Rural Pest Control: From Gamekeeping to Building a Business in the Highlands | Andrew McDonald - Pest Perspectives

Hello and welcome to Pest Perspectives. We are now on episode 18. At least to know I didn't know last week Adam Holt had to correct me and this is a good. This is a podcast about the pest control industry where the main goal. I hope out of these podcasts someone can learn something, even if it's a little bit. It all helps. It's made to entertain and educate at the same at the same time. I'm not saying every podcast is going to be full of education, but it is in there. It's a mixture and 18 episodes and you can collect CPD on basis prompt.

You can for this podcast. There is. There is if you go back through the podcast descriptions of the previous shows. Can't remember off the top of my head this. There's 10 available but you can only claim 6A year with with bassist prompt. With the British pest register you can claim nearly every show I've got. With that and BPCAS CPD diary you can claim every show. I believe you can't self register, but this week I'm going to preface preface this guest now. We're not talking about mole control. We are not talking about UK patanks.

We're going to do a show later in the year when mole season kicks off. So this will be about pest pest, mainly pest control and we may mention deers and things like that. So we've got on Andrew McDonald from Highland Pest Response. How are you doing? Yeah, good. Thanks yourself. I'm good. Cheers. Nice to finally get you on. It's come round quickly. You come back on holiday from America, didn't you? Yeah, I was, yeah, I was away for quite most of me to be totally honest. And it's just been mental since coming back and playing catch up.

So and when you message the other day saying are you still OK for next week, I was like. Oh, sugar, he's come round fast. Just mental, mental it is. It is so like we've pressed control. Were you you come out of school wanting to be a pest controller or were you, what were you? Were you a kind of kid that was into being in the fields and in the wilderness and thing? Yeah, so like I've always had a passion for field sports sort of and that sort of thing, fishing and shooting and that sort of country style way of life and stuff like that.

And I think like, as every young boy in school, like I want to be a spaceman, I want to be a fireman, I want to be a policeman and all that sort of thing, you know, And then actually just like I've always brought been brought up around the field sports sort of thing. And my father was an avid Fisher and shooter and whatnot. So once I discovered that you could get a job when I was young, like being a gamekeeper and all that. And, you know, I suppose it's ignorant in a way, but you're young. You don't know, like you think, oh, must be the best job in the world, you know, fishing and shooting all the time, far from doing that all the time.

But no, I I went down the path to gamekeeping. And I think like a lot of pest controllers as well, you know, sort of come from some form of background of that, don't they? Yeah, they do. I'm not in that category, but a lot of people are. They are, yeah. But yeah, gamekeeping. So what did you did you, do you have much gamekeeping experience? How long did you how long did you do that for? No, you're going to ask me about dates here. I haven't got a clue, but like,

yeah, no, I left school at 15 and had to wait like it was sort of coming up to the summer holidays. Finished my exams, left school at 15 and 4th year and went to work. Straight on to a pheasant farm and then the day I could sign my leavers form I went back into the school. I was meant to be back in school and like for a month before signing it but I just never went went back. How would you think about?

I thought you were like my age, like 40. Oh, thanks. No, no, no, no, no. I'm 10 years younger than that. Oh, so what's the way you said? It's the way you said at 15? Because Because I remember my dad and uncle and people are not my uncle. When he was 15, he actually got a job in a factory, but then they didn't care. But you say you're younger than me and you got away with it 15. Yeah. So we could leave. We can leave 16. I think you can leave school. I mean it might have changed now, but at the time you could leave at 16.

It's 18 and they've they've changed. Well, they want you to go into higher education or an apprenticeship. They tried to. Yeah, yeah. So like there's the six years of high school sort of thing. I left in in the 4th after my exams. And then I was meant to go back after the summer holidays for like a month before I could get my leavers form signed to leave. But I just, I just never bothered. And I went back the day, I think it was on my birthday, and I went in and got my leavers form signed. I think to be honest, my teachers were they were relieved that I was gone like so, but you know, like some of the teachers said, like they know with me not being in class, I just got a sky of school and stuff like that.

And I don't recommend doing it, but like I would do it and I'd go off and work on estates like for work experience and meant to be at school and this, but they said I'm better off out there doing that, doing something I want to do than disrupting the rest of the class. And they're right, you know,

when you're young, though, isn't it? It's like if you look at it from the point, like everybody sticking at school, work hard, get a job, you know, all this sort of stuff, and like in a trade, do all the thing and everyone says it to you. And when you're a kid, you're like, yeah, whatever, I want to do this. I'm not listening to you. And, you know, it's, it's like the same as like when you're a kid, it's like, you know, bedtime, it's like, no, I don't want to go to bed. I want to stay up as late as possible.

When you get to our age and stuff, you're like, I can't wait to get to bed. You know, it's just, but there is that, that side of it of like, yeah, I'm not going to listen to teachers and I don't like teachers and all that sort of stuff and everything. And finally, I'm actually with a teacher now. So it's quite funny, but it's but yeah, so I did that went to work in pheasant farm, went box. I'm in levers for him. And then I did like a seasons ghost beating and stuff like that. Pheasant being just to gain experience on estates and whatnot and field went find myself placement for an estate and doing deer deer stalking.

Went to college and did my national certificate and gamekeeping and then went on to do my higher national certificate. But then I took a gap year for certain reasons and then went back to do my higher national certificate place and doing pheasants, pheasant partners and duck and a little bit of deer.

The dart worked on that estate for right now 5 or 6 years, I can't remember five years I think worked there. I left there, went to another one and the job was mis sold to me majorly because they were so desperate for somebody. I actually I took a pig to pay a cut to go and everything. I started work on the on the Monday and the young pheasant survived on the Tuesday. It was just like all just all go at once. I like I say, the job was mis sold Long story short, but I, I left there after about six weeks and from that point I went, I didn't know what I was going to do.

Fortunately, I was fortunate I could move home with the mother and father at the time, moved back there temporary sort of thing and then decided at that point to go self-employed. And I'd be lying if I said never looked back. It has its ups and downs, you know, but we are where we are today sort of things. And I've, I've never looked back in a sense, but you know what I mean. Yeah, that's that's, that's fair. That is I just want to share a couple of people in chat. All right, to Jason McAfee from Ask Pest Control and also Adam Edwards.

How you doing, mate? Thanks for tuning in.

So when it comes to something interesting, because obviously the UK has got an overpopulation of of data I believe. Is that correct? Certain. Places. There's places. Without it, it's quite bad in Scotland where you are. So there's there's a massive conflict of different opinions on this sort of subject. So like you've got traditionalist people and everybody is like, I'm one person that everyone is entitled to opinion. That's your opinion that I think it's right or wrong. I generally that's up to you, but like you I'll you'll get no matter what you see, if you see it from one side or the other, you're going to you know, someone's going to give a heat or whatever, but you know, whatever.

Like I say, everyone's entitled to their opinion, but there is areas where there's a massive, massive overpopulation and stuff like that. And then there is pockets without as many and they've they've got a good manageable level and stuff like that. People, you get the traditionalists of traditional deer stalking and stuff like that. The great client, they take clients, deer stalking, they do a bit of management themselves as well when they don't have clients and warn that, you know, the traditional sort of deer stalker and there is a place for it.

But then we also need to look at the other side of it, of habitat impact, animal welfare as well. When you've got a mass herd a deer, the condition of that deal isn't it's not as good as if you've got less, you know, like, so they go on about this magic deer per square kilometre sort of thing. But if you've got like, there's some places that you like up here, especially there's they've got this massive fenced off like forestry planting areas. So the deer are more confined to to 1 area and the the damage on that bit of ground is just significant because of the, you know, they're what's the word I'm looking for?

They're they're confined to this area. But if you took it across all, like if, if you've got somewhere that's 10,000 acres, see, but yeah, the deer don't have access to 2000 acres. There's going to be a lot more damage in the 2000 acres than there is in the other eight. But you're taking your deer per square kilometre across the whole 10,000. So it's like it's a false figure in a sense sometimes, but it's there's a, there is a need for more pressure on deer management in certain areas, like I say.

