Self employed pest control

[earth-thrower 493]

On 23/04/2021 at 07:04, tank34 said:

I've walked away from cupple of farms as only willing pay £6a mole stick to your price as you end up working for nowt , £10 a mole or £20 a hour , farm on now he tuck £20 a hour he happy man as he winning 75 moles 30 hours he saved £150 , pluss same farmer got me two more farms , it is hard to start been at it over year an just starting to pick up

Good advice,...

[lifelong cumbrian 1,826]

I started a mole trapping business off self employed last summer after a few years learning the job, I also work full time as a sheetmetal worker/ welder for the same company for 42yrs. I am going to do more mole jobs when I take early retirement in 2 years, I have picked up a fair few farms for the moles and am kept busy at nights and weekends, I don’t advertise at present just getting jobs word of mouth. Be a nice little top up for my pension and I will be under no pressure at all to make money, no way would I try and do moles full time as a job, to many things can hinder you like weather and conditions etc, I haven’t had any problems at all getting the money in and get repeat work. I see it as a paid hobby which I enjoy. Also a great introduction for picking up a bit of ferreting permission.

[OldPhil 5,718]

That sounds a great way of life fellah

I'me a retired old guy, but I still do four months on the Wasps during the Summer,.. then I trap the moles in the Springtime.

I still like to travel around the country in the late Autumn /Winter time, meeting interesting folk and playing around just hunting up a few rabbits..I never take many, just enough for some sport for the dogs.

Locally, here in the South, we do not have the shushis in large numbers anymore, so unless I get asked to clear a particular place (for cash)..I pretty much leave them alone. I've killed more than enough...

Same as yourself, no problems with getting paid by customers for the mole job. 

I find that folk are only too pleased for you to help out, and clean the area up.

I mostly work on Equestrian places, Small Holdings and lovely country house gardens,..I find these type of locations, to be far more enjoyable to turn up to every morning,...and always very profitable...

Enjoy your work Brother,...

 

 

Edited June 28, 2021 by OldPhil

[lifelong cumbrian 1,826]

I think when you get older you start to appreciate your hunting fishing etc more and personally I don’t clash myself as I used to years back, I like to make all my own gear for all sorts of hobbies as I have always done, numbers arnt the big thing for me now, firstly the rabbits and fish are not here in the numbers no more, I take everything at a much slower pace nowadays, I had a heart attack 8 yrs ago yesterday and also get angina, I like to do my hobbies myself mainly, I can go when I want and come home when I want, nothing like being out with a ferret and my collie netting a few rabbits or hooking up on a good salmon. Nearly drowned last year, I had a bad turn wading out in the river, went dizzy, everything spinning round and I thought f**k me im in the shit here, I scoped the rod into the bank as I fell over, I managed to grab some reeds in the river edge and drag myself out, layed on the bank for a while then rang my mate for a lift to hospital, turned out I was dehydrated, fished hard all day without a rest, lesson learned, nearly at a big cost. I like you go out ferreting and fishing all over the place with like minded folk, I like to take hunting pics, we all have different ideas on how to go about things, I like to sit down watch proceedings and hopefully take a few pics, think when I do retire I will miss my workmates, 4 of us have worked together for over over 160yrs combined, I like my job, given me a good skills grounding and a creative mind.

[Nicepix 5,650]

I accidentally became a mole trapper 9 years ago after moving to France. The farmer that we rented a cottage off knew I was into fishing and shooting so asked me if I'd give it a go. He bought me 6 traps that turned out to be worse than useless. After struggling for a couple of weeks I phoned my old mate who had showed me how to go on when we used to drop in on his mole jobs while out shooting and fishing. Keith sent me all his old traps and it went from there. I put six of his traps in and caught five moles by the following morning.

The farm is 300 hectares of very mixed soil types and I learned by my mistakes with no pressure and nobody looking over my shoulder. The number of moles hung on the fence line grew and Farmer John started to recommend me to his non farming friends. After about 12 months somebody wanted to pay by cheque so that prompted me to look into registering as self employed. At the time, 2013 it was dead easy to register. €60 and a half hour interview. That got us onto the health system so saving about €4,000 a year for three years and I could charge more and advertise.

