Cheap Wasps

[shropshire mole 190]

There talk about just how cheap some folk do Wasp Nests, from £10 per nest.

 

How can you compete with that?

I just hope that my regular customers will still employ me as their reliable tried and tested pestie. but for potential new customers, price is a major factor. £10 or £40 for the same result, which one would you choose.

 

Your probably thinking that £40 is too cheap, but I always like to be cheaper than the council, and use this to help get the job.

 

 

 

 

[outandabout 27]

There's not a lot you can do.

 

Until suppliers are prevented from selling ficam to the general public, this problem won't go away.

[rickardo 76]

had the same by me a couple of years ago, some guy advertised wasps treated £15 lucky he hasnt done it again

[PFS 12]

£10?!? That's f***ing ridiculous, they can't be using ficam or any proffesional checmicals surely?

[stormyboy 1,352]

had the same by me a couple of years ago, some guy advertised wasps treated £15 lucky he hasnt done it again

 

Says it all doesn't it?

[Matt 160]

£10?!? That's f***ing ridiculous, they can't be using ficam or any proffesional checmicals surely?

 

Don't count on it

 

Ficam is easily available, and cheap. Each nest costs about 35p in Ficam, so it's the least of the expenses involved

[abarrett 461]

Problem is you can do a wasp nest with wilko ant powder at 99p a tub enough for 5 nests

So there is no stopping the £10 jobs

I've done no end of nests I could see with wilko crawling insect spray works a treat again 99p a tin

Goes through the wasp wand aswell

[stormyboy 1,352]

How do you get crawling insect spray through the wasp wand?

[abarrett 461]

I got the top off a can of carb cleaner it has a little straw bit on it about 5mm cut the yellow attachment of the wasp wand

Push the new cap onto the pipe then you can put any aerosol through it

 

You aren't getting mixed up with a dust stick are you

 

The wasp wand is a telescopic fibreglass rod with a thin pipe running through it needle on one end can on the other

[Matt 160]

Without sounding like an anally retentive law abiding goody goody, let's not forget that professionals shouldn't be using amateur use products, and a product labelled for 'crawling insects' isn't approved for flying insects

 

BUT.......... there are no depths too low for your average cash only merchant to sink to

 

The trouble is, even if they stick to the rules, Ficam D is easily available online and isn't really the 'major factor' in cheapskates

 

As I say, the product used is the least of the problems. The cheapskates will probably be running their van on 'Cherry' and won't bother with insurance or all the other stuff most of us worry about. They're out for an easy buck and don't really give a damn about doing the job 'by the book'........

[Mr Muddy 141]

The Distict Councl has just sent out their A4 glossy magazine; through the post - all at council-tax payers expense - and on the back cover; a half page colour advert, with prices, for their own wasp control service.

 

That has to be the ultimate ‘unfair competition’.

[abarrett 461]

You are right I finished my council contract in April after 6 years

They did the same we did 500 - 600 nests every year for them

If you could drop an advert through every door on the patch you would only get 10% read it

When it comes from the council every one reads it

[abarrett 461]

Without sounding like an anally retentive law abiding goody goody, let's not forget that professionals shouldn't be using amateur use products, and a product labelled for 'crawling insects' isn't approved for flying insects

 

BUT.......... there are no depths too low for your average cash only merchant to sink to

 

The trouble is, even if they stick to the rules, Ficam D is easily available online and isn't really the 'major factor' in cheapskates

 

As I say, the product used is the least of the problems. The cheapskates will probably be running their van on 'Cherry' and won't bother with insurance or all the other stuff most of us worry about. They're out for an easy buck and don't really give a damn about doing the job 'by the book'........

Professional use is just that amateur use is for any one to use

And in a wasp nest are grubs and these crawl not fly

Bit like treating maggots or moth grubs you wouldn't use a space spray even though they will eventually fly

[Matt 160]

The point I was trying to make is that folks doing nests cheaply don't have a problem getting hold of Ficam D, and that the preparation used is actually the lowest of all the cost factors

 

Let's be realistic here; what do you really need to treat a nest?

 

 

Some insect powder - buying 3kg of Ficam is going to be cheaper than lot's of small lots of amateur use product

 

A method of application - something as straight forward as an empty washing up bottle will do

 

The cost? 30-40p per nest

 

So where are they cutting back?

 

On insurance? Simple enough to lie about it. When was the last time a customer with a wasp nest asked to see a copy of your certificate?

 

On transport? Easily the biggest cost involved; the cheapskates probably don't insure their vehicle for business use, and may choose to use red diesel to save on fuel cost.

 

Training and Qualification? Why bother? When do domestic customers ever ask to see proof of training?

 

Waste disposal? Easy to just chuck the empty Ficam tubs on a bonfire, or just dump them somewhere.

 

 

Do you see what I'm getting at?

 

They've always been around, and always will be. Sadly, there are so many pest controllers out there clamouring for the available work, that many feel forced to try and compete solely on price because that's what customers base their buying decisions on

 

The really sad thing is that they devalue the job, whilst not actually making a sensible profit themselves

[Phil Lloyd 10,736]

As stated,...many times,..over many years,....there is nothing to stop anyone becoming a Pest Controller, Mole Trapper, Rabbit Catcher,.etc,.etc,...

I have lived through a period where 'wasp killers' were in abundance,..almost at plague levels

 

However,..this game is all about longevity,.contacts and durability....

Some will live, and others will go by the wayside,..that is how it has always been,..and always will be...

But, genuine survivors,.always survive...