But I live like we when we moved here, like I think 16 years ago or something like that, my mother and father built this house and you would see the odd Rd here say like every night on my way home. Now it's try not to hit a road here, you know, so the, the, but there wasn't a huge population, just that there's not still a massive population. But it's just they're now starting to get to that stage of the need to be managed, you know, because then if not Rd safety comes into and stuff like that, like, but how would you feel if you owned somewhere you've got mass deer problem and your deer were all over the road and it and it, you know, jump in front of a car with a fat young family in it, you know what I mean?

Yeah, I've seen them come across the road before. Luckily we weren't. We've seen it. We've seen them coming in a distance and you kind of you stop for a minute in case there's more, you know. But I I've a while ago was it last year, this year? Might have been this year. Me and my dad's in chat, my dad, he's we've seen them in a field, all these here and I've never seen them in the in the open. They were in the open field. They were all across this field. They were. I thought it was pretty cool. I've never seen them like that.

I haven't. I don't, I don't pay like I know like the regulations and the seasons and everything. It's all different down in like England and Wales compared to Scotland and stuff like that. But like, I don't know that much about like the would the way it's done down there and stuff. But I know that there is pockets down there where there is an absolute major problem. Like when you've got groups of herds of followed, you're running through places, you know, there's like 500 followed you. It's like like really like what's that about?

But I think because there's so much small pockets of land that's like they're on one land owners, but ground and then 10 seconds later they're on another one, you know, and what is that here? Our landmark, it's a lot more like, you know, it's good they've got across 1000 acres, not 100 acres and stuff, you know. So it's a lot harder down there to control them I think compared to the likes of that here. But the carry on. No, you can't. Be on. Sorry, no, as you can see when you're saying about them on the road like I got a few years ago when I I got my new track, I had it like I think I had it not even a month, maybe a month, something like that.

And I was driving along the road 1 morning we've been out foxing and I was driving home and a blinking red Hine came out right in front of me. I was actually only doing probably about 4550 mile an hour or something like that Max. And by the time I jumped the brakes, then she just went straight into the front of it and just the whole I had to get a whole new front end in the front of my truck and only had a month, you know, and ironically, actually, it was actually right beside one of the pieces of ground that I do deer management on.

So it was like a bit a bit of deer karma, if that makes sense, you know, but and then I just that truck obviously got it repaired and everything. That's fine. I just just got another one there, another truck just in April. And I had, well, I didn't hit the deal. The deal hit me. I was on my way home the other night. It jumped into the side of my track. I was like, are you fucking kidding me? So, yeah, but no, it's, I mean, I love DRA, like this is the thing. But people like, people who call like folk who do deer management professionally and stuff like, you know, we're called contract killers.

But the proper most do you think that the puppet needs to be educated on what can happen? I don't think they're, I don't think they're educated. No, they think it's about you. No, they just look at Bambi and that's the problem. The same as like the venison market is saturated, like it's just like we're getting a lot more pressure, like across the UK as a whole, we'll see to put to more deer, cow, more deer. And it's supply and demand. So when the market's flooded, the price drops and everyone's moaning about the price of the venison because we're getting paid, we're getting paid pennies for it.

Like I think I don't even have any hand here, but I think the last I was getting was for Red and Sika was I think was a 140 a kilo or something, 1.40 a kilo, maybe 160. And I think Rodeo was like 1.80 a kilo. It's it's pathetic. But yeah, they're being forced to use copper ammunition, which is like three times the price of Lincoln. Not it's not quite three times the price, but it's like double the price of normal lead ammunition. Go and buy a new pick up now you can't find a pickup that starts with any number apart from a four down here.

I mean you do get cheaper tracks, but like the price of vehicles has increased significantly. Oh yeah, they definitely. Have. Yeah, the price of ammunitions increased, the price of rifles have increased, scopes, thermals, you know that there's all the stuff, but yet the price of venison has gone down. Fuel, there's another thing like, but the price of venison has gone down. But I think from the public eye, it's Bambi. And this is the problem. There's no, I know some of the game dealers are trying to do a bit more promotion with it and stuff like that.

But you, it's just not out there publicly, you know, And like nowadays there's like a lot of this. I know one of the game dealers, they tried to go to the local schools and try and educate the kids from a young age where they they need to learn from, like how many people think, especially in the bigger cities, people walk into Tesco, Sainsbury's asked us Whatever they think, that's where the chicken comes from, where the state the the beef comes from. They don't realise that it's in a field. It's true because I was watching that, you know, Callum from Clarkson's Farm Park, Yeah, he's got a programme on Amazon and he, he's done a tour.

But he recorded one of them and he said that he was in a shop and he asked this lad, I think, I don't think, where do you think that milk comes from? And he went the supermarket and he says it broke my heart that children don't know where milk comes from. So but. There's no dedication for it. But he recorded the whole thing on on the show on Amazon, so millions would have seen it on an actual on showed them how the milk came. And he recorded it all went through so people would know. But he says kids, people should know.

But he says they certainly don't. No, there's no education for it. And this is where there needs to be more promotion in that sense of things, you know, like educate them. But the schools wouldn't allow the game dealer to go because because because too many of the parents were like, oh, you're not teaching my kid that you kill Bambi. It's like, like, you know what I mean? It's just didn't always mean that sort of things. But that's the world we live in nowadays. Eh, It is it. Is but so because I I've heard that is the government giving I'm not saying they are the the situation's got that bad that they're giving free funding for deer stalking.

I think you've got a hit but meet the requirements you have SO. In England is I'm not like I'm not that clued up and down there, but I think you can get almost like a bounty like so some places that have got surveys done, I don't know what the criteria is, I have no idea. So if someone someone can jump on and who does know them, great. But I think they can get like a payment per head or per certain amount or something like that. Or if they're reduced to a certain density up here, there's, as far as I'm aware, there's nothing like that.

But there is like, so like, you know, the private estates or pay contractors to come in or like government bodies or pay contractors, they'll also use their own, their own contractors and stuff. And the way a lot of that works is you're sort of you're paid a bounty per head as the way that is like it'd be like you've been out and doing a rabbit control job and and being paid per rabbit, you know, it's the same, same. We won't talk about it, but it's like some people that think it's still £5 a mole but we're not talking about moles.

I do, but I do more control daily, like, well, not daily, but like I do more control as part of my pest control anyway. So I'm more than happy to talk about that sort of things. But it's that's the thing. And there is again, I think like even that £5 a mole, I think if you can go on to farm and you're going to catch 1000 moles off it. Well, if you want to do a £5 a mole then car on because the farmer not going to pay you 1012 fifteen, £20 a mole or, you know, whatever when you're catching high number of that.

But yeah, it's like, you know, so it's not easy. It's not easy money. That's that's for sure. Like it's hard work. That's that's the thing. And it's fine the same as a deer like and you know, being paid this bounty. That's where we just get called contract killers and that's fine. But have a go at me for it if you want for being a contract killer. But if I'm not doing it, guess what? Someone else is going to be doing it. It's true. It's like. If your accountant who, if your accountant doesn't do your books, guess what, a different account, I'll do it.

Someone else will be doing it. So it's like always. Be someone else. I will exactly like so just. There is a lot of though, like I don't know what the word is recreational stalkers though, you know, and they, they go out and they shoot a handful of deer a year and stuff like that. And that that's great, but doesn't make a dent in the population, you know, And like if you've got like, there's a lot of them as well that they want to shoot more and more deal and they hate the fact they don't get the opportunity because all the deal are getting shot around them by a contract killer.

And there is like there is a lot of jealousy on that side of things and they've been shooting it and stuff. And it can be it's the best industry in the world, but it's it's it can also be like quite don't know what the word. What's that? Donkey Dog. Yeah, it can be, yeah. Or like cliquey or, you know, it can be like that. But, but there's amazing people in that world. Like the deer management world. There's, there's amazing people in that. Yeah, that's. That's good to hear because you'd think though, if if the government was offering incentives that they would start to educate the public.

But I suppose you don't want to spend money on educating people because it won't be that difficult to run the load of nice videos explaining why they're causing problems and putting them over social media or something. But I can't do that, can we? It's common sense, yeah, allowed to use that. No. Do you do a lot of day work at the minute or? Not this time of year, no, I don't personally. We still do a small amount, but in this time of year like just go out for an evening or a morning and stuff like that.

