Professional Poison Free Pest Control, The Professional V Amateur

Professional Poison Free Pest Control
​The Professional V Amateur

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I am constantly being asked what is the difference between a Professional and an Amateur Pest Controller? Well there is a vast difference, all be it often very subtle, in this article I will endeavour to answer that question, thus enlighten you on a life times experience from being an Amateur and a Professional in this field, I will also hope to take you along with me on my Professional Poison Free Pest Control Rounds as well as my Amateur shooting and hunting permissions.

Where to start? I suppose we should start with The Amateur, I suppose what the Oxford English Dictionary definition of an Amateur is a good start.


The Amateur:
NOUNA person who engages in a pursuit, especially a sport, on an unpaid rather than a professional basis.
‘it takes five years for a top amateur to become a real Tour de France rider’




ADJECTIVEEngaging or engaged in without payment; non-professional.
‘amateur athletics’



There is also a huge difference where paperwork and qualifications come in to play, I will go deeper into this in the Professional Pest Controller section as there no point writing it twice, but there you go the Oxford English Dictionary states it quite clearly, its not your Job or Profession, you do not get paid for it.


Risk Assessments, Health and Safety, working with the correct GL licences and if needed applying for exact licences like Gull licences etc, as well as the correct Professional Insurance but to name just a small part of the difference between the Professional and The Amateur, also as an Amateur if you get paid even a gratuitous payment like the farmer giving you the shot gun cartridges or air rifle pellets etc, this counts as gratuitous payment ie wages, this also voids your standard Country Sports insurance, although The Scottish Association for Country Sports (SACS) do include an enhanced Country Sports Insurance that covers this, so longs this is not your Job ie your Profession, I would urge everyone to join SACS they are brilliant and really fight our corner where it counts.​

As an Amateur you get to go enjoy and your sport/pest control when it suits you, ie oh I think I might have a go on some rats at the piggery this week, no I wont bother its too cold/wet the Moon is in line with Mars all that mumbo jumbo, I have heard it before, but as a permission you are there when it suits you, many Amateurs I know do go the extra mile to do their best when needed, like my good friend Bucks Moocher he puts his heart and soul in to his pest control for his farmers, but he like everyone else has a day job that must come first, rent/mortgages/kids stuff/the car/the dog/house hold bills etc all have to be paid before you can go an enjoy your Amateur Country Sports or Pest Control, even that needs funding ie the equipment/ammunition/guns/traps birds of prey/dogs/ferrets just to name a few, so your day job pays for this too, now I am not saying here I shoot/hunt/trap, work my animals better than you The Amateur, I know so many Countrymen just like Bucks Moocher who work to best practices every bit as good as me, but that still does not make you a Professional, I will show you in the next section a small glimpse as to why I and my fellow Professional Pest Controllers get paid to do what in many cases you do for free as a hobby.

The Professional:


ADJECTIVE


Relating to or belonging to a profession.
‘young professional people’


Engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime.
‘a professional boxer’


Worthy of or appropriate to a professional person; competent, skilful, or assured.
‘their music is both memorable and professional’


NOUN


A person engaged or qualified in a profession.
‘professionals such as lawyers and surveyors’


A person engaged in a specified activity, especially a sport, as a main paid occupation rather than as a pastime.
‘his first season as a professional’


A person competent or skilled in a particular activity.
‘she was a real professional on stage’ ​

We Have touched briefly on the Professional side of the job, now we will look in slightly more depth as to the paper work side, by law and to be insured your Health and Safety paperwork must be spot on, this must be current and up to date always, your record keeping must be exact and legible, all your PPE equipment must be in good order and fit for purpose, if you use chemicals or poisons etc this must all be stored correctly and have the necessary equipment and qualification as well as licences to use it, again your record keeping should be crystal clear, although I have all and more than I will ever need as far as licences and qualifications. I choose not to use it, my personal opinion is that its not good for the environment and secondary poisoning of non target species etc, this is just my personal opinion and ethical approach, although poisons and chemicals have their place in Professional Pest Control, I don't like the idea of the un trained or qualified general public being allowed anywhere near the poisons and chemicals etc, I feel personally this should not be sold in shops etc at all, I know in quantity and strength the general public cant get hold of poisons any more without the correct qualifications and licences etc, but none the less the shop bought stuff is out there and should be banned.


