pest control career

[Welsh_red 4,306]

a pest control firm has started up 5 miles from me. im contemplating trying to see if they have any job vacancies or if i can try crowbar my way in somehow. im 34 and been building for the same builder for 14 years and altho hes a great bloke ive grown tired of building and working for the same guy i want a change. the money would probably be less but the mrs dont mind a shortfall in wages if it makes me happy. chances are i might/wont get a job there. but what do the pest guys on here have to say about it? 

im thinking of just sending them a msg on facebook to them asking if they have any vacancies or if they ever a hand let me know. bit embarased really but i have no idea how to go about it, i havnt approached anyone for a job in so long and last time i got a job it was thru a chat in a pub

[tilimangro 1,013]

Message them 

Nothing ventured nothing gained

if they’re a new start up they’re unlikely to need staff but you never know

in the meantime start looking at doing some courses and get some qualifications

 

[dytkos 17,536]

Try and get of p/t work with the pestie, maybe for nominal wages, see if it's for you?

Cheers, D.

[Ratmanwan3 85]

We get people asking all the time for jobs. When I first started I just went through the yellow pages and rang them all until someone said yes. If it's what you fancy good luck, it's a great job. Ask if you need any info.

[The one 8,397]

You will never know if you dont ask mate and it costs nothing to ask . but they might need paperwork my mates always seems to be on courses 

[socks 32,253]

You need quals to be a pest controller mate .......

[Welsh_red 4,306]

i knew youd need qualifications. what qualifiations should i look for? i will msg them weekend and see what they say. wouldnt mind helping out here and there for now 

[LuckOrJudgement 437]

Look up the RSPH Level 2 course.

Most companies require their staff to either have it or be working towards it.

Worth knocking on their door mate. Nothing ventured and all that.

The hours may be different from the building game. Pest control can involve a lot of evenings and weekends.

[DIDO.1 20,851]

As said above we regularly get emails and phone calls asking for a job. Most set out what a good chap they are and then tell me about their experience with ferrets and shooting stuff with air rifles. 

Years ago having some sporting experience may of got you through the door, the company would then have trained you up. Times have changed. Having helped a gamekeeper or set a snare is of no interest to a pest control company. It's easier for a double glazing sales man to get in there than a sporting chap. You will always need to concentrate on people skills, sales and health and safety. 

I doubt the new company will be interested, new companies don't tend to last long. 

My advice would be to contact killgerm or pelsis and do a range of their one day pest courses, then aim to take the rsph level two. This is the industry standard qualification, unless you are a super salesman you will be expected to already have this. 

Personally I'd give myself a couple of years to build up a file of qualifications and maybe some experience shadowing a pest controller. Ultimately an extra certificate in first aid, risk assessments, confined spaces etc etc will get you through the door faster than experience 

Edited December 14, 2018 by DIDO.1

[Pirate 9000 675]

It's quite sad how the pest control industry has gone,30 odd years ago when I started with local authority paper work was a small part of the job, now I spend more time filling in paper work and the next course you need to go on is always just round the corner,I would try and do a couple of weekends with pest controler before you burn your bridges with your present career.

[talpa 55]

As has been mentioned there is now reams of paperwork - report sheets, risk assessments, environmental assessments, checklists, plans, as well as site specific inductions and safety.

To get the qualifications will take time and money, RSPH 2 is the starting point and the best way would be to do some ride alongside with someone who really knows what they are up to. You could get away with doing one of the one day CRRU accredited courses for using Rodenticides to start which would be relatively cheap and give you a way in.

Depending what the portfolio of work the company has can offer a great deal of variety and cabin vary between mundane boring box checking/inspections and paperwork to being dragged from here to there  and dealing with an enormous variety of people from doddery OAPs to bolshy Technical Directors which can be the biggest challenge of all.

on the plus side for you as a builder you can offer valuable skills as a lot of a companies revenue can come from proofing and sealing up, bird work, fly screen installations etc. This may give you a way in with the company if they are short of those skills. There are a lot of sources of training and advice from suppliers and the NPTA and BPCA.

Where about are you in Wales, someone could offer a day out or just a chat through to see if your vision of the job comes close to the modern reality.

Many of the lads and lasses from a shooting/country sports back ground I have interviewed and taken on had a lot of qualities that would have been great but in practice couldn’t handle all of the paperwork, H+S, repetitive work, AUDITORS and the gags along the lines of ‘theres plenty of rats in the office mate, ‘ got anything for the missus’ which always seem to render all their colleagues in stitches for ages. Getting called Ratman all day with many looking down their nose at you.

but its the best job in the world and I love it.

 

[j j m 6,481]

good luck mate

[Welsh_red 4,306]

thanks for all the replies guys. im going to look into the RSPH 2 course this week . Im then going to msg the pest company local and ask them if their is anything i can assist them with to get some experience and to see if its for me. I realise being interested in hunting isnt a major factor in whether im suited to pest control but i do love all kinds of trapping. Maybe a experience in grey squirrell trapping will be a good start

[DIDO.1 20,851]

1 hour ago, Welsh_red said:

thanks for all the replies guys. im going to look into the RSPH 2 course this week . Im then going to msg the pest company local and ask them if their is anything i can assist them with to get some experience and to see if its for me. I realise being interested in hunting isnt a major factor in whether im suited to pest control but i do love all kinds of trapping. Maybe a experience in grey squirrell trapping will be a good start

I wouldn't even mention trapping, honestly we here about that daily. As said lay it on the line about h+S and people skills. Talk about your communication skills and importantly working at heights. Many new pest controllers with companies realise its not for them the minute they need to install pigeon spikes off a triple ladder. The trapping is the easy part that is blissful relief from the rest of it. They know you will pick that up.....what they want to know is if you can go to a mouse job on a restaurant and up sell 4 fly killers. 

One of the most inept pest controllers /trappers I know has gone really far in his career......because he can bullshit and realised the value of pointless qualifications! 

[LuckOrJudgement 437]

Another avenue you could consider is setting yourself up as an independent, paddle your own canoe, and have some control over the type of pest jobs you do and how you do them.

It'll take you a while to get going, and you'll never get rich at it, but at least you'll still have the buzz of being able to practice a craft and present the delighted customer with the body of the rat that's been keeping them awake at night, or the mole that's been trashing their lawn. Compare this to working for The Man, hauling your sorry ass around bait station after bait station after bait station in lonely cold warehouses and shitehole farmyards, without even laying eyes on a rat or mouse all day long and theres some food for thought, maybe.