Bryan Nelson, with a snake grabber and animal traps, opened Advantage Wildlife Solutions in January. An experienced trapper, he helps people rid their homes of groundhogs, skunks, snakes and other nuisance animals. Photo by Thomas J. Turney

SHENANDOAH — A trapper for 19 years, Bryan Nelson has been helping friends and neighbors rid their homes of nuisance animals for almost as long.

He transferred his skills at trapping fur-bearing animals to rounding up nuisance animals, like groundhogs, snakes and bats.

In January, he founded Advantage Wildlife Solutions and is working the business full time.

"I’ve been doing this for friends and neighbors for 16 years," Nelson, 34, said. "Once people find out you’re a trapper, they start asking for help with nuisance animals."

A native of Rockingham County, Nelson is president of the Virginia Trappers Association and a member of several wildlife organizations.

He has trapped fur-bearing animals, primarily foxes and coyotes, in several counties. But fur prices have been soft since the 1980s and Nelson found better money in trapping nuisance animals. He charges a set-up fee of $100 and $25 for each animal he removes.

He anticipates he’ll be busy from around April through late October.

The beginning of summer is a particularly active time of year for wildlife. Groundhogs and skunks that were born about six weeks ago are now coming out with their mammas, he explained.

Worth It

Steve Smith, who lives in northwest Harrisonburg, had groundhogs in his yard and wanted to get rid of them.

"In the city, I’m not allowed to shoot the groundhogs," he said. "I called [Nelson] one morning and he was at my house that day."

In the end, two adult and four small groundhogs met their ends in Nelson’s traps.

"I have a fairly big yard and the groundhogs had dug two holes," Smith said. "So it was worth it to me."

By law, Nelson must kill most of the nuisance animals, rather than releasing them at another location.

Groundhogs are considered nuisance animals by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and may be harvested at any time without permit.

The department lists a dozen animals considered nuisance, due to the economic or health problems associated with those animals. Relocating such animals makes them susceptible to predators, disease and starvation, a DGIF report says. For larger animals, like deer or bear, which can also be a nuisance in farms and gardens, the law restricts Nelson to placing repellants on the property.

Cleanup And Exclusion

"A lot of my work is cleanup and exclusion, making sure the animals don’t return," Nelson said. "I do a lot of filling in groundhog holes and keeping the animals out for good."

He helped clear a Waynesboro church of bats, plugged up holes to keep them out and cleaned up the church’s attic.

"This church had had bats for decades," he said. "I deodorized and sanitized and cleaned out 140 gallons of bat guano."

Some people he can’t help. A Charlottesville woman was moving and wanted help finding a new home for her tropical venomous snakes, Nelson recalled.

"I didn’t even ask what kind of snakes," he said. "I couldn’t help her."

Nelson’s marketing consists of newspaper, Yellow Pages and fliers.

He also gets referrals from city police, the Department of Game & Inland Fisheries and other pest control companies that don’t deal with animals.

Most of his customers are city dwellers.

In the county, if Nelson approached a farmer to rid his property of groundhogs, he might get a laugh.

"He’d just shoot the groundhog," Nelson said. "In the city, you can’t do that and as the city grows I think I’ll find more and more work."

Contact Dan Wright at 574-6293 or dwright@dnronline.com