Self employed pest control

[lifelong cumbrian 1,826]

On 29/07/2021 at 23:56, hutch6 said:

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.

 

 

great post mate, its like reading my own story, i have not got to the jacking my job in stage, i dont think i will go that far, i will wait until i take early retirement, just another hard couple of years then, im fecked thinking about it lol.

[Nicepix 5,650]

He's dead right a out bejng reliable and on time. Nothing winds customers up more than waiting in for tradesmen who are late or don't turn up.