Phonebook ads are slowly losing their return on investment in many areas across the US for the past several years. Internet marketing in our industry is becoming more and more creative and more saturated. Television and radio ads cost a bundle. Direct mailing is old fashioned and time consuming. Placing flyers on all the doors in neighborhoods that you want to work is tiresome… but everybody seems to watch “reality” TV shows… ever think about marketing your wildlife or pest management company via a “reality” TV show?

One in approximately ten thousand people who want their own reality TV show obtain what is called a “sizzle”. A sizzle is a dramatic rendition of the show that the producers want to sell to any given TV network. Re-read what I just said, “a dramatic rendition of the show that the producers want”. A producer typically employs a “starter”. A starter is the guy or gal who calls you up and tries to get you excited about what you do for a living and tells you that they can make you a filthy rich TV star and an “American hero”. Once the starter has his treble hook in your heart or mind, he or she turns up the heat. Starters and producers make and sell their product – TV shows, to the many different TV networks. Very few networks work directly with “talent”… that’s you; you are no longer a person at the moment you fall prey to that treble hook, you are now “talent”. Some people say this experience may make a person feel like an expendable item, or at best, a fabricated product… but, oh boy, you’re going to be rich!

One out of approximately one thousand people who get a sizzle made actually get a pilot. A pilot is a single 22 minute TV show shown at several different test venues such as Universal Studios in Florida so the TV network can get a feel as to how the general public reacts to it. In some of these testing facilities, the viewer is given two buttons to push throughout the duration of the show… one for “like” and one for “dislike”. At the end, they fill out a questionnaire and are given a freebee for their troubles. Many of those with good results go on TV during different timeframes in order to gauge public reactions so the network can figure out if your work and the way the producers who brought it to them manipulated it into “good TV”. Some people strategize by getting an offer from a network that directly competes with the network you really want to be on, allowing bargaining rights to bypass the pilot step and go directly into a series.

The Good

Of course, a good thing could be that you were the one in ten thousand who got a sizzle. A TV show has the ability to increase business and promote your vision.

The Bad

A friend once told me this is a line a producer used on him; “We are just going to follow you around with cameras and film what you do every day. You won’t even know we are there. The times we will need you to do special things are slim, and besides, do you know how much money you can make doing this? Let us help turn you into a star and we will all get rich together!” Sound exciting and enticing?!

If it appears as though I skipped over the part about being paid for your time and money spent on the sizzle or pilot, there may be a reason for it. You will almost certainly get at least several grand for your time. The client, to whose home you brought about one dozen out-of-town “Hollywood-type” folks, will often expect your filmed services to be free. Your home repairs and services, gas, all the business lost due to focusing on the “A” story that production wants, your time, employee’s time, client’s time – that is included in that payment to you. As a Wildlife or Pest Management Professional, you can lose a several thousand dollar job in a matter of minutes. What happens if the people answering your phone send you important information but your producer says your smart phone, set to vibrate and only being checked twice an hour for messages, is hurting his or her production?

Let’s pretend you are the key employee in your company or that your role the company you work for is at least somewhat important. What happens when Producers take 100% of your work day… or even only 25% of your work day? Is your business really on auto-pilot without you? Are your employees going to be as productive? When do you get to pay attention to the business? After hours? On the weekend? If one of the weekdays was a holiday, will you have to film on Saturday and/or Sunday so their shooters can get in their 40 hours? Will your clients wait, or go to your competition?

Time is money. I once heard somebody say “Reality TV usually takes at least three or four takes”. A production company is typically made up of an Executive Producer, a Co-producer they “hand-picked special for your show”, several Production Assistants (could be car sales people, a farm hand or college student) and hopefully an audio guru that likes what you do for a living. The guys with cameras are called “shooters”. The fewer shooters there are, the longer it takes to shoot the show and the more times you have to go and ring the doorbell at a clients house on film so they can capture the moment from every angle with only two cameras. Getting out of your service vehicle, greeting your client at their door and starting to talk with your client in their living room can take anywhere between 15 minutes to over an hour. This timeframe sometimes depends upon the crowd of people outside and the number of cars going by getting into the shot, if they saw a production member’s reflection in the glass in the front door and so on. Yes, the client did call at 7AM about the wild animal running around in the house and it is now 11AM, but you had better hurry up and get this portion shot because by law, the crew must take a lunch break in 30 minutes. …stop shooting for a moment, now choose from this take-out menu – what do you want to eat for lunch on card tables set up in your client’s driveway with the film crew today? It’d better be easy and fast to eat – that may be your phone call catch-up time. How much is the employee you now need to pick up your slack going to cost?

