Pest Control UK

I've Got The Bird But Business Is Great

John Dickson, 39, got his first kestrel as a schoolboy after reading Kes, a novel by Yorkshire writer Barry Hines, in an English lesson. And after leaving school, he found a way of making his hobby pay by offering landfill companies an innovative pest control method.

By flying his birds of prey regularly above rubbish tips, Mr Dickson was able to vastly reduce the number of pest birds visiting the sites as they were scared off by the beating wings of the bigger birds. And after securing a number of early contracts, his Attleborough business, NBC Bird and Pest Solutions, has spread its wings even further.

This month, as the company marks its 15th birthday, the firm has 16 franchisees and 70 staff nationally working under the company name, and with 50 franchises expected turnover is expected to soar from £1m to £4m in the coming year.

Today, it is not just landfill firms which seek his birds' services, as some of the company's hundreds of falcons and harris hawks have flown missions over London's Trafalgar Square, Windsor Palace and the home of Scottish football, Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow. Other customers include Honda, insurance firm Axa and beer giant Carlsberg, which all have sites with pest bird problems.

Mr Dickson, who lives with his wife Kathryn, 29, who breeds the birds, and daughters Amber, five, and Megan, three, near Diss, said: "We are very different, we are not like other bird pest control services which all seem to focus on the word 'kill'. We like to operate morally, being sensitive to nature. We disperse the birds, providing a no fly zone to those we don't want in the area. We are not harming them, they won't confront the bird of prey, they will just disperse. We remain there long enough that the birds change their habits. We will then go back regularly to make sure they don't reappear. It is very effective."

Despite his firm's growth and respect in the market, he remains ambitious for the future. He added: "It's great to really create a business a market leader, but I'm always impatient that I'm not where I want to be. There's still some way to go."

But for him, birds of prey are not just a way to make money, but are still objects of wonder for him, as they were in his childhood days. "They are among nature's finest creations, millions of years of evolution have gone into producing birds which have ultimate skill. I like the fact you can't cuddle them, they require you to admire them. They are regal and humble."

NBC Bird and Pest Control, 17A Maurice Gaymer Road, Attleborough, Norfolk
01953 457979