Alan and I worked together like a well-oiled machine. We'd turn up at a farm, quads loaded with traps, and split off Alan left, me right (always the way it's been). We mastered the art of trapping efficiently, often setting 300+ traps each in a day.
One of our best hauls? 73 moles caught before we even left the first farm, and nearly 400 by the time we finished three days later. Even my old Jack Russell, Suzie, got in on the action, bringing moles back in her mouth!
We worked our arses off, through all sorts of weather and horrible stony ground, but we loved it. The freedom of working for ourselves, doing a job we once dreamed of, and getting to do it with your best mate? It rarely felt like work at all.
These days, Alan runs mole-trapping courses, teaching others the techniques we've honed over the years. There's no single right way to trap ”everyone develops their own style”but he shares the little tricks that helped us shave time off the job.
As for me? While I still catch my fair share of moles, my little pest control business ”the one people told me would never work” has grown into a team of four. We now look after over 100 contracted businesses across South Wales and deal with all sorts of pests on reactive call-outs. It's grown fast, and I'm learning to step back a little, letting my team handle more of the workload.
As they say:
"Do what you do best and delegate the rest"
Matthew
Comments