I've even done jobs where the client is convinced I've been there before, when it was in fact a competitor. Quote Link to post
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