LONDON/MIDDLESEX
To franchise owner Reubin Kuc, any unwelcomed urban wildlife playing house in your home is simply doing what comes natural — trying to survive! This is one of the reasons why he and his business partner Jordan Spoelstra joined the Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control team.
“When a raccoon, or any other unwanted animal, gets inside your home and builds a nest it’s just doing what it needs to do to live,” says Reubin. “These animals were around before the city of London ever was. They inhabited these places long before neighbourhoods like Masonville, Hyde Park or Argyle arrived — so we need to get them off our property while still showing them proper respect and care.”
Reubin says he’s always loved animals and controlling them humanely is important. Skedaddle’s methods are endorsed by local SPCAs and humane societies.
“Every call we get is unique,” he says. “We take into account both the construction of the home as well as the individual biological and behavioural needs of whatever wildlife we are removing — we’ll deal with animals starting from the size of baby mice and moving up. Rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, bats, skunks. Just ask, we probably do it.”
The team’s hands-on techniques reduce stress and harm on the animals and their goal is to keep families together, rather than exterminate and separate family units.
“It’s about removing the problem from your home, but also making sure the problem is properly looked after,” said Reubin.
Reubin handles all of the planning, sealing, physical removal, building, patching and preventative side of the business while Jordan makes sure everything runs smoothly in the background. The two together form a dynamic team which offers workmanship you can trust, rely on and appreciate.
“We work great together and the way our business is run makes for a fool-proof system that is backed with a lifetime guarantee on our workmanship and materials.” Skedaddle is one of the few companies of its kind to offer a lifetime guarantee on their products.
“It’s the kind of business where you actually don’t want to see us come back that often,” said Reubin. “The more often we come back, the more obvious it is you’re still having problems and that isn’t the kind of working relationships we want with our clients. We want to get the job done as efficiently and effectively as possible so you never have to call a human wildlife control unit again.”
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Reubin said that he meets a client at their home and begins the process with a 35 to 50-point inspection of the property. From the inspection and introduction, Reubin said he then has all the information he needs to develop a plan of action.
“We help a client find and understand the vulnerabilities on the property; what animals they may be dealing with in case they don’t know yet; where they are getting in and out; educate the homeowner about their house and the issues they may have; and then we price it according to the current situation,” said Reubin. “Pricing varies for each client because no job is exactly the same. We always encourage a client to ask for preventative coverage and full-exclusive work to deal with every issue and vulnerability we’ve found. But some clients ask for minimal work to simply deal with the immediate issue at hand — with the option of asking us to come to take care of other vulnerabilities at a later date. Every homeowner and property has different needs.”
The business started in 1989 and has been around for almost 30 years. Skedaddle is Canada’s largest wildlife removal and exclusion company and has plans to expand across North America. Skedaddle has built a great name for itself already in Southern and Southwestern Ontario but also has a few locations in the U.S., Quebec and Nova Scotia.
“It’s shocking how much damage one critter can do to a home in such a short period of time,” said Reubin. “By the time you notice the animal has gotten inside it’s already wreaked havoc on your home’s exterior and interior. We work hard to prevent them from getting inside altogether — but also humanely and respectfully removing the ones that have already found a way in.”
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