HAMILTON, ON, — After successfully growing across Canada for the past 30 years, Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, based in Hamilton, Ontario, is setting its sights south of the border through franchising.
Since its founding by Bill Dodd in 1989, Skedaddle has grown to 35 locations across Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. It was the first Canadian franchise in Nova Scotia; Its first franchise in the United States is in Wisconsin.
Marcus Müller is the company’s first American franchise operator. He opened his first wildlife operation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dowd said Mueller has seen a 50% increase in
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Revenue since inception.
“You don’t need any wildlife information or experience to be a franchisee. We train for all of that,” he said.
Mueller, for example, has a Master of Science degree in wildlife ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied coyotes and foxes and was “looking for a unique human business model.”
Mueller recently purchased a second district in Madison, Dowd said, and is looking to buy the Green Bay Market.
“We hire the position and [teach] skills. If you want to grow something for yourself and your family, you want a work-life balance, you want to learn, the sky’s the limit,” Dowd said. this franchisor and rapidly increasing its size.”
Dowd said the company is “American-influenced” because it is so close to the border and he spent a number of years in the US
“We feel like every city in the United States is going to have problems with wildlife, whether it’s rats, mice, or birds,” he said. “Being so close to America here, the East Coast is a great market around the Great Lakes, it’s great [franchise] space. and the Pacific Northwest region,” is also up for franchising.
Dodd said the company hopes to open five to 10 new locations this year in America.
“I think once we get one place in it [say] Cleveland, someone is going to see our trucks and want to buy another land. “We like to take care of the people in it
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We worked first.”
Sledge Story. Skedaddle’s business plan came together in the early 1980s when Dodd pursued hockey for the Ottawa 67’s and later the New York Islanders.
“I thought there must be animals in Ottawa, so we went up there and it worked,” he said. “Every city we went to, we exploded and we couldn’t keep up with the demand for our services.”
Dowd said Skedaddle has developed a unique approach to animal treatment where employees are trained in humane and practical removal.
We do not capture and transport animals [like some] Companies that work only in wildlife and it is not their main source of income.” “We take an approach that it is not the animal [fault]They are here to stay. the [human] Populations are growing, and our sales revenue tends to increase, so the secret is to protect your home from wildlife.”
Marketing has also been a driver of growth. Most of the business in Canada has come from customers who see green service trucks on the road with large animals on them, Dowd said.
Dodd said there are opportunities for pest control operators to earn another source of income from adding wildlife services to their offering.
“The average ticket or price per job usually drops from $1,500 to $2,500 for a spider treatment that may only take a few hours. [of work]Dodd said. “It would be a great extra service for any pest operator in America because they already have service trucks and labor. We’ll teach you how to do the wildlife right.”
Urban wildlife populations continue to grow. There are 15 to 50 raccoons per square mile in any city, according to the company’s website.
If dealing with raccoons wasn’t already fun enough, Dowd said the company also offers professional Christmas decorating as a source of revenue.
“We don’t sell any of the lights, but we do install ours and take care of them if there are any problems, and we take them out at the end of the year,” Dodd said. “We have a 75% renewal rate on that service.”