Risk Assessments now that's a right head ache for me even before I start a job, I do have some generic ones but one size does not fit all in this job, so I have to fill the forms out by hand then transfer them to computer when back at the office, this all takes time, time I am to be paid for in my JOB/PROFESSION, method statements now there's another head ache as of the generic ones don't fit all jobs/contracts, so these have to be customised, staying conversant of all the licences, the GL licences, applying for specific ones, I am barely touching on this as I could write a book on this subject, then there's the difference between Amateur Country Sports insurance and Professional Pest control insurance and complying with regulations under that as well, making sure the qualifications are up to date for myself, my animals and birds of prey and all the equipment, not forgetting the trucks and vans being kept in good order, properly insured and sign written just to touch briefly on this subject.

I have touched very briefly of this subject as I want to write a bit about being out on my rounds, but as you can see there is a vast difference between you The Amateur and me The Professional, some take the micky on my social media posts etc, I don't mind one bit, I like the banter and as many have found out I have skin as thick as a rhinos and a nose like one too, but remember don't give me stick if you cant take it back for this Lion bites. ​

I suppose one of the biggest differences I see between The Amateur and The Professional is? The fact I am being paid to be there in all winds and weathers, YOU are not and get to choose when you want to be there, I don't get the luxury to say oh its raining I will put the rugby on instead and have a beer, I have to be on the job day and night, 7 days/nights a week in all winds and weathers, also the client expects results if there is a fox attacking and they employ me to deal with it, then they expect it to be in the bag and dealt with, as an Amateur you can say you tried your best and most often the farmer etc will say have another go when you can, not The Professional your there to get the job done no matter what the weather etc, also a lot of folk now rely on the gadgets, they have no real field craft experience.

I am a Countryman first and a Professional Pest Controller second, I have gained a life time of knowledge from the ole school Countrymen as well as earned my stripes on my own two feet, plus the fact I have a vast amount of qualifications on my CV, one reason just recently a world leader in pest control sent their top man in the UK to head hunt me and come find me, I had been highly recommended by an old colleague of mine who now lives and works in the USA for this company, I am told the orders were get me to sign the contract at any cost, I will say they did make it a very lucrative offer and as a younger man say ten years ago, I would of said where do you want me to sign, but alas its a young man's game to chase that corporate monster, I have been there done that and got the tee shirt, I am done this dog wont hunt that monster again, my own health means more to me than the stress off that job, so I graciously turned it down.

I did recommend a fine young man I trained many years ago for the job as they asked me did I know anyone who could fill these big boots, I know he has accepted the position and will be starting in that fantastic role next month, I have told him if he needs his old mentors help or advice he knows where I am, I am the happy one working for myself and doing what I do best and love it, but I will say its not all strawberries and cream you know, often muckers say, oh I wish I had your job and not mine, I say a job is a job and your putting food on the table and paying your bills, looking after your families and enjoying your sport, you wont want my job at 4am in the middle of January, wet, cold and tired waiting to deal with one rat, but the highs do out way the lows in the wonderful world of Professional Poison Free Pest Control.​

Now I have rambled on so much here I am running out of time, space and the will to keep writing, for there is a gurt roast Hoggett dinner waiting for me and an ice cold pint of Thatchers Rosie Cider chilling in the fridge, so what I will do is take you on a whirl wind ride around my pest control rounds, watch the videos and look the slide show and photos that accompany this article.

My forestry work has taken a massive up turn this last few months, mostly to do with Grey Squirrel damage and explosion in their numbers, the past two years has been fantastic breeding years for them, there I am checking the Squirrel multi traps from katch it traps, these must be checked several times daily, legally these must be checked a minimum of once every 12 hours ie twice a day, the Air Arms air rifles are a vital tool in humanly dispatching the Squirrels caught there in, finding a balance between Habitat and Conservation, bringing this grey invader to balance, this is vital conservation work as well as Professional pest control, these do so much irreparable damage to our forests and broad leaf trees, song bird and ground nesting bird population, as well as being directly responsible for our native Red Squirrel decline to almost extinction, Habitat management, conservation and pest control walk hand in hand this is my ethos and my ethical approach to all I do, conservation must be at your core.

For several years now I have not done a great deal of wild rabbit control, this is largely due to the lack of rabbits here in Somerset, myxomatosis, RHD/VHD diseases all having their toll on the humble wild rabbit, predation of their habitats by ghastly humans and our insatiable greed to build more houses, shopping complexes, trading estates etc are all hitting their numbers down, not forgetting their natural enemies, the fox, weasel, stoat, birds of prey and man itself, of course the rabbit as with all pests must be kept in balance, but alas the humble rabbits gets it from all angels, I really don't like shooting rabbits any more as we don't have enough of them, I pray for the glory days of the rabbit in vast numbers where Amateur and Professional can go at them again with hawk, ferret, dog, net and the gun, put wild rabbit meat back on the table with a wild renewable source of great wild meat, whilst controlling them the traditional way.