But not a heck of a lot of this time of year for me. But there is a lot of folks still do a lot of this time of year. But just me personally, I don't. It's more of my winter time sort of thing. I don't do need as much as I used to do. I was doing probably anything from, I don't know anything from like 3:00 to 3:00, 4-5 hundred year a year, something like that as we were killing. But I don't do that now. It's just the other things have come up and focusing more time on that. I'd like to get more into it back and not sit back into it, but I would like to start doing more again.

But I just, at the moment, I'm doing other stuff and trying to juggle so much at the moment that I just don't have the time to commit to somebody who's wanting it, you know? Oh. That's fair enough. You know, I know you're a busy guy. Whenever I send you a message, you're always doing something. You are. I know it's awful, like it's awful. It's just trying to jiggle the. Problem is, some people say it's a good thing to be busy. It's a good complaint. It's my favourite thing at the moment. Yeah, it is, it is.

And I and I, I hate turning work away and I hate letting people down. I enjoy helping people, you know, when somebody has a problem, if we can see if I can solve it then great. Like I got a phone call 2 weeks ago, I think it was about honeybee removal. I don't do it and I'm sorry I can't help you and I hate letting them down. That's something I would definitely look into for the future, but at the moment I don't do it. And I, I, to be honest, I don't get that much request for it in a sense. So at the moment, I mean, the more I, if I did offer it and, and went and courses and learned how to do it properly and things like that, then I would promote it more than that, if that makes sense.

But there's a, there's a lot of like local beekeepers up here and stuff that do it. So I just say try one of them. That's the best help I can give you, unfortunately, you know. Yeah, that's fair enough, Adam Edwards said. You would you think he's after someone to come to Scotland? He's for. Yeah, but when you coming Adam? Yeah, yeah. No worries. He's always busy. He's always busy like you, he is. Yeah, he's he needs to jump in his pushback and get up here for a week. And so we are, we are looking to, we're expanded at the moment and we're looking to take somebody on.

So let's just we've been looking for quite a while, but it's challenging. There's challenging. I don't know what it's like. So you've got to get the right person, yeah. Yeah, 100%. Do you know what? Do you know what? I'll be totally honest. I'm probably not there. I'm, I'm a social person. Like I like, like being social and things like that, but at the same time, like I hate people just, it's so weird. Like it's not that I hate people, but it's just, I don't know how to describe it, to be totally honest.

It's like, you know, sometimes the job would be great without customers, wouldn't it? Do you know what I mean? But I'm probably not the easiest to get home with sometimes. And like I have, don't get me wrong, a lot of my friends that can help out and jobs that. So we do some bracken management, like the weeds, you know, bracken control. So we. Yeah. So like with a quad bike and a roller as the method because we're not allowed to use chemicals on this site. So we roll it a year for it's over a period of five years.

And by the end of the fifth year, like Year 6, it should be gone. But it'll never be completely gone now could. You could you explain for the podcast and me what that is? What's Bracken? It's so a Fern is the best way to describe it. Like it's, you know, it's a plant that grows out there, grows. I don't know if it's bad with you guys down there, like, you know, across the rest of the UK, but up here in Scotland it is bad. Like there's massive pops and it drowns out light from stuff below, Stuff doesn't grow, you know, that sort of thing.

It's like like a rhododendron boost, you know how like they just spread like wildfire being invasive and all that sort of stuff. So, but you know what, actually, I don't know. I don't know, it's Bracken invasive or not. I don't actually know, to be totally honest with you. It doesn't matter. You need to work on it. It's. Got to be, it's got yeah, it's going to be controlled and it also helps cleaning these areas as well. They're like sort of bigger open patches that also helps them because the site we do the deer management on as well.

So it also helps us with that. But the region in that area, now that we that we're rolling it's and controlling that, that Bracken, it's made a huge difference. Like where there's so much young regen popping through, like like Birch regen, we're getting a lot of oak regen and stuff like that as well. That's. Really cool, you're keeping top of it and the bracken should die off and not come back and it's not going to be shaded out so that young trees can then can then spread into bigger trees and you know, help capture carbon and all that sort of stuff.

But like at the moment we're trying to bank now and like one of my friends, he's been helping me out, been able to do that for me. And whilst I've been busy with other jobs and stuff, you know, so I've got a network of folk that, you know, I can sub stuff too and whatnot as and when I need need help. So it's really handy. But there is that side of, you know, sometimes it's see letting go of the rain in a sense when you're used to doing something yourself. It's difficult, eh? It is if you. If you ever find the right person to join your company, you can have to.

You can have to learn that. 100 percent, 100%. Like one of my friends, he, he did stuff for me through like a few years back there. He did stuff over I can't a few months he was working for me anyway and we got on so well anyway. It was quite easy for me to, but because I knew him, you know, it was easier. But it's letting go of that rains and stuff and trusting them to do that properly because it's like if they if they mess up, it's on me. You know, if I mess up, it's on me, but that's fine because it's on me.

You know, it's like like just as a prime example, we've got, I've got a pigeon job to do just now in a warehouse and there's I went back to look at it there a couple of weeks ago. Actually, I'm just getting around to doing it now, but nice simple job. Pigeons in the rafters, you know, nothing's ever simple, but you know what I mean? Then checked it out and I'm like, Oh yeah, yeah, that's like just sort of looking up and I was like, there's gas lines running on the. Rafters. No, you can't shoot. Can you not on all of them rafters?

So I mean, yes, like on the Gable lanes, there's none. So you just got to hope that pigeons are sitting on the Gable lanes. But it's, yeah, you know, you take take into account your risk assessment there, how confident you with margin of error. Yeah. So, you know, things like that, like if that goes wrong, it's on me sending someone else to do that. I'll be sweating. I'll be sweating. I'm not going to lie, I'll be sweating. But the more you get used to somebody and somebody's, you know, you get used to taking like you get to know each other and know their capabilities and stuff like that, I think it would be definitely easier.

You know, it's going to be a like, I've never like employed somebody full time before. So it's going to be a huge learning curve for me. Well, I think, but I think I might be wrong. It'd. Be good, but I think to start with you probably after person with you for a little bit.

Totally 100%. And it'll be a massive learning curve for me as well, you know, and, but I'm looking forward to it. I like that challenge, you know, but we had an interesting conversation today. I've, I've kind of gone, I've been lucky that one of the places I worked as a gamekeeper, we were surrounded by high end individuals will see high end in business and stuff like that. So I've been fortunate in that sense to pick up some tips from them. And you know, like you should really think about X or Y, you know, sort of things.

And I never really took it on board, to be totally honest. And when I was in the States, we were actually, we were actually staying with one of these. They're one of these guys and I haven't seen him. It's quite nice because I haven't seen him for quite a while and it was nice to go over and stay with him and Steph and we were chatting about business and stuff like that. And you know, it's, it's there is a big difference in working for a wage and running a business. You know, there's, there's a big difference in it and speaking to different folk about it and whether they're high end or not, It's, it's so interesting, the varied opinions and I've, I've grown too fast and it's not, it's not a good thing.

But like again, I was having a conversation today about stuff and by probably this time next year it could be potential, if not sooner, potential for having another another person full time. It's good. It's good to get different perspectives because I recently I've had a few conversations and and because I do want to, I do want to grow like eventually maybe run 2 vans and into the future. And it all stems from we're investing into a new website. We are we're talking to a few people and and I've recently asked been asking people for more advice and trying to take it on board and because you're just going to be like.

Fun. Yeah. You're just going to be like a sponge and absorber, yeah. You have, but that's pretty cool that he went out to America and you got some advice as well, so. No, I'm grateful for it. That's the thing, you know, And if I continue to grow the way things are going and and all that, like I'll forever be grateful for that advice, you know? But it's not till you like I can sit there and say to you like, yeah, but you need like you're on about your website. You need to also think about I'm just making this up, but like local advertisement and you and you think, Oh yeah, yeah.

