WCT is a bimonthly magazine committed to serving people actively involved in the nuisance wildlife control field. Our goals are to provide practical operating information, promote education, professionalism and a professional image, provide communication within the field, and help resolve human and animal conflicts with respect for the needs of both.

We’re looking for articles on all aspects of nuisance wildlife control work. Our primary need is for specific, practical information that our readers can apply to their own businesses. We want how-to methods articles on trapping and other control techniques for all nuisance species, from raccoon, skunk and beaver to mole, bat, pigeon, alligator and any other problem wildlife. