Help wanted in starting up in pest control.

[Guest vin]

Hello all,

 

i was hoping one of you chaps might help me out... i was wondering how i would go about setting up a a self employed pest control person.. i got plenty of time in the daytime to train and learn etc etc.. i am a self employed musician in the evenings..so i can still continue to earn ... as i learn.

is there any specific qualifacations required to set up...are there books i can study. i know these a basic questions..but if anyone could help me out with more details ..like average set -up costs for basic equipment etc etc..

i got my patterdale for the rats..hehehe.

 

all the best everyone.

 

vin.

 

south yorks

[mole trapper 1,694]

Seeing as you are in Yorks, contact Killgerm in Osset i believe, they do foundation courses etc, failing that get in touch with the BPCA, expensive but considerd as the industry standard.

[Rolfe 2]

www.killgerm.com

 

This is where i would start to to investigate training etc. in your area.

 

Rolfe.

[RatSnatcher 0]

Its going to cost you a grand to start with to gain the level 2 certificate, which will enable you to buy the professional products, you will also need to decide whether you are going for rural side ie. rabbits, squirrel ect, or are you going to go for bed bugs, fleas and stuff, maybe you have enough money to cover all aspects which will require a lot of equipment to start, do a search on here and you will find plenty of info and answers

[Guest vin]

Its going to cost you a grand to start with to gain the level 2 certificate, which will enable you to buy the professional products, you will also need to decide whether you are going for rural side ie. rabbits, squirrel ect, or are you going to go for bed bugs, fleas and stuff, maybe you have enough money to cover all aspects which will require a lot of equipment to start, do a search on here and you will find plenty of info and answers

 

 

 

daft question..but is there more money in the bed-bugs and domestic work ?or is it it poss to make a decent living in rural work..would love to do rural.. does anyone on here actually make a living doing rural pest control etc etc... i would love to stop doing my present job ASAP.

 

thanks lads..im looking into this line of employment.

 

i could be the next TOMMY SAXONDALE..hehee.

 

vin.

[RatSnatcher 0]

firstly I am not a pestie ,but I have been looking into it myself to run along my other biz.

 

more money in bugging for sure from what I can gather but with that comes more set up costs .

 

Tomo, moley and quit a few others should help you mate if they see this thread but also do a search as this one comes up quit often

 

the cheaper option on courses I have found is run by DATAS, at around £850 but killgerm are nearer to you so you probably wont need to get digs for a few nights as I am no where near yorkshire or Ossett

 

One thing the lads will tell ya is to go work for a bigger organisation to start to get training and experiance .....

 

As DS said an air rifle, some fenns and a catapult wont cut it mate...

[moley 115]

some good sound advise there

[mole trapper 1,694]

daft question..but is there more money in the bed-bugs and domestic work ?or is it it poss to make a decent living in rural work..would love to do rural.. does anyone on here actually make a living doing rural pest control etc etc... i would love to stop doing my present job ASAP.

 

There are a few of us on here making a full time living out of rural and doing ok out of it, BUT and it is a big but, it takes years to get to that stage, in my case 9 years, the early years were very tight.

And ditto what DS said, makes me cringe everytime i read " i have ferrets and a cur and some nets, am thinking of starting up", it is good to have a dream, but naivety will never be a good substitute for business accumen.

[Guest vin]

daft question..but is there more money in the bed-bugs and domestic work ?or is it it poss to make a decent living in rural work..would love to do rural.. does anyone on here actually make a living doing rural pest control etc etc... i would love to stop doing my present job ASAP.

 

There are a few of us on here making a full time living out of rural and doing ok out of it, BUT and it is a big but, it takes years to get to that stage, in my case 9 years, the early years were very tight.

And ditto what DS said, makes me cringe everytime i read " i have ferrets and a cur and some nets, am thinking of starting up", it is good to have a dream, but naivety will never be a good substitute for business accumen.

 

 

 

thanks lads...heheee ...i havnt got no ferrets or nets....smelly bastad things.. i was only really asking about rural work as a matter of interest.(i prefer to keep work and fun seperate).

thanks you have more or less told me what i need to know... i,ve been looking at the killgerm site etc etc.. so i will carry on my pursuit of happiness.

 

thanks again everyone...good advice all round.

 

vin

[Ron Weasley 83]

To be honest mate, I think your best bet would be to get in with one of the big boys. Get in touch with Rentokil, Ecolab, Mitie, Igrox are any of the big companies. They have the highest staff turnover, and the most frequent opportunities.

I know this may not be what you have in mind, but these companies will put you through your BPCA Parts 1 and 2 (or BPCA affiliated equivalents) at no cost to yourself. You'll also get a few weeks on the job training, and you can learn more and more as you work- always knowing there'll be an experienced colleague on the end of the phone if you need help.

 

The Killgerm courses are very good, but it's a big outlay- and, speaking from experience here, learning something in a classroom environment is one thing, but knowing how to treat something in the field is something quite different.

 

I've done it myself mate- I spent 2 and a half years trying to get into pest control- applying for every job that came up, with all manner of local and national companies, and I seriously considered setting up on my own- but the outlay costs, with no immediate guarantee of income are far too high. So I stuck with it, got a job with a national company, have learnt the skills and now I'm frequently approached by other companies trying to offer me work.

 

So personally- and certainly no offence is intended here- I'd shelve the idea of starting up on your own straight off the bat, and look for a job with one of the big companies. You'll gain some experience, pick up your vital certificates, and be able to push for further qualifications, but more importantly, it'll give you some financial stability. It could open up a career path, or equally, after a couple of years, you might decide that you definitely do want to start up on your own. If you do, you'd then have the experience, the qualifications, and if you build a good relationship with your customers, a ready supply of contracts to poach!! (not that you'd do that, of course!! :whistling: ).

 

Just my two pennies worth!

 

Good luck!

[Guest vin]

To be honest mate, I think your best bet would be to get in with one of the big boys. Get in touch with Rentokil, Ecolab, Mitie, Igrox are any of the big companies. They have the highest staff turnover, and the most frequent opportunities.

I know this may not be what you have in mind, but these companies will put you through your BPCA Parts 1 and 2 (or BPCA affiliated equivalents) at no cost to yourself. You'll also get a few weeks on the job training, and you can learn more and more as you work- always knowing there'll be an experienced colleague on the end of the phone if you need help.

 

The Killgerm courses are very good, but it's a big outlay- and, speaking from experience here, learning something in a classroom environment is one thing, but knowing how to treat something in the field is something quite different.

 

I've done it myself mate- I spent 2 and a half years trying to get into pest control- applying for every job that came up, with all manner of local and national companies, and I seriously considered setting up on my own- but the outlay costs, with no immediate guarantee of income are far too high. So I stuck with it, got a job with a national company, have learnt the skills and now I'm frequently approached by other companies trying to offer me work.

 

So personally- and certainly no offence is intended here- I'd shelve the idea of starting up on your own straight off the bat, and look for a job with one of the big companies. You'll gain some experience, pick up your vital certificates, and be able to push for further qualifications, but more importantly, it'll give you some financial stability. It could open up a career path, or equally, after a couple of years, you might decide that you definitely do want to start up on your own. If you do, you'd then have the experience, the qualifications, and if you build a good relationship with your customers, a ready supply of contracts to poach!! (not that you'd do that, of course!! :whistling: ).

 

Just my two pennies worth!

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thanks so much for that chaps...really good advice...im now keeping my eye open for any jobs with local firms etc etc..

 

thanks

 

 

vin