This company gets even one star only because its staff answer calls and show up on time. But for the purpose for which we hired them, it gets nothing. After 2 years of major and multiplying groundhogs in our east end Toronto backyard we decided to opt for a company licensed to euthanize, since one had become 6 in one year. Hawkeye claims it’s the only company in the GTA licensed to do this, something we are checking with MNR. They charge $150 for two live traps—and $150 for each subsequent visit, whether the target animal was caught or not. Odd that euthanizing or relocating costs exactly the same as opening a trap.
We made it very clear the target animal was a groundhog. On the first visit, the woman did not place the traps over the groundhog runs, which we had been careful to note in order to help trap placement. She set the traps during daylight hours and did not tell us how to unset and reset them for nighttime hours. So naturally, the traps caught first a cat, then a raccoon. They were adamant they were going to charge us for releasing the raccoon, even though it also turned out that their “specially formulated groundhog bait” (a direct quote from the office staff) was actually dog food. After a lengthy argument they agreed not to charge us, and we were taught how to set and unset the trap.
Four days of setting and unsetting later, still no groundhog, and we assumed the bait was getting stale. So we went online (I presume this company is unfamiliar with the internet) and in 5 minutes discovered what bait attract groundhogs. We re-baited the traps with complex ingredients like a cucumber and vanilla, moved them to better locations, and within 4 hours had the groundhog. In other words, if we’d bought the trap for less than we paid these twits, we’d be much further ahead. Of course, we’d have to relocate the animal ourselves, which is illegal, but if MNR licenses such enormously incompetent companies to rip people off, dumping a prolific animal up the top end of a ravine well outside the city and letting it fend for itself seems to me a fair trade.
Avoid this amateur hour company.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $300.00