You may be a one or three person show, or you may have multiple offices or franchises all over the map. You may already have a bookkeeper, a CPA, a person answering the phones, an I.T. specialist, field employees, an employment attorney, and perhaps a patent, trademark and franchise attorney. What changes because of the potential show? Every industry, like ours, has its own niches, so how much money is that specialized entertainment attorney going to charge to negotiate your contract so you can get that several grand to get a sizzle, pilot or series?

The Ugly

A wise man in the TV production industry once told me that 90% of everything in reality TV is staged and that reality TV Producers will “turn talent against one another for conflict”. A star from a different wildlife management type show said they were asked “No animals running amuck or slithering in a client’s home today? That does not mean that the scenario cannot be arranged overnight. Besides, don’t you want the best show possible? We are all on the same team”. Another professional told me he was called by Producers from a big wildlife “pro” show on TV offering him a lot of money to transport trapped animals across state lines so they could use them in their show. Yet another said “Everything we did was staged. I could not tell you how many laws were broken to give them the footage they wanted”. Will your Producers call your state wildlife or pest licensing agency to ask if something they want to do is illegal? Will they have your competition pick them up at the airport? Will they want to choose who your clients are today?

I may have forgotten to mention the portion about being able to view the “sizzle” or pilot before thousands in a test audience see you in your uniform, providing your services with pride and joy. Was extracurricular footage added to your sizzle or pilot to make it more colorful? Do you really think that the employee that you fired a week ago about whom the Producer said would be “good TV” would represent your company in a positive light when no longer on your payroll and filmed with you not present? Do you think editors have the capability of editing your voice and video to have you say something you never said? What happens if something is edited into something you said within a totally different context and situation? Do you think that technology allows editors to totally fabricate a sentence with the countless hours of audio they now have from you? Do you think editors can make it look like you were actually interacting with a person in a place and time that did not exist? Do you think that dramatic music and fancy editing can end up criminalizing animals or people simply due to editing room tricks? Do you think that it is the editors, producers or networks who want this added drama? Do you think you will get to see any of the footage of any of this before it airs? How does that make you look to the public? To your industry?

Are they going to blur your company name on your uniforms and vehicles? You have how much time and money invested in the show and do not have a sizzle yet?

Do you think networks and producers quietly endorse or encourage “talent” to do “staged” scenes with animals to increase drama and profit margins? What happens if production wants to purposely release live animals in a fake client’s house for you to re-capture on film for “good TV”? Will you do it? What happens if you tell them to pack up their video gear and leave town? Are you in breach of contract at that point or are they?

And the most important question: How much is your integrity worth?

We recently assisted an Edmond, Oklahoma client with skunks spraying his dog in his back yard because people were trapping and illegally relocating their own skunks in nearby parks. We fixed his fence, whereas the nearby golf course paid a trapper to trap and kill over 60 skunks.

“It’s a problem that’s causing a big stink with a lot of people; the drought has been forcing skunks out of their natural habitat and into our yards looking for food.

The problem is especially bad out at Lake Hefner where folks on the golf course and homeowners report problems. On Thursday a bicyclist was sprayed.

Ned Bruha, AKA the Skunk Whisperer, has been very busy lately, News 9 caught up with him as he was working to keep the skunks out of Arthur Bay’s Backyard…” Read the full story by News 9

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Skunk Whisperer® is First to Provide Non Toxic Pest Control in Oklahoma

Oklahoma – 25 July 2012 – The Skunk Whisperer®, an Oklahoma based humane wildlife control company well known for their appearances on TV and their reputation as the best wildlife control service provider in Oklahoma, has entered the pest control industry: 

“Our clients demanded natural, non-toxic pest control to get rid of the fleas and other pests wildlife brought into their homes. Because nobody offered this non toxic pest service, we decided to research it and give our clients what they wanted. Our pest control methods are prevention and repair-based and our products are truly non-toxic and natural. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first in the U.S. to start doing pest control in this unique manner. Our offices are in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.”