8 years on and I haven't advertised for two years and am fully booked with a waiting list that will take me beyond retirement in 30 months time when  I will get  a small pension to add to the other three I will have by then. I don't do one-off clearances now. Just permenant contracts where I visit each garden every two weeks and deal with whatever I find. In most cases there are discrete traps in place all year round to mop up any newcomers. In some gardens though there are no traps and have had no moles for years. But I still check and they still pay monthly, quarterly or annually.

I have three routes, Mon, Tue & Wed every two weeks, and I go out on the Monday of the other week to deal with anything I've found on my regular checks. Usually I've done by lunch time on that Monday so spend the rest of the day fishing near to wherever my last job was. 

Because of the travel restrictions I'm also helping out checking holiday homes, feeding pond fish and cleaning pond filters. We have got customer's lawn mower batteries on charge at our house and I've set up timers to charge garaged cars. One customer had a mouse problem that I cleared and we brought a car back from the airport car park that had been left behind after the travel ban hit last spring. 

I love the work, the customers and the money, but my knees will be shot by the time I pack in. 

Edited June 6, 2021 by Nicepix

[lifelong cumbrian 1,826]

1 hour ago, Nicepix said:

I accidentally became a mole trapper 9 years ago after moving to France. The farmer that we rented a cottage off knew I was into fishing and shooting so asked me if I'd give it a go. He bought me 6 traps that turned out to be worse than useless. After struggling for a couple of weeks I phoned my old mate who had showed me how to go on when we used to drop in on his mole jobs while out shooting and fishing. Keith sent me all his old traps and it went from there. I put six of his traps in and caught five moles by the following morning.

The farm is 300 hectares of very mixed soil types and I learned by my mistakes with no pressure and nobody looking over my shoulder. The number of moles hung on the fence line grew and Farmer John started to recommend me to his non farming friends. After about 12 months somebody wanted to pay by cheque so that prompted me to look into registering as self employed. At the time, 2013 it was dead easy to register. €60 and a half hour interview. That got us onto the health system so saving about €4,000 a year for three years and I could charge more and advertise.

8 years on and I haven't advertised for two years and am fully booked with a waiting list that will take me beyond retirement in 30 months time when  I will get  a small pension to add to the other three I will have by then. I don't do one-off clearances now. Just permenant contracts where I visit each garden every two weeks and deal with whatever I find. In most cases there are discrete traps in place all year round to mop up any newcomers. In some gardens though there are no traps and have had no moles for years. But I still check and they still pay monthly, quarterly or annually.

I have three routes, Mon, Tue & Wed every two weeks, and I go out on the Monday of the other week to deal with anything I've found on my regular checks. Usually I've done by lunch time on that Monday so spend the rest of the day fishing near to wherever my last job was. 

Because of the travel restrictions I'm also helping out checking holiday homes, feeding pond fish and cleaning pond filters. We have got customer's lawn mower batteries on charge at our house and I've set up timers to charge garaged cars. One customer had a mouse problem that I cleared and we brought a car back from the airport car park that had been left behind after the travel ban hit last spring. 

I love the work, the customers and the money, but my knees will be shot by the time I pack in. 

I just do farms and the odd garden, when I retire I will advertise and maybe pick up a few garden and hotel type jobs, be a lot easier than carrying stuff around fields, I am on foot, I need to get sorted with a jimny or quad or possibly both, I would have a Land Rover but most will have been hammered with the price bracket I’m in, saying that Jimny are great but very overpriced 

[Nicepix 5,650]

Have done a few farms, but kept getting messed about. I would quote for what they wanted, turn up to find they wanted me to do a bit more "while I was there". Also, they called me in when the grass was too long to see where the tunnels went or there'd be stock in the fields so I stopped doing them. Garden jobs are far easier and more profitable. 

[Nicepix 5,650]

49 minutes ago, W. Katchum said:

Fcuk stock an long grass I would have billed them for wasting me time gardens are nice ways to spend the days, but find a few decent farms that are recommended or you know you can trust an the money starts flowing in once you get your traps in ground quick enough, I have to admit I was spending a bit too long faffing about, was shown a quicker way an I haven’t looked back, twice as many traps in ground an twice an many Pennies in me pocket, but fcuk it’s hard graft one your knees all day, I love it tho an like few others have said it’s not summat I ever planned it even imagined me doing. Few more customers or even branch out into a couple summer pests an I could give up me job, but I’m in not hurry an wanna make sure I’m doing it right

Bill them for wasting time? These were Yorkshire  farmers! The French farmer I worked for was just as bad though.

