Animal Dispatch

Animal Dispatch is hiring crew members. We're a small, owner-operated wildlife removal and control company in Gretna with 15 years of field experience. No prior wildlife experience required — we train you from the ground up.

This is not a normal job. One day you're 50 feet up on a steep-pitch roof at Smith Mountain Lake. The next you're at a horse property in Bedford, a farmhouse outside Chatham, a job site in downtown Roanoke, or a house in Danville. Most days you're on a roof, in an attic, or under a house. Some days you're on an ATV out to a pond at sunrise or in a johnboat down a creek to reach a trap line. The work changes every day, the territory every week, and you'll see parts of Virginia most people never do. If you'd rather be outside than anywhere else, this might be your job.

SCHEDULE

Monday–Friday daytime. Weekend rotation required — every other or every third weekend, solo, clearing and resetting traps. Usually a few hours, occasionally a full day.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

- Trap and remove nuisance wildlife — raccoons, bats, squirrels, groundhogs, snakes, skunks, opossums

- Inspections and damage assessment

- Set and monitor cellular trail cameras

- Structural exclusion — sealing entry points and ridge work

- Damage repair with hand and power tools

- Crawl space and attic work (confined spaces)

- Drive company trucks and trailers; run ATVs where the truck can't go

- Explain to customers what we found and how we're fixing it

WE WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER

Most outfits around here run 1970s equipment — old trucks, old ladders, old thinking, guys getting hurt because the boss won't spend the money. We're not one of those. Cellular cameras on every trap. Custom ladder racks. Ridge anchors and proper rigging — we don't free-climb roofs. Real PPE — respirators, Tyvek, fall protection. We take care of the people who do this work. That's the whole point.

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF — THIS JOB REQUIRES

- Heights. 32-foot ladders, 40–50 feet up with roof pitch, sometimes higher. If heights bother you, this isn't the job.

- Tight spaces. Crawl spaces and attic accesses barely wider than your shoulders. Not for the claustrophobic.

- Filth. Mud, insulation, droppings, dust, heat, cold. You'll go home dirty.

- Physical work. Year-round outdoor labor. Lift 50 lbs, climb, crawl, sometimes run.

- Firearms and euthanasia. This work involves firearms. We humanely dispatch animals when relocation isn't legal, safe, or possible. It's never easy — anyone who says it doesn't bother them is lying or shouldn't be doing this. We need a steady hand, a level head, and respect for the animal in front of you. If killing animals sounds like fun, this is especially not the job.

- Driving a full-size F-550 dually with an 11-foot bed. Bigger than you're used to — backup camera helps, but you've got to be willing to learn it. Valid license required, clean record preferred.

- Drug-free — we test.

- Available for weekend rotation, and you show up when you say you will.

HELPFUL BUT NOT REQUIRED

Any background in roofing, siding, gutters, framing, HVAC, electrical, insulation, tree work, pest control, trapping, hunting, farm work, welding, mechanical, or military. Mechanical aptitude and willingness to learn matter more than any specific background.

REAL GROWTH, REAL PATH

We pay for your training and certifications — NWCOA bat exclusion, Virginia CNAP, and others — and they're yours for life. We're growing, and not stopping at Gretna. The people we hire today are the ones we promote tomorrow: Ground Tech → Removal Tech → Exclusion Tech → Master Tech, with regional leadership opening up as we expand. We'd rather pay you well to grow with us than watch you leave to do it somewhere else.

WHAT WE OFFER

- $18–22/hour starting

- Weekly pay — direct deposit Wednesday night for the prior week

- Full benefits after 90-day probation: health, dental, 401(k)

- Paid time off after one year

- Paid training and certifications

- Real variety — rooftops one week, a johnboat the next

- A team that backs you up

TO APPLY

Send a short message about yourself and any relevant experience.

Animal Dispatch, LLC — Gretna, VA — animaldispatch.com

Animal Dispatch is a licensed, insured, wildlife removal and control company based in Gretna, VA, serving south-central Virginia. Owner-operated with 15 years of field experience — and growing across the region.