This is a big step for The Skunk Whisperer® and a giant leap forward for the pest control industry.  By setting an example that wildlife can be controlled without trapping and other inhumane methods, The Skunk Whisperer® has inspired many across this nation.  Now through their example of natural and non-toxic pest control services and the guidance of Ned Bruha, the Skunk Whisperer®, will undoubtedly inspire a movement in the non-toxic pest control industry.

“The reason so few pest control companies do not offer truly non-toxic, natural or organic pest control is because it takes a massive amount of desire, research and product testing to have natural and non-toxic products that work. Personally, and as a businessman, I do not want poison in my home or in our clients’ buildings, either. Many advertise “natural” and “non-toxic” but when you research further, it is simply false advertisement to warm your heart and open your pocketbook. Our goal is to change the actual environment of your home, business and property to make pests unwelcome while being careful to not harm beneficial insects. If a pest problem is found, we will first eliminate the sources of food, water and shelter that pests need to survive (sealing cracks, installing screens, moving wood piles, drainage issues and other insect attractants). If it is necessary to use a truly natural, non-toxic pesticide, we will use products in a manner that eliminates risk to people, pets or our environment.”

To help clients find and evaluate pest control needs and services, The Skunk Whisperer® has launched a new website, www.nontoxicpestcontrol.com, to accompany their main company website, www.totalwildlifecontrol.com.

Contact:
Ned Bruha
info@totalwildlifecontrol.com
405-905-9453  918-261-4444

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As President of The Skunk Whisperer, I would like to say a few words.

Ned does not feel comfortable with his niece watching “Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer” on Animal Planet. The same goes with the folks at church with which Chris and his family are associated. None of them are comfortable with children watching the show in general.

4,000 of you were Skunk Whisperer fans before our show began airing. To you, our clients, our family, friends and everybody else – on behalf of our real Skunk Whisperer Tulsa and Oklahoma office owners and employees, Wild Heart Ranch and crew, I would like to sincerely apologize for all of the vulgar language and behavior being exposed to on “Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer” on Animal Planet. Our goal was to make the show educational. Some of that DID come through, and we are very happy about that.

Through TV, we saw a fantastic opportunity to educate the world about non-traditional, more humane, no-trap, no-kill methods allowing wildlife to safely co-exist with humans. However, certain actions and behavior on the show have been shocking, overwhelming, hurtful and infuriating, not to mention extremely stressful. Most of all, we are fearful that the general public sees things such as sleeping in a customer’s backyard or openly urinating on a customer’s lawn (a sexual registry crime) as the way we truly operate. We would fire an employee on the spot for doing a mere fraction of what was shown on the show.

Stormy was employed by production and was doing exactly what he was paid to do. You can hear beeps when Ned is talking and see Ned laughing about Stormy riding a pony, whereas, Ned was actually not there at that time. Editing made it appear as if he was laughing in approval. Ned has received death threats because of his beliefs about wildlife control. Yet he continues to stand up for what he believes in; Ned’s integrity is second to none. Annette had one of her orphaned fawns that she was raising killed by gunshot multiple times to the heart right at her doorstep. Not everybody approves of our methods. As our methods are more and more recognized by the general public, they may threaten traditional wildlife control methods and the living of those practicing them.

In summary, the type of behavior I mentioned is not reflective of our business models and our missions, and is simply not tolerated, yet we cannot control what is filmed, edited, and being shown on TV.

As of now, and until the air clears, your posts on this page will be seen by nobody, including us. Comments will be seen by everybody and monitored. If you want to give constructive feedback for our TV series, please send an email to us at info@totalwildlifecontrol.com and we will forward to Discovery. We have not seen one letter sent to Discovery or Animal Planet.

