Rob Erickson of Illinois
Rob Erickson began trapping at the young age of 13. In 1978, while working at UPS, a supervisor, knowing Rob’s trapping experience, asked him to remove raccoons from his attic. The noise and smell of a family of raccoons was becoming unbearable. Rob asked to wait until November, when fur season is in full swing, and the man agreed. November came, Rob removed the raccoons, and along with the sale of the furs, his supervisor paid him $400 dollars for the service. Word spread and Rob’s trapping season became very busy. That was the beginning of his Wildlife Nuisance Control Service.
Rob soon learned that conventional trapping lures worked well, but with a lot of control work coming in spring and fall, new scents and baits that held up to the heat were needed. He soon began to test and produce baits and lures for sale to others. He ended up with a great variety of offerings for specific species during all seasons. On Target was his business name. His baits and lures are sold today to many trappers and nuisance control businesses throughout the United States and worldwide.
In 1993 Rob began publishing a bi-monthly magazine, WCT magazine, directed at the newly formed wildlife control industry. Wildlife Control Technology magazine was soon used as training and had many professional trappers and control businesses writing articles for him. Today WCT Seminars are held annually, with Rob and many other speakers on hand, teaching everyday trappers and nuisance control men how to remove unwanted animals in cities and suburbs all over the nation. Somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 nuisance animal services are operating in the United States. From trapping and snaring coyotes in cities and suburbs of Chicago, to removing a raccoon from someone’s home, Rob has been there and done it.
Since that family of raccoons in 1978, starting On Target Nuisance Animal Control, and WCT magazine, Rob has never stopped studying, learning and teaching others about the animal control business. Today Rob is still in the forefront of the industry and is considered the authority on suburb coyote control and removal. Many years of experience and know how make him irreplaceable to the industry.
Rob’s keen interest in the coyotes of today, and the way they are infiltrating the cities and suburbs, has led Rob, along with Dave and Zendal, to work together to start Scientific Wildlife Management. His expertise and knowledge is a integral part of the web-site. Their hope is to educate the public by collaring and tracking coyotes, both urban and rural, and studying how these intelligent predators have adjusted to live alongside humans.
Rob radio collaring an urban coyote