But it's not till you stop and actually think about it and break it down. What's been said, You're like, actually, you know, that that makes sense and, and whatnot. And but yeah, it's, it's it's, I don't know how else to say. I'm grateful for it, you know. Yeah, it's good to. It's like I've noticed any industry, everyone's now, because obviously I've never met you, but we talked nearly daily through the voice notes. Same with Adam. I can see you, Adam. He said that he, he, one of his terriers used to be called Bracken.

That's what he that's what he's just. But but yeah, but we all talk and we all ask each other through voice or whatever. And there's a lot of people with a lot, lot more experience than us as well. Like some of the advice I've got for people who are a lot more experienced than me because, because I'm learning it all, because obviously one day I will take the firm over and it's, it's all learning knowledge. It is just trying to trying to learn how to get more, say more commercial contracts and things like that.

I've been asking for advice and it's quite good advice. A lot of it is. To be fair. Oh it's good it is. Every day is a learning day. Every day is a learning day. Like asking advice. Like people. Some people are too proud to ask for help or advice and stuff like that. I generally don't care if I look like an idiot asking a question. I don't care as long as I get the answer that I'm looking for, you know, like I might ask, I don't know, I'm just going to make this up. But like, how do you, how do you treat a wasp's nest or something?

And that might be something like, you know, a lot of people that and go, what, what are you talking about? I've never dealt with it. So I know I do do them and I do know I would do it, but I'm just saying for an example, But it's just I don't care if I look like an idiot. I want to learn. I want to know, you know, it's like, well, just when you're saying about Adam, they're like, I asked Adam about something yesterday and I was like, I've never used it. I have no idea. Can you explain how that works?

You know, because I, because I didn't know. I'm never afraid because it's like, I think that's a good thing. Sorry. Go on. Carry on, carry on. Sorry, Sorry, I was. Just going to say I think that's a good thing with like the pest control industry. Like there is, there is such a tight knit community there. So like there's a lot of people who are happy to help and they want to see you do well and succeed and learn and all that sort of stuff. Don't get me wrong. There is also the little part of like within the community that are like dead against it.

Don't want to see, you know what I mean? They want everything for themselves and there is that side of it. But that's like every industry, you know, it's, but I do think like, I know we're not really talking about UK baton supplies here. But like I was saying to you earlier on today, the friends I've made within the industry with the new Cape Town supplies, they're lifelong friends. I've never met them in person. But again, we speak daily and all this sort of stuff and it's, it's amazing. And every one of them wants to see you do well.

It's good because I think there's a, there's a change of over the past couple of years, there's there's been a change because in the groups, not saying which ones, but when you used to ask questions, people used to laugh and say you should know. But some of these groups like to get help and advice. And I've noticed that people don't really take the Mickey anymore. And if they do, people go, well, hang on. Because there's certain, like I can't remember, it was ages ago and I think I was in, I don't know what group I was in.

I put this is an educational group. What are you laughing at? Or, or it's to get different because obviously with the change of the garden, how we do Moss tests with chemicals, etcetera. There's a lot, tonnes of chemicals. There is, there's you, there's the, there's all sorts, there's all sorts. So if you've never used them, you're asking from advice. And yeah, and you can try. You'll learn like it's all very well doing like I, I stand by this and it it might be wrong, but I stand by it and I'll always stand by this.

You can read as many books as you want. You can watch as many podcasters as you want. You can do as many training courses as you want, but you will never learn as much until you make the mistakes making them and and being on the job. That's how you learn the most. Like I can read. I've got first aid course next week coming up, right. And I can tell you right now, I've been doing them for years and I I get it. But every every couple of years it changes. You know, like one year it's like don't give chess compressions.

Next year's no, no, give chess compressions, but don't give no, you know, they change all the time. But I walk out of there like I walk out of that first aid course and I'm like, what the fuck did I just learn?

Even even though you've done it, when you if you ever have to do it, you'll be like it'll come back shit on the real person. It'll come back like I've I've had to do not CPR in him, but I've had to do like pretty like emergency first aid, we'll call it on, on someone. And it just came flooding back like that, you know, and I'm just like, it was to do with a knife wound is what it was. But it was just like the way it was, it was like, oh shit, you know, like we need to get this dressed up and stuff.

And it's like, you think it's not hard to tie a bandage, don't get me wrong. But it comes flooding back to you when you when you go to use it, you know, it's the same as if you think to like, I haven't done. I'm trying to think of saying I haven't done for a long, long time that I don't actually know. I'm just trying to think of sound there. But you get what I mean. Like the point of it comes flooding back to you But when you leave that room. It's out your brain, you know, and when you're on the job, that's when you learn.

It's trial and error. It's true. It's like when you do your courses, it's like like your RSPH, level 2 warding, pest management or all the basics. Can you remember every single thing that was in that? My, you know, I was doing it though My brain melted. I wrote it all down, don't get me wrong, but getting it to stick is is different. Yeah, 100%. But but yeah, I've got I've still got all my notes. Now I if you ever need need to go back and look but another. Thing it's, you know, you when you don't use something as well, you lose it.

I'm a great believer in that. So you say what? With that level RSPH course, it did the Level 2 pest award in Pest Management award a better because there's a lot of yeah, yeah, yeah thing about it. It got I obviously I passed my rodents first time, but I failed invertebrates under health and safety by only a few points. But what cocked me up was it was cockroaches. I don't do them. I was on how to learn it all, but it didn't stick. But next time round it stuck because I'd learned. I'd come back and learnt that much.

I don't. I've never done them before and still to this day we haven't got a job for them. Imagine we don't get them. No. I'd like, I'm not saying you don't get them. Maybe you do. I don't know. I've never had a call for it. I I, I've sorry, I don't know. I'm there. I think you do deep in the cities, but we don't work deep in the cities. We don't. Yeah, we're, we're so rural in the Highlands, even a city like, well, Inverness is the big, the closest city to me. And even then, it's like that town to you guys, I mean.

I live in the smallest county in in in England, but Rutland is probably bigger than where you are. It is. Like I think southern, like I'm in rush, rush hour, but like Sutherland up from us, it's the I think it's the biggest county in the UK if I remember right, or maybe Scotland, I can't remember. But it's the biggest count with the smallest population. It's it's like it's mental, but it's, if you look at the map from north of Inverness, say like the first, it's a splab you've got like Inverness Shire and whatnot, and then you feel like Ross and then you go settle in Caithness is a little bit of the top, but it's like I say, maybe in Inverness you get cockroaches.

I have no idea. I don't know. I've never had a phone call for them or I've never heard anyone talking about them. So I don't know. It's the same as like, like bedbugs. I don't touch bedbugs. I have no interest in doing it. I have no interest at all in doing it. I've never done it. I haven't got a clue. Wouldn't know where to start. If you put me in a room of bedbugs and said, I mean, I know what they look like. But if you put me in a room with bedbugs and said treat that, I'd be like, I mean, I'd give it a go.

But whether it would be right or probably, I can guarantee it probably wouldn't be right. But when you don't, you know. Oh, that's fair enough. Jason's just put I learn better from acutely doing the job more than sitting in the classroom. Yeah, a lot, 100%. So basically most, most people are more practical. Yeah, I am. Like when it. Comes to when you put an exam in front of them. It's different. It's like that's what I had to go back a second time to do my invertebrates and health and safety regulations.

Second time I did it second time round, but it wasn't far off first time. It's annoying when you've got, you know, like a few points off and like, can you just give me? My my driving test I had to do like when you do your your theory driving test, I feel that like as you get the multiple choice and the hazard perception. I failed my multiple choice the first time by 1 mark but passed the hazard perception so I went from the reset and the second time I failed the hazard perception by one point and passed them all.

For today I might see what's that. Sorry. I I passed that first time but literally I got on the dot numbers so I. Got 1. Less I would have failed the same like I'd say it's pot look more than anything. My third time, when I passed it, I just just passed it, but like the driving side, no problem at all. Like the practical side of it, you know, like I'm openly admit I am thick as shit when it comes to like that type of thing, like technology. I don't will laugh at that one casino, so I'm on about there, but regularly say that to each other.

But like we, I'm thick as shit when it comes to that type of things and like academic side of things and like like I'm fine on like QuickBooks or something like that to an extent. I can't do any technical technical on it, but I can do my invoicing and all that sort of stuff and I can use a computer. I can type, but doing paperwork side of things and like, you know, exams and paper and write into that. I'm, I'm bad with it. Yeah, like I'm really bad with it. And like, like I was saying to you, I'm like, oh, can we just check this, this link works instead?

You know, I'm just, I'm not. That's. Why I picked, that's why I picked this, because it's far easy. You don't have to make an account. You click, put your name in and you're in. Yeah. Make it easy for people. You got to make it easy for people to come, for people to come on the show. No A. 100% but that's like I'm a great believer in the in the in the scene of work smart or not harder, like why make your life more difficult than it needs to be? You know, it's like I was getting sick, like doing report pads say for like contracts and stuff.

I was getting so like my handwriting is like a flipping 3 year olds. Like honestly, it's like I'm trying to find something I've got written down here. You don't. You don't need to shame me, you're all right. But it's, it's terrible. But like on the writing, on the reports and stuff, I'm like, oh, you know, so I ended up like a couple of years ago, I was like, right, sit down and turn it into a tick box. So like design my own report. Like for myself, I made everything like a tick box. So like site cheques, tick beatbox refreshed or you know, service tech, you know, search for a tick beatbox, topped up tick, insect pods, tick, you know, I just tried to make everything a tick box like, and then like your product that you've used, you know, so whatever it may be, you just write your product name in and then it will be your, your active ingredient tick and all that sort of stuff.

So there is, there is still a writing part there for comments and stuff like that, but it saves so much time. You know, it's I'm looking at, I'm, I'm looking and thinking of going to the digital version. I'll be honest, I was thinking about to say that I think digital will make it so much easier for you. It would because also you can these tablets if it gets used to your voice, you can't actually talk and it will type it in for you so you can. Do that as well. I do have my Google Maps all the time when I'm driving about because like, yeah, no, that's the thing.

I mean it's great when the like sometimes my missus, she'll come out with me for the day and stuff like that. If she's like a weekend, if I'm working or like in school holidays and stuff, you know, and she's I call it my PA. Like it's brilliant. She's just my PA and does like here you go. I'll tell you what to write. You write it. You know, at least I'm like a customer. Sometimes they'll be like, Oh yeah, you had yourself with you at the weekend and you're like, yeah, how do you know? Because I can read your report.

Yeah. Or like things like on the computer and whatnot. I'm like, how did you do this? And she's like, give me the thing, you know, and she'll, she'll do it. And it's it's, it's handy like you know, but definitely works harder, not harder. That's good to hear. And somebody missed your message. Jenny, thanks for thanks for popping on. She's from America Passenger and podcast. OK. I've been on that one but but earlier on I missed this message. And he's right because we're all about messaging each other.

It's a lonely game at times. It's important to engage in my humble opinion, I think. That's obviously I'm. Not as I'm not as lonely as ever because I do work with my dad, but a lot of people are. They are so. I was so like, actually like, I'll probably get some hate for this, but I'm actually a seasonal water bailiff as well. So we don't have night times like throughout the night patrolling rivers and stuff, looking for poachers and stuff like that, you know, protecting salmon and all that sort of thing.

But we'll not get into that much. But again, I was saying into the head bailiff the other day, like it's a lonely job. Like I know there's this big thing just now. Well, not just now, and that's actually really bad to say. But like there's this, you know, there's a lot more out there to do with mental health and stuff like that nowadays, you know, and a lot more aware and you know, it's a big thing and everything. And you could, if you actually stop and think about it, like, or you're out there driving about by yourself listening to blinking Spotify or listening to the same old radio station, you know, it did.

It does get lonely like, you know, but I'm, I'm always messaging somebody or something like that or replying to an e-mail or something that's just real bad. But having the chats like, you know, I was chatting, me and Adam mean like loads of other folk. And it's definitely good because it's that social aspect of it, you know, and we're all bouncing ideas off of each other and all that sort of stuff, you know, and there's so many people, again, like I say, this industry, there's so many people that I've made friends with that I, I know I could pick up the phone at any point.

And if I ever felt I needed to, to have a chat like an proper, like, because I'm feeling for whatever. Or, you know, I'm a bit old school in that sense. I'm like, you know, life's tough with a helmet, like, and it's probably wrong, should be a bit more sensitive, but it's just the way I am. But like, if I needed to, there's several people I know I could pick up the phone and phone, you know, and, and it's nice. It's nice to have that, that behind you. And the same as there's people out there that if they ever need to chat, phone and they know they can phone me, you know?

If I may, if you want, it's fine. I, I I. I may not answer, but I'll get back to you, yeah. Busy man send send you a voice note and you will. Yeah, it's like today I was, I was playing phone ping pong today. Like missing calls, phone and back. They'd missed them. They'd missed me just like, oh, that's.

Fair. So do you do a lot of rodent, rodent control, mice control, do you do a lot of that? Do you? Yeah, Yeah, we do a lot of that. We do a lot of agricultural stuff as well, sort of dealing with rats, mice, Wasps, smalls, rabbits, foxes, deer, corvets as well, pigeons and that's that's what I mean, you get a lot, do you? Get a lot of bird work then. No, I don't for certain things like lamb and time will do like hoodie, crew caddy and crew control sort of things for farms, unlike if there's crops getting hammered, you know as well for crop protection, we will do stuff there and ask for bird work to do with like pigeons and stuff like that.

For buildings and stuff. No, I don't own gull work and stuff, but I don't push it. I don't advertise it. I, I will. There is some customers I'll do bird work for, but very, very limited and like I wouldn't take, I wouldn't dig on a big proofing job or anything like that. You know, I'd find I would, I would. If one of these places wanted it done, we'd certainly organise it and deal with another company to do the works and subcontract to them. There's no problem at all. But we're getting asked more and more for it.

And yeah, there was a conversation I had to do, like I say, and next year might look a lot different in terms of that sort of thing. But it's, yeah, you're going to keep evolving and thinking of new ideas and yeah. You got it. You just got it. But yeah, no, we don't generally do bird work at all. It's not our thing, but it's it's on our website. It won't be. It won't be on our new website. It won't be. It won't be would you do that if someone for pigeons in a shed or something like that, would you do that or?

Trying to open the shed, but yeah, we, we don't really do things like that. We don't however there. Is a demand point. We don't really get the calls for it. We don't. But when we when we do, we, we've got other pest controllers in the area and we, we recommend them because they use, there's one specific one that does do bird work and we pass it over to him. James, Pastor Dean is a nice guy. Yeah, that's what camera. There we go. See this, this is the thing like it's it's nice to have that network that you can pass stuff to like, you know what I mean there's.

You know you don't like the B work. We pass B removables to Elliot for me and pest control. He's like Leicester, but we pass a lot of work to win. Yeah, because he because he does it. He knows what he's doing. He does so. And it's good that and you know, like I like that with folk, you know, and it works both ways. You pass stuff to them, they'll pass stuff to you. It's and you know, and it's good and it should work like that. And that's like, I've go there, I'm not going to go into this for too much detail, but like there's stuff that I've got somebody else that they're doing, stuff I've passed to them.

They phoned me about stuff up here and that's great. And I have done like trying to sub stuff to other folk and they've done that and they tried to stab me in the back. So now I'm like, Nah, bugger, you like, you know, no, I can't be honest. I can't annoy me. I just can't be bothered with it like so I'd just rather not take the work on. You know, it's the old school way of thinking, but that's. The. Way it is, isn't. It you know exactly. You're rodent control. Do you do any? Because obviously you're into the shooting.

Do you do any shoots with with running? Do you do? Yeah, I do not, not a mass amount of it, but we do do it. One of the sites, the waste site. So we try and get in there as much as we can, as much as they'll allow us. And we're always, it's management. It's not, you're never going to eradicate it. It's management, you know, and, and it's, yeah, we do that there. And then there's some farms as well. What it's it's the best option for us like? You talk farmer. OK. Can you talk farmer? Do you get on well with the farmers?

Can you talk farmer? Yeah, I can't. It's hard to get on with them. It's you've got to be, they don't trust you. You've got to be that way. Like coming from gamekeeper world you'll be fine, but when you're outside that world it's a little bit hard. It's it can be clicky like it can be clicky department industry, but the farming industry up here is really good like, and everyone helps everyone supports everyone and stuff. It's the Highlands is a massive place, but it's such a small place. Everybody knows everybody.

Like, you can't, like, you can't fart up here without someone 50 miles away knowing about it. Like, you know, it's like, yeah, it is absolutely ridiculous, like, and how big an area is, but everybody knows everybody, Yeah. No, it's it just sound sound sound like a big area. It's probably because I Brooklyn's probably my home of towns probably got well where I live. Population over 40 / 40,000. Yeah. So like I don't know what the population is in the village we're in here, but like the 10 miles away is like the closest town with a supermarket and things.

You know what I grew up, what I grew up in teen and it's I think it's populations probably like 5 or 6000, something like that. Oh, so Rutland, kind of. It's bigger. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, and there's nothing up here like I'm just actually having a look at this to see what the population of like Inverness is our biggest city. I can't believe what Adam's just said. Talk farmer. Talk to the farmer's daughter. That gets you in trouble too though. So in 2021 Inverness had a population of 82,383 and that's that's the closest city.

So we are we are smaller then we are smaller. Yeah, but that's a city like, Oh yeah, that's. Usually it's usually about a million for a city. There's only like more. I can't remember it was the population of Scotland, like 7 million or 9 million or something like that. That's the population of the whole of Scotland. Like it's tiny. There's more people in London than there is in the whole of Scotland. Well, that place is too busy. Yeah. I've been there. It's fine, but it's, it's busy. It's Have you ever been there?

Yeah, I was down there in February. It's hot, isn't it? It's just calming, yeah. It's pollution levels, yeah. I noticed this time it wasn't as bad, but like a few years ago when I was last there before then you go into like the hotel at night and you take like a like a face wipe, you know, a baby wipe or whatever. You go like that and it was just like black with like pollution and dirt and soot, you know? It wasn't as bad. I've got a couple of mates that live there. I've got a couple of mates that live there and I asked him what what's going on.

It's so sticky. I said it's the humidity. He says no mate, it's the humidity. But it's the since COVID he says the pollution levels have gone up and he said that that's what you're feeling, it's the humidity mixed with the pollution. But he says it feels like it's sticky. Yeah, I remember driving to like I was a Gatwick. We were driving, I wasn't driving like we were getting a taxi or an Uber or whatever. It was out to the airport and you're as you're driving, you can just see this like haze and it's just like, yeah, not for me.

It's too busy. I'd I get like, I get, I get blinking annoyed when the things are too bit, like everyone else is too busy for me.

I'm a weirdo like that. But it's yeah, like people walking. But round here, you walk down the the street, like the High Street and T and say, and even if you don't know the person, when you're walking past someone, if you make eye contact, you'd be like, how's it going? All right, You know, even if you don't know them. It's just the mannerism of the Highlands, you know. Oh. No, it's, it's a good thing. It's, it's what used to happen in the old days. It's like around there, not everyone would speak to you because they've got Airpods in, but a lot of the old people with like elderly people, if you say morning, they're always say morning back to you and they're like.

Very. Well, yeah, that's nice. That's still exists at your end. Where? I live, it's fine, but I can imagine. We're still behind the times. I would say yeah, you probably, yeah, probably are, maybe, but but yeah, what else was I going to say? Do you? Do you do a lot of rodent proofing jobs? Minor, minor proofing, not major proofing. It depends on the situation, you know, like I don't go gang hole with it and stuff like that. I'll maybe recommend something needs done and then if the customer wants it done, then we can look at it.

But half the time they they don't they're not interested. They're like, I'll just call you again when the problem comes back. And it's like, well, why not get rid of this problem, you know, once and for all type thing. But they just. Yeah, No, no. It's like when you tell them that you need to get a drain survey and that they don't. It's hard though when you get the recommendation and it's not something we offer, but we we say you have to get someone else to do it. But yeah. Same, same here. But it's like I've got to the point now of like, I know it's been talked about in a few podcasts and stuff about like recommendations on treatment reports and stuff like that.

When do you, like, at what point do you just stop writing it? I don't, I just write it like now I'm like, I've recommended it. I've spoken to you about it, I've spoken to management about it or whatever. You're not going to do it. That's your problem. It's not on you. It's, it's not on me. So it's on you. Like I'm just like pay your bill, you know, like I'm at that point and I won't quite like just. Yeah, you could. You're as well speaking to Brick wall sometimes, you know? Yeah, you are. Correct.

I know exactly what you mean, especially with certain monthly contracts sometimes. I'm not saying it any in particular, I'm just saying a lot of you don't, a lot of customers don't always want to spend that. So even though it's not that, it's not that much, a lot of the time we're not. You don't even charge much on top. It's not that much. But it is willingness though, isn't it? Everyone experiences that in the in the industry. Yeah, no, like I say, we'll do minor proofing and stuff like that, like on a job, but not yeah.

We do. We only do minor and we don't do the big proofing. We don't. No, no, it's something I would like to get more into to be totally honest or have the option to offer as well like you know, so it's something you could actually upsell as well, you know, like on top of services and stuff like that. But right now I don't have the the capacity or the time for it. Yeah, I know. I mean, it's obviously. Some of the future, but. 100%. But we might look into it more in the future. Just we've got a lot of things trying to do at the minute.

But we do obviously when we do people's air bricks, we do a lot of that. We do the air vents. We do that. But it's, yeah, you've got to be good at selling as well. You've got to be good at talking. You have, you know, how to how to word it as well. Yeah, 100%. I've learned all that as well. I am. Fear factor, yeah. I've actually done, I'll tell you what was fear factor when I knocked on a few doors in commercial places and asked them about pass. Call call them. Yeah, they were all nice. None of them rang me back, but I did it.

Yeah, it was quite scary, but everyone was nice. Yeah, I remember start when I started out, like I remember just like going round and like I would wait for somewhere to form me and everything. I'm like, this isn't working, you know, And like I would go to like a restaurant or something. And I remember asking them the first time and I was like, just like a like a mess like, you know, and everything. Now I'm like, no, I'm fortunate right now, but I need to like thinking forward. I can't be like this.

But right now I'm like, I'm fortunate. I don't need to take it on. So like when I get a call for something like that, I'm like, look, guy, I'd be struggling to fit you in literally because I'm busy at the moment unfortunately. But we can certainly come around and price it for you, you know, give you a shout and sort of thing. So we'll go around price and whatnot. And I'm like, that's the price there per month or whatever or like one off, you know, whatever the job is. And before I was used to like be a busy fool.

When I first started, I had to take everything I could. Like, I literally I had nothing when I started. Like I'll never forget like what I started with. And I literally, yeah, to where I am now and where we're what I'm wanting to go. I'm going to be, I'm still a long way off where I want to be. And I'm a bit behind what I want to be. And I've had some setbacks, don't get me wrong. But I'm quite proud of myself for what I've done. And like, you know, it's hard to build from nothing, if that makes sense.

Like if you had sort of carry on. I mean, I mean, obviously I'm going off what you're saying because obviously, you know, I joined my dad, my dad did all that. He built the business up. So he told me it took him six months to get his first call. But got to remember that he he didn't go full time. He was doing it as a side job to start with, to build up before we left his job. So. But yeah. I think a lot of people who start doing that as well on the side and everything that's, that's kind of the way to do it because you, you have to build up that reputation.

You have to build up that client base, you know, and all that sort of stuff. I had no option. Like I, I well, I mean, I did have options. That's lies. I had options to go and get a job, another job and stuff, but I was like, I'm done. I'm done working for people. Like management just pissed me off a like not the problem. Like it's not not all management, but obviously, but like, you know, the places I've worked management are always right. And it's like off you, you don't know like if you're a. Lot of them don't.

A lot of them don't know, and I think they all think they do. Just like they're. Not trained. They don't speak to you, right? I, I worked in a terrible place for over 16 years. I stupidly stayed there when I was 19 and then and I left there, I went with my dad. But it's, you know, tox is playing called tox. You know where they shout at you, things like that. Probably old school. Yeah. I learned. I learned a lot there. But yeah. You know what though? Like it's probably opened your eyes. Like there was probably, although you're getting shouted at and stuff, there's probably times when it actually helped you been shouted out and whatnot, you know, like, but I when I was gamekeeping and on shoot days, we'd have the line of beaters.

Oh man, honestly, I was horribly like, I'll admit I was I'd go through them like the dose of the shit, but I'd sit down beside them at lunchtime and have the have lunch with them and get the crack. And then the next day, like 10 minutes later was forgotten about. It was like just at that point, because I was like so stressed about stuff, you know? But like when you like management though as well, when they've got a little bit of knowledge of every department in a business, say they think they're a fucking expert on everything and it's just like, no.

Or like when someone's just came in and a new boss and they've got a little bit of power and they think they're Mr High and Mighty. Power happy, power happy. But it it's like, you know, and again, like I me taking someone on right and then becoming a boss as a sense like that, the whoever I take on, they're only put like 50% of what I put in if I'm lucky, you know, it's like they don't care. But people like, I find a lot of like management bosses, whatever owners, whatever they they expect so much from their staff and it's like, well, hold on a minute.

Are you paying them the same as your paying yourself or your manager? So why, why, why the fuck would they do so much? You know, it's just like, yeah, I know. But like this little power trips and like, you know, it's like if you worked for, I'm just going to say a hotel because it's simple to sort of use. But there's loads of different departments within a hotel. And you've got a general manager who knows a little bit about HRA, little bit about front house, a little bit about the kitchen, a little bit about this.

But he's an expert in it all. And you're like, no, you're not actually listen to the people who are doing that job. Like listen to the people who you know, are on the ground, boots on the ground, doing that job. Listen to them, seek advice from them. They will respect you more as well. You know, it's just, but I got sick fed up of it. So like I say, when I started, I had no choice but lucky. I could have got another job or gone and work anywhere else or got a random day job, whatever. But I wasn't, I wasn't not that type of person anymore.

And I was just at that point and I was like, I have to succeed and I had failures and everything. But you, the best thing that I was told, and it's so true and it still stays with me today, is when you make a mistake and feel, feel fast and move on as well. If you don't learn from it, you've made the wrong mistake. You've not made, you've not made it properly, you've not made the mistake properly. And don't be afraid to take the risk as well. And it's so easy for you to sit and say because Oh yeah, it's worked out for you and all that, to take that risk.

I shit myself every time still to this day when I take a risk, especially like when it involves like big financial risks. But oh, I do, I do. It's like, well, I'm not going to talk too much about it, but we're doing a bit of stuff for UK tank supplies just now that's it's costly, we'll see, very costly. And I'm like, shit, I don't even know if this we're doing new product development basically, but I don't know if it's going to sell. You know, I've invested a lot of money into this, but if you don't try.

Well, exactly. Yeah, that's, yeah, that's you are right. Risk, Risk versus risk and reward. It can pay off It can. Yeah, it can, but it can hurt. It can really hurt, you know, and it's, it's things like that. But I mean, I wouldn't go being stupid with it, you know, like don't if you can't afford to lose what you're going to risk regardless, whether it be a staff member, money, a vehicle, you know, don't, don't risk it. You know, if you can't afford to lose it, don't risk it. There's some great advice in there, I tell you.

There's some really great advice for people that are listening. But again, it's it's see, I like you think it's a lot of it's common sense though, you know, like if you think about your van, right, if you're, if there's a flood and there's a big paddle, but you need to get to that house and you've just watched a car drive through and disappear in this big puddle, are you going to risk it? No, we turn around. Exactly. But if you know but. What made me laugh was one of them was a was a Range Rover and he got stuck.

But we're Range Rovers. You're supposed to press the button and they go upwards. This person will obviously know how to use it. You know, but if you, if you could afford to risk that van and it means that you get there an hour earlier where you're going or whatever. And if you just sat to the side of where the other vehicle went and you know, you could get past take the risk. You know, if you can afford to lose that vehicle, but if you can't go do it. But you know, it's you look at, I don't know if this happens we use down there or not at all.

But like, was that a job today? And I phoned the customer and I said to them like I was, I was actually in the area. I said I can get around and we'll get a look at this, you know, And he's like, oh, I'm not, I'm not at home. And I was like, all right, OK, but the house is open. He says I've got a Ring doorbell. So just just car on. It happens all the time up here. But I'm like, right. It's horrible though, because I'm like, yeah, no problem at all, as long as you're happy for me to enter the property.

And I always get them to text me at saying they're happy and they give me permission to enter the property. And what I do is without them being there. And what I do is I text them when I'm entering the property and I text them when I leave. And I always, I make, I make sure I put the address in it. So if they haven't said I give you permission to enter #3 Park Lane or something like that without my permission, then I always say I'm entering your property right now at #3 Park Lane, you know, And then I messaged when I've left your property.

So it covers me if anything, because I've had, I've had it happen when it, I've had it happen. And they say, oh, you stole, you stole from me, you know, and all this shit. And I'm like, no, here honestly. Like, so I was like, yeah, so I don't like doing it. People don't realise though, like you're a business owner, what damage nicking can do and you wouldn't put, you wouldn't, you wouldn't do that. It's more than you know. It's it's reputation. Like is that someone just trying to get a free job out of you?

So that was for that, no. So but like what I was going to sort of get into with it is it's a risk if you don't feel you know what I mean, but I take that risk as well. But that I've had it twice when I've been accused of stealing and you'll laugh at these, but there was for a local authority. I was doing the job and they said I can go in without them being there. They text me and everyone that was fine. I went in into the house to the job. That was fine. Later on that night, I got a message from them saying like you've you fucking thief.

And I was like, what? So it's like phoning them, they wouldn't answer and everything the next day at the local authority on the phone to me, like, oh, you know, they've been, they've accused you of stealing. And the twice has happened to me and, and you know, the 2 * 1 time it was like it's a 37 pence or something like that. That's what I got accused of stealing. It's just like honestly. But they have to follow up for the paper trail, you know, which is fine. I have no problem with it. But I was like, go on, I'll give them 50 pence.

Like, you know, just do one. And the second time I got accused of, you'll laugh at this one. A fucking hair dryer. Really. You got no hair like me? Exactly.

I was just, I was supposed to do your hair. Yeah, yeah, she was. She was after a new hair dryer. Like I'm trying to get it off like claim off the local authority, you know, and I'm like, you've picked the wrong lie there. Like, you know, but like I was a bit standoffish doing it again, you know, but then I'm like, I bugged it. Like I just, I take that, you know, it's on me at the end of the day. That's. Fair enough. That is. But yeah, it's, I've only ever done it one-on-one job. And it was like the guy didn't tell us.

He's like not obviously I'm not saying where it is, but he leaves side door ajar some place. So I'm like, hello, hello, pest control. No one's there. I went back to the van, but there's nobody there but the doors open. So he says don't go in because he hasn't given us, he doesn't give us permission. So he checked. Oh, I'm so sorry. I left the door so you could go in. Oh, I do it all the time. I'm like, well, you didn't say that. Yeah, but now you know, you know, it's, it's one of them. Me. Well, well, I finished that job now.

It's a long, long while ago, but I've never experienced it before. I haven't. Yeah, that's the thing. It's up here again. Like I say, everybody knows everybody up here. I mean, it's getting worse up here like for like theft wise and stuff like that. Yeah, it's you know, it's getting worse, but it's it's quite good that there's still that close knit community that keep an eye on everything, you know. Yeah, that's good though. It's handy because it means you can get the jobs done and not have to go back and forth all the time It.

Can it can be annoying when the we don't actually give like like set-top like we'll just say it's approximated and we send a message when we're on the way because we've got a digital system now and we says every message says this is a time, but it's approximate in the amount of people don't read that this is a rough approximated time. Oh, you said you were coming then. No, I didn't. You read it. It said approximated. I'll organise jobs like say I phoned today for tomorrow or the next day or whatever, you know, sort of thing.

But I was just saying I'll be with you sometime between and I hate, this is the thing I hate. You know when you get it, you've, you've got a delivery that you have to wait in for or something, right? And then you get the text message like so and so how's your parcel? They'll be with you between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM. You're like, like, you know you, it drives me insane, but I do do it sometimes. But like I'll be like, I'll be with you like tomorrow sometime between like 11 and one or something, you know, I'll give them a smaller time slot as I can because you never know what's going to happen at that job.

So I always try and give my time, give myself time. Sorry to allow for delays and stuff, you know, but frequently it doesn't happen. And then like the last job I did today I was running late for and I text them saying look, I'm on my way. I've been held up, I'm really sorry. And I was like, I'll be 1520 minutes late or something. And they were fine because they were home for the night anyway. But it's just that, you know, time slot like saying I'll be there at 12, but if you get stuck behind a lorry and then.

I go. I'll be there about 12:00-ish. She's my favourite. Word I put we're on the way because some there's some jobs we have where there's a train line basically, and once this bloody train line goes down, it can be 1020 thirty minutes. It can so but but that's more towards the West. Deep inside there's like a train line that it's like it's a massive 1. But then, but generally I tell the people, but obviously it depends on if the train line, if we make it past the train line, so. No, it's a little weird, you know what I mean?

That's the thing. It's like this, like when you're saying ish, that's my favourite word. It's like. When I always use it but. It's depends. I always use it. Oh, you don't always sort of ethics. You always use it. I do use it sometimes but. I always use it like, no, exactly, exactly. I wasn't late because I said 12:00-ish, maybe 2:00 now, but still ish. But now I'll say that like for return visits and stuff like that, follow up visits, it's like, yeah, I'll be back within, you know, I'll be back to you in about sort of, you know, five days ish.

That covers me for up to 10 days. You know what I mean? It's just I always say ish and I always make a joke about it and say I must stress the ish part, but I try to. But it's just sometimes when we're busy, you, you can't, you know, sometimes there's jobs coming in quicker than you're getting them blinking done and you just you're sort of chasing your tail the whole time, you know. But the area we cover is massive, so that there's a lot of driving and. We cover about 2525 miles to two, sometimes 35, but that's a contract that's like there's like jobs on the way.

But do you cover much further than that then? If I'd like this, I find this amazing, like, and to me it's hilarious because like, I know a lot of folk, I speak to them. They're like, yeah, we just covered a 10 mile radius, you know, and I'm like, well, and they're like, yeah, 10. Miles would be dead with no business. If you've got a job where it's worth it, we will go further and fail. Totally and totally get that and everything. I'll go as far as you want for the right price. Like, but like people, you know, covering 10/20 mile radius and like they've got 4 employees.

I'm like what? Like, I don't know how you do that, but for me, I can't understand that because the density of people, you know, down, down in these big cities compared to up here, it's different. So like 10? Miles in London, it's very different. Exactly, exactly. So like my I don't even have a radius in that sense. But like I if I covered a radius of 30 miles, I'd be I wouldn't have a lot of work, put it that way. But we for so for example, on Friday, they're past. I think I was actually saying to you like I've gone to that job and they knew I was going on Wednesday.

They were told on the Wednesday I was going that I was going on the Friday and it was for school and the primary schools. They close at 3:00 PM appear some are no different, but they were told about it and everything. That was great. Thank you very much. See you on Friday. Sort of thing turned up and it normally takes me to get to this place about 3 hours or something like that of driving to the place. It took me 4 1/2 because of traffic and tourists on the road to turn up and you have to get a ferry as well.

And I turned up and the the school was closed. I was not impressed to say the least. Strange, isn't it? No, what it is is that they closed because they've got the new closing time on a Friday afternoon. They now close at half 12 and not 3. But no one but no one thought to tell me like. Half 12 for primary school seems very strange. It does. I think it's down to the, I think it's down to the staffing levels and the pupil levels. It's a very remote, it's a very remote school. And so there's not a lot of people.

But like I had travelled, like say it took me 4 1/2 hours. So basically, to put it into perspective, I did 9 hours of driving. You are. Yeah. But I did, I did. I had other jobs to do in that area, but I did 9 hours, 9 hours of driving on Friday for three jobs.

Yeah, that's. Not, not good. It's a big. Area up here, you know, sounds it. Really wasn't. I wasn't happy like I was not happy. Oh, I heard the voice. No. Yeah, and that was team, that was team.

But I think if the if the cars in front of me could have heard me that were holding me up, it would have been a different story. But it's just like our area is massive up here, you know, and that's the problem. We lose a lot of time travelling between jobs and stuff. So that's what sets us back a lot and stuff. So, but you know, I mean, it's nice our our like on the drives, it's it's standing scenery and you know, it's beautiful and on a nice day, on a wet day, it's not. But, you know, it's, we take it for granted, you know?

Well, yeah, everyone says to us, you must go Rutland Water all the time. It's beautiful. Like we do go, but more so now. They've got the kids, but a lot of people never go. Yeah, all the tourists love it. It's a tourist charge, obviously. But you take it for granted when you're there, you know, it's like this, this North Coast 500 that we have up here now, you know, like going around the North Coast, like the 500 miles around the North Coast Scotland. And it's, it's a stun, stunning. And I honestly highly recommend anyone to come up and do it like it's, it's, it's beautiful, especially if you get the weather for it.

But in the summer, like, you know, this time of year, be prepared for midgees, but like just just come and do it. It's it's brilliant. However, if you see my van behind you pull in. But like it's, it's, I see it every day when I'm doing my work every day. And you take it for granted, you know, and it's and it's, it's, it's not it's bad. I shouldn't take it for granted, but. You do, everyone just take the local area for granted don't they? Of course, of course they do. Yeah, they. Do so, yeah. So I reckon I've took up enough time.

Like that was a fun conversation. Andrew, that was good, that. Was good an hour and 26 forgot, but yeah, that was a fun conversation. Thanks for coming on. No. No problem. Thanks. Jason McPhee, Adam, Jenny in chat. But thanks for tuning in. And I would say, do you want to tell people where they can find, oh, why is it focusing? No, I got new cameras. There we go. It auto focuses it's. As you, as you move. Yeah, I got you. Yeah, I'm getting used to it. Do you want to tell people where they can find you file and pass good response or not you got or do you want to just say or did you do you just want to say UK for tanks at the end?

You can. Yeah, I mean, you can get, you can get in touch with me no problem at all. I'm more than happy to speak to anybody you know about anything. If I can help in some way or whatever for my own pest response or UK baton supplies, it's no problem. Highland Pest Response website at the moment is literally just a home page because of reasons that I was hacked and I've never put it back up properly and someone had to. Someone hacked me and tried to steal my domain name and everything like that. It's never been back up since and we're working on it at the moment.

Now. I've gone to a new website person and we're working on getting a new one done and stuff like that for but not in the immediate future. But the contact information is on there if they need to get in touch for whatever reason. And the same on UK Bataan supplies. If I don't answer whatever, leave a voicemail, I will get back to you. So yeah. I will put it in the description. It currently isn't in there I don't think, but I will put them both in the description after. Yeah I will. Thanks for watching everyone and I will see you next week.

Next week we have Mark Porter on from Porter's press control. We do. He celebrated 8 years he has in in the business he's built up and that'll be a good, good story. But yeah, Jason, Jason said. Thanks both. I really a really good podcast tonight. I'm using batangs tomorrow on a few mole jobs, Jason said. Good stuff. Yeah, Fingers crossed. Got a good trap that's. The thing yeah. So I've never I've only ever used barrel traps have. You so far, have you got the time? Have you got some plants? Have you got some?

I've only used traps. I've only ever used. I'm a newbie in the mole world. I am, yeah. I don't claim to be an expert put it that way, but I get good results on jobs, so that's all that matters to the customer. It's I remember doing like when I started doing a few moles and stuff like that and then I went and Alan Jones's practical mole catching course and it's just like opens your eyes to that bigger world. And you know what I what I learned on there I use daily now, you know, it's never look back on it.

Oh, that's fair enough. I might get to it at some point in that course. But no, it's definitely. But yeah, I will just press end stream, but stay on for a SEC. You don't have to disappear. But yeah, I've done it again, right. I'll get used to this camera by next week, but there we go, right? Thanks everyone and I will see you next week. And thanks to everyone watching and listening on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and after the fact on all podcast platforms, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please leave a review on Apple or Spotify.

It helps the algorithm. But yeah, thanks everyone and I'll speak to you soon.

Tonight's Episode