Regards,

Betsey Bruha, President
The Skunk Whisperer®, Inc.
Truly humane wildlife removal & prevention, done right the first time

Ned Bruha, “The Skunk Whisperer®” publicly posts undercover video of felony animal cruelty & insists that authorities make over 2 dozen felony convictions

Fake image of a dog with it’s mouth sewn shut. Photo and Image Manipulation by Sherry Stinson | Tyler Creative

Tulsa, Oklahoma – November 28, 2011 – Rattlesnake roundups in Oklahoma are attended by thousands of people each year. At some of these events, rattlesnakes have their mouths sewn shut for photos with the attendees holding them. In a simple YouTube video, Ned Bruha, V.P. of The Skunk Whisperer®, Inc., an Oklahoma franchise company that does humane wildlife removal, compares this to a haunting and graphic photo of a puppy with its mouth sewn shut. In the “pit of death”, the snakes are deprived of food, water & shelter. Bruha takes a stand with undercover video & quotes Oklahoma laws already found on the books, & insists that Oklahoma authorities use the video evidence to make over two dozen felony animal cruelty convictions – from a simple YouTube video located here.

The dry, simple eight minute video encourages any “Average Joe” to stand up and make a change. Bruha says “Anybody with a camera and a computer can stand up and insist that folks do the right thing. The rattlesnake roundups can and will be educational, family events without felony acts of animal cruelty. Sewing a puppy’s mouth shut is not acceptable, so why is it okay to do it to a snake?”

Forty year-old Bruha, who has a TV series titled “Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer” on a major television network, first learned about rattlesnake roundups in the fall of 2010. “I ran into a photo on the internet of a rattlesnake having stitches removed from its mouth after being rescued or stolen from a rattlesnake roundup. I had never heard of such a thing. I got mad, and decided to stand up and do something about it instead of just whining”, said Bruha. Bruha and another gentleman collected undercover video from the events, asked a local photographer and artist to make a puppy’s mouth look like it is sewn shut in a photograph, and then had a simple YouTube video of it launched to the internet.

Contact:

Contact Person: Ned Bruha
Company Name: The Skunk Whisperer®, Inc.
Telephone Number: 918-261-4444
Email Address: nedbruha@totalwildlifecontrol.com
Web site address: http://totalwildlifecontrol.com
Mailing address: 9521 B Riverside Parkway #343 Tulsa, OK 74137
Video address: http://www.youtube.com/user/theskunkwhisperer For additional information or higher resolution photo for television, email nedbruha@totalwildlifecontrol.com

# # #

Watch the Video Bruha Released

Once again, it is getting cold outside and wild animals may decide that your home looks more inviting than a hole in a tree or in the ground.  Before you resort to utilizing your Red Rider bb gun, (you’re going to shoot your eye out), know that contrary to popular belief, it is illegal to use within the city limits. Place your traps on the back shelf or donate them to a wildlife rehabilitator because there are very few species in Oklahoma that a homeowner can legally trap on their own.  Trapping is typically a waste of time and money if you still have holes in your building that wildlife can enter. Wildlife is attracted to certain architectural features and others will soon return to the scene of the crime, even if you fix their entry point. Trapping is, at best, a temporary solution because another animal will soon fill the void in that territory and you cannot legally release wildlife in Oklahoma without proper permits. Mother Nature immediately replenishes territorial attic and crawl space invading wildlife – but she does not do home repairs.  Put away the moth balls and fox urine, and concentrate your efforts on money saving preventative maintenance.

The Skunk Whisperer® Wildlife Management Professionals can assist you with evicting unwelcome houseguests of the wildlife type, however, you can save time, frustration, headaches, heartaches, and a lot of money by doing simple preventative measures yourself by purchasing common items at your local hardware store.