I agree about saturating the ground with traps though. Saves time in the long run. But in gardens it is totally different. Sometimes I will put a single Putange in, not a pair.  

[Nicepix 5,650]

On farms and some new garden jobs out here it is better set 2 to 3 traps per run initially. In one garden I had 53 moles out in the first year, and in another 19 in a fortnight. I once got a double catch in the same Duffus trap three consequetive days and threesomes are common in three cornered tunnels. Once it quietens down I can get away with 2 or 3 traps set on the boundaries of a garden in many cases. Some of my first customers are now down to half a dozen moles a year at most. Some haven't had a new mole in 2 years yet their gardens were riddled with them before I started. 

On farms I was looking at setting 70 traps initially and moving some of them around on each visit. I'd give it four or five visits over two weeks and then call it a day and go back to garden jobs. Average catch would be 150 to 200 the first year and half that on the second year. Dragging a fishing trolly loaded with traps and markers all over the place wasn't much fun though.

[Nicepix 5,650]

It all depend on the fields. I did some that had been recently drilled and the mole tunnels quickly spread from the edge of the field down the hidden wheelings so the molehills were all in straight lines all over the field. Right across from one side to the other. The soil either side wouldn't support a tunnel. Only where the tractor wheels had compressed the soil under the harrowing could they tunnel.

[dytkos 17,784]

There more to mole trapping than I ever thought, glad I never considered it

Good thread lads.

Cheers, D.

[Nicepix 5,650]

14 hours ago, W. Katchum said:

I enjoy it, every job diff an it’s own little mystery

And that's just the customers! 

[earth-thrower 493]

Good discussion, above , from you all. Interesting to hear, about your individual approaches,to mole catching.

[hutch6 550]

It’s hard, no bones about it.

started whilst working full time with a two hour commute so that meant evening and weekends plus I’d take annual leave to do farms. Finishing a day’s work to put on a head torch and head out into the dark wet nights can be the last thing in your mind.

I did my first farms for £4 a mole to cover traps and get some proper ground. You can learn in gardens and they are hard sometimes within patios in the way etc so fields where can see how they move about is a good base to build from. 
More traps bought every other month and your setting speed increases. Only trouble is you get more work as you prove you can do the job so your name gets passed about. Now I’m up and out checking traps in the morning before work, going to work my full time job, trapping in the evening and at week ends and annual leave. It took maybe four years to get to that point having to balance everything out. Two more years of running that schedule and I got three farms on top of the ones I was already doing and jacked in my full time job. 
I was earning more than my full-time job by some way at this point.

I left my job and was out in the beast from the east, farmer said “this’ll be last of the wet stuff” and sure enough it barely rained for all of spring and summer 2018 and of course nobody had moles as the ground dried.
Same thing year after almost which sat me on my arse. Had to find other work to get me through. 

I’m now settling down after a move from the area and things picked back up again before I moved away and appear to be continuing which is good. Once I’m settled here I’ll be picking it back up again as I’ve got farmers everywhere that now know what I did and want me to cover their land, with references from old clients where I was previously really getting the talking.

The single most important rule you have to stick to when working for yourself is: turn up when you say you’ll turn up. This instantly makes you reliable and puts repeat business your way.

It doesn’t always go right and it’s tough to build up a customerbase from scratch but just plug away and eventually hard work always gets results.

Spend a bit of cash to get yourself known to begin with but your greatest marketing is word of mouth - especially with farmers.

Practice. People practice all sorts to get proficient at a skill and setting traps is no different. I used to do it whilst watching tv etc so I could be setting one trap and looking at where I was heading next or watching wildlife. 
 

Learn. There is more to be learnt when something goes wrong than when something goes right. Don’t get disheartened, use it to study and improve. I was on my own after reading a few things but with a bit of trial and error, observation of your quarry, considering why traps got back filled etc and why traps in certain caught more I was constantly learning and gaining valuable knowledge that I’d apply to the next job or run. Every job is different but the moles follow the same set of rules. You also pick up the fastest way to clear what are, for want if a better word, infestations which saves you a lot of time.

Don't pay attention to the nay sayers. If you want it enough it’ll work as you’ll do what it takes to make it work.

 

 

[OldPhil 5,718]

Good sensible, constructive and helpful post....