Like I said I am a Countryman of the old school first before I am a Professional Pest Controller, I also lecture at several catering colleges with my wild game preparation and game cookery master class, its my job to not only teach budding young chefs but fully qualified chefs too, I teach them a passion for wild fish and game, the ethical procurement of said wild food from Mother Natures living larder, its protection and all must start with Conservation at your core, that said we have this wonderful free range, cholesterol/fat free resource at our finger tips, ethically sourced wild food, I teach them to take it from fur, feather or fin, from field to fork or water to wok and to have a passion for mother natures wild food, the photos with this are from my latest lecture with a group of fine young people from an inner city hard back ground, I awarded one of them one of my game cook books I had written, for the young fellow inspired me, I also signed my latest Game cookery Book to the department too, Home and Away is available from my website, all the money goes to the Pass It On Young Sports Organisation that I head up, so buy my books, your helping the kids and the future of Country Sports.

Fox control has gone mad just recently both by day and by night, lots of early cubs being born and I know of one vixen pregnant now with her third litter, as I have written many times, I don't deal with foxes because they are foxes, the whole idea the only good fox is a dead fox sickens me, such wonderful beautiful intelligent creature, but alas they are murderous too, for if they get inside the hens, lambs or even pet enclosures they go into a killing frenzy and kill everything in sight, as I type I have just picked up a call from a lady client of mine, she is distraught sobbing down the phone in tears, a BXXXXXD FOX just broke into my new enclosure and killed all my hens apart from two, I always teach good animal husbandry first, a lot of the time you can stop the attacks, the battery had stopped working on the electric fence and it dug under the wire buried in the ground, so I now have to go deal with that fox and get everything fox proofed again before she gets any more hens, we can all live with a natural loss, the odd hen, lamb etc, but when they break in and kill everything, that we cant stand for, also these snow flake do gooders releasing town caught foxes off in the countryside. ​

Compete morons and they should be strung up for cruelty to animals, those foxes don't know how to survive in the country, there are no bins or KFCs here to scavenge around, so they either starve to death, get driven off by the country fox as your in his territory, the farm dog has them or I or my compatriots The Amateur or Professional Pest Controller have to deal with them, or even farmer with his shotgun etc, STOP releasing town caught foxes you ghastly cruel people.

My rodent control work really has gone into over time, it feels like all I do is deal with rats, I find myself buying more and more humane live catch traps from Katch It Traps of Basingstoke almost weekly, I like humane live traps, if you get say a hedge hog in them you can turn them out free to go unharmed to go merrily on their way.

I have just take on a new pest tech solely to deal with Bee, wasp and Hornet jobs too, so if you have a problem drop Really Wild Pest Control a line via this website www.reallywildadventure.co.uk we will get you sorted in no time.

I have just started a huge feral pigeon and rodent job on an agricultural education centre, the campus is huge, my ole Dad has been doing some part time work for me as I needed someone with experience and who I can trust on this delicate site, I was highly recommended for this job by the now retired general site manager, a very well respected man, the new GM called ole Bob up to ask who he would recommend, even though a lot of the big boy pest control companies had bided for the contract, Bobs orders were don't let anyone on site bur me, thanks Bob I wont let you down mucker, it turns out some other Hmmm Professional Pest Control mob went in before me and caused a bit of problem with the general public and corporate professionals there, after just one visit, I am now on my tenth visit and lets just say there is peace and harmony and the job is getting done correctly, it is funny the Pest Controller from the local town is reporting a definite lowering of feral pigeon numbers there and he cant work out why? as he has to use a non lethal approach, I laughed and said all your doing is pushing the problem around not dealing with the root source of the infestation, but that's OK you keep sending them over here and I will deal with the problem correctly with the help of the awesome Air Arms S510 Ultimate Sporter.

I could go on and on with this subject, but now my roast minted Hoggett Sunday Dinner is calling and that ice cold cider is screaming drink me, as are the others in the fridge, for this is supposed to be my day off, the only one this month, I hope you have enjoyed this long article and it has gone some way into clarifying the huge difference between the The Amateur Pest Controller and The Professional Pest Controller, I didn't even get on to the tax returns and more, like I say it was a very brief explanation of the differences and more, come say hello on my stand at the shows and I will be more than happy to chat with you on this subject and more, perhaps you could teach me a thing or two, until the next article stay safe and well one and all.

keep the emails, messages and letters coming into internationally read The Countryman’s Diary Magazine we try to answer you all, why not tune in on our new pod casts too. ​

By The Ole Hedge Creeper
www.theolehedgecreeper.co.uk
countrymans-diary.co.uk