Wildlife prevention:

• Be certain that all garbage can lids are tightly closed, and never lay garbage bags on the ground. Your garbage can is an attractive buffet to wildlife.
• Although disheartening to hear, feeding the birds is an invitation for a wildlife invasion.  You cannot possibly comprehend how feeding any wildlife can negatively alter your neighborhood eco system drastically.
• Never feed pets outdoors.  If you must, bring food in at night.  Do not store cat or dog food outdoors.
• If you feed an outdoor only cat, place the food on a sturdy restaurant style pedestal table so raccoons, opossum and skunks cannot access it.
• Purchase and install a common dryer vent cover if your dryer vents out of a wall.  Thousands of dollars inOklahomaalone are spent each year remedying damage caused by wildlife entry through dryer vents.  The little floppy doors on your existing dryer vent typically are less than adequate. This $10.00 item and the ten minutes required to install it is less expensive than replacing a dryer with a decomposing squirrel, skunk, snake, raccoon or bird in it.
• Keep your garage door closed.  Do not leave it open for ventilation or for pets to enter and exit.  Many homes unintentionally introduce wildlife dilemmas by unknowingly trapping wildlife in their garages. Wildlife may find it to be a suitable home, too.
• Do not overwater your lawn.  A lawn that is abundant with mole & gopher food, (earthworms, not grubs) may be full of dirt mounds quicker than a dryer lawn, in some cases.
• Keep your lawn manicured. Encourage your neighbors to do the same. Taller grass will encourage snakes and other vermin to call your property theirs.
• Consider having a Wildlife Management Professional inspect your existing home, or your next home. Pre-purchase inspections by a Wildlife Management Professional that understands Integrated Pest Management can possibly save you thousands of dollars in future damage.
• Eliminate brush and junk piles. Raccoons, opossums, snakes and skunks love this easy shelter.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 25, 2011 – Servicing all critter needs for bees, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, bats, beavers, cougars, coyotes, foxes, geese, armadillos, feral cats, opossums, rodents, snakes, wild birds and various other critters; we have grown our website to provide critter facts and information for visitors from around the world. Our mission is to utilize, improve, elevate and advocate cost effective, eco-responsible wildlife damage remediation and prevention methods allowing humans and wildlife to co-exist without conflict.

We’ve made several changes to our totalwildlifecontrol.com website. Visitors will now find it easier to navigate to pages they need. There is an enhanced search feature built into the website and various other embedded features to increase user engagement. We have dedicated sections for Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Norman, and Grand Lake clients. The breath of the resources and information provided on our website cannot be understated. We’ve implemented a brand new news, blog and RSS feed section of the website for the most up to date information as well. Feel free to drop in and leave us a comment on our blogs.

We hope you enjoy the new design, functionality and ease of navigation. totalwildlifecontrol.com

Contact

info@totalwildlifecontrol.com
918-261-4444

###

view the official press release

We’ll have more on this developing story as information is gathered.

*Dates are subject to change.

Here’s a fun video with Ned.

When interviewed on the situation Mr. Vanantwerpen said “We have noticed that even though we live next to a huge open field, we certainly have no mouse or rodent problems because of the free pest control the owls offer. Once the young were able to fly, they just sat on the gutters and watched as their mother taught them how to hunt. Gradually, they all started hunting and coming back to the gutter, the roof top or chimney to eat their fresh dinners.” Eventually the owls began to create a lot of trouble for the Vanantwerpens and the surrounding neighborhood, to the point where many of the neighbors were beginning to feel “terrorized” by the owls. Neighbors were afraid to let their smaller dogs out of the house for fear of losing them to the owls. And the owls were actually damaging many of the homes with their large talons and making a stinky mess as well, including leaving feces on houses and dropping bugs down the Vanantwerpen’s fireplace. Although the neighborhood wanted to do something about their barn owl situation, they also wanted to do the right thing for the owls, a species which is federally protected. The Vanantwerpens had even expressed a desire to provide them with a new home nearby, an owl box for them to relocate to once they had been excluded from their chimney.

