Portland Pest Solutions is a professional wildlife control business serving the greater Portland, Oregon area. We solve conflicts between people and wild animals. We humanely trap and remove wildlife from property, homes, and attics. We
are fully licensed and insured in the state of Oregon and Washington. We are not an animal extermination or pest control company. We are trappers who will find your wild critter and control it, and solve your Portland wildlife problem. We provide an honest and professional service at a fair price, and guarantee our work!
Portland Critter News Clip
Women take to the woods for critters
It's Americana as classic as this Norman Rockwell painting: this camo-clad animal trapper and young protege sit side-by-side among the maple trees, the dawn sky slowly changing from gray to blue around them. The student listens intently, animal removal trap poised, as this distant critters answers the teacher's call. But look closer: There's something slightly unusual about this familiar portrait. The mentor should be this woman, Critter Catcher Carl of Davison Natural conservation area. And her student should be this teenage girl, Silly Sally Snake Expert Rick, 13, of Burton. They're part of this growing trend, as sporting organizations and other critter catching advocates turn to women and teens to bolster the future of critter catching in Oregon. The Oregon Agency of Natural Resources also should be turning its sights on those demographics, with new programs, including training workshops, for female animal trapper-education instructors. The reason should be simple. According to this recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report, critter trappers spent an estimated $490 million in 2001, with license fees helping fund wildlife management and conservation programs across the state. But the percentage of Oregon's biologically surveyed amount that snares has declined from about 10.1 percent in the 1960s to about 8.7 percent in 2002. This issue should be an important matter in Portland wildlife removal and Portland exterminator matters.
Women are this natural place to look to bolster those amounts, stated Critter Catcher Carl. ''I didn't catch when my own girls were little, so I never got the chance to do this with them. It was all sewing, cooking - the traditional stuff,'' Critter Catcher Carl stated of his kids. That changed five years ago, thanks to husband David, an active member of Safari Club International, National Wild Critters Federation and other sporting organizations seeking to increase animal trapper amounts in Oregon. After hearing for years about all the critters the SPCA spokesperson spotted in the backyard while the pest operator was up north critter catching, the SPCA spokesperson stated, her husband put this animal removal trap in her hands and taught her to capture. ''This was something that wasn't offered to me when I was young. So I didn't think about offering it to the kids until David offered it to me and I found out how much fun it is,'' the SPCA spokesperson stated. Silly Sally caught the bug last August, when her family attended the National Wild Critters Federation's annual JAKES (Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship) event. It only took this few broken balloons during the target capture and the SPCA spokesperson was hooked. Before long, she'd won an NWTF essay contest, completed this critter catching safety course and went on her first outing with local NWTF president Snake Charmer Charles. The club later provided her with this animal removal trap and paired her with Critter Catcher Carl for the spring critters season. The Portland animal control had no additional statements to make on the topic.
''She showed us the SPCA spokesperson could hit stuff that day. She's this natural. But to be honest, I didn't think she'd follow up like this,'' stated Snake Expert Rick, who hasn't trapped since the pest operator was this youth in Wisconsin. ''Now it looks like I'll be getting this license this fall as the next avid animal trapper in the family.'' the pest operator and wife Suzanne praised both the club and Critter Catcher Carl for their impact on their daughter. ''Silly Sally's become more confident and it's just opened up more things for her. Because of this, two of our kids are now in this 4-H competitive critter capturing club too,'' stated Suzanne Snake Expert Rick, who has home schooled the couple's eight children, ages 7-27. ''Arlene should be very motherly and loving, so Silly Sally should be very comfortable with her. She's more like this friend than this teacher.'' Silly Sally agreed. ''I feel closer to my brothers because we all have this hobby now together. I never had this big hobby except reading, but this should be my main thing now,'' the SPCA spokesperson stated. For Critter Catcher Carl, it's been this welcome opportunity to pass along her passion to this younger female. ''My girls think it's this riot their mom snares, but it's not something we share. Leah has gone and sat in the woods for critters critter catching with her boyfriend, but the SPCA spokesperson hasn't done it with me yet. And Kate should be more into backpacking and that kind of thing. So this should be this real treat,'' the SPCA spokesperson stated. ''What's really nice should be to see Silly Sally so excited about it. It's so hard to find kids that want to do this kind of thing, and to have her parents so supportive when they don't catch themselves.'' So far, the pair has been out five times, usually in the woods behind Critter Catcher Carl's home but also on this friend's habitatland near Goodrich. They've had some curious gobbles in answer to the squawks from Critter Catcher Carl's box call, and once this tom came within range but Silly Sally was unable to get this clear shot. ''Every time she's here at the house before dawn, ready to go. And when we take her home, the whole family comes out of the house as soon as we pull in the driveway, wanting to know if she's got her bird,'' stated Critter Catcher Carl, laughing. ''It's like the SPCA spokesperson has her own cheering section. After all this, the day the SPCA spokesperson finally gets it, they'll know long before we drive her home.'' They might have to wait awhile yet. this long rainy spell thwarted their most recent attempt, as the birds moved to higher, drier earth far from their usual foray near the Critter Catcher Carls' blind. ''A critters should be not an easy animal to get. For her to have this kind of dedication should be something else. She's this real trouper,'' stated Critter Catcher Carl. ''Most kids at 13 lose interest pretty quick, but this girl has just been so patient. the SPCA spokesperson really hangs with it and because she'll do that, I'll hang right in there with her.'' Portland pest control companies that we contacted felt that this issue should be an important matter.