Federal protection restrictions made the situation a challenging one, but The Skunk Whisper®’s area wildlife management professional was up for the task. The Skunk Whisperer®, Inc. coordinated efforts with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and wildlife rehabilitators in California and Oklahoma to be certain that the owl family’s eviction was being done at a time when it would impact the owl family the least. The Skunk Whisperer®’s Oklahoma City office said “We were first called in April when they were just eggs. They were complaining, along with their neighbors, that the owls were ‘not such a hoot’ because they were defecating all over their homes, leaving owl pellets everywhere and scratching up their windowsills with their huge talons. We asked the client if we could do the right thing for the birds and wait, and they quickly agreed. I built a barn owl nesting box and mounted it 30 yards away on a nearby, outdoor fireplace chimney. They know that my nesting box is there, because there are signs that the owls have been on and in it several times. It is nice to see a family decide to be heroes for the animals like this family did here. Others may have lit a fire in order to ‘take care of the problem’. We enjoy seeing people want to coexist with wildlife”. To ensure proper construction of the owl’s new home, The Skunk Whisperer® obtained owl house plans from expert Alex Godbe of the Hungry Owl Project in San Anselmo, CA. The owl box was then constructed and erected on a nearby chimney for a few months prior to the owl family’s eviction. Godbe said “Since there are no trees around, the chicks might want to return to the nest site for a few weeks after that, so the longer they are left, the better it is for them”. Although time did not allow following the owl box plans 100%, the owls did not seem to mind because they certainly have utilized it, even before they were evicted from the chimney. Annette King-Tucker of Wild Heart Ranch wildlife rehabilitation center in Claremore, commented on the situation, “This nuisance owl problem will be reconciled with the ultimate goal in mind, which is keeping the owls’ well being top priority. The Owlings were raised in this inherited territory. They were taught to hunt here by their skilled parents. The optimum survival statistics will be achieved for this group by simply allowing them to remain in their existing territory, perhaps even 30 yards away in the nesting box that has now been provided for them”. Once it was time to evict the owls from the chimney, the owl family was gently encouraged to leave by simply whispering the word “shoo”. Next, the chimney was altered to keep them from re-entering. Some of the owls will likely move into the new owl home created for them, whereas others will likely move on to greener pastures. We enjoy having clients like this family call and want to do the right things, for the animals. Read News 9′s Story

More On The Story

Many people call The Skunk Whisperer® about injured geese. Most injured goose calls take many hours of time and literally turn into “wild goose chases”, only further jeopardizing the goose’s health. If the geese are faster than we are, which they usually are, it simply cannot be taken to a rehabber. Most nuisance goose problems are caused by humans feeding them, therefore advocating them to appear in large numbers.

In this particular instance, the goose had been shot through the chest and was in a hazardous predicament with a wound that would eventually take its toll. Once The Skunk Whisperer® became aware of the situation, the Tulsa office immediately deployed a Skunk Whisperer team including Ned and Betsey Bruha.

Normally, a proper injured goose capture takes a dozen people, special equipment and hours of time, Single geese can be as tough to capture as greased pigs, but the team had a better chance of capturing this one because it would be slowed down by the arrow. As it turned out, the team had to chase the goose around for 40 minutes before catching it, so the arrow ended up not slowing the goose down much at all.

Once captured, the arrow was cut at two points to reduce additional trauma to the goose during its transport to the Wild Heart Ranch wildlife rehab facility. Ned Bruha said “It feels great knowing that we were able to save an animal’s life that day, but it is a shame that somebody did this to the goose. I am embarrassed to be a member of a species that would do something as senseless as needlessly shooting this goose and knowingly allow it to suffer. Wildlife should not be used for target practice”. Betsey Bruha adds “This goose was likely shot nearby, in town. I do not know if somebody was looking for a free Thanksgiving bird or what, but I hope that the person who needlessly shot this federally protected bird with this arrow reads this story and decides to never hunt again”.

Thanks to wildlife rehabilitator Annette King-Tucker, this animal will live to see another day. Ned commented “We salute wildlife rehabilitators all over the world who have selflessly dedicated their lives to saving the animals that we place in these situations. Annette is my hero and has made me a better person, allowing me massive amounts of knowledge, via her experience, to further assist wildlife in need of rehabilitation. During this “season of giving” please seriously consider donating funds and supplies to wildlife rehabilitators such as Annette King-Tucker”.

Related Information

Injured Goose Is Trapped, Rescued
The story behind the chase and capture of the injured goose, as well as input from The Skunk Whisperer team and information on it’s recovery from wildlife rehabber Annette King Tucker.

Canada Goose Control
Input from The Skunk Whisperer on Canada Goose wildlife and information on our goose control services.

Information on Canada Geese Management
Additional and helpful information, including more on goose control and parking lot problem scenarios. Goose Control, Management and Relocation | Canada Geese In Parking Lots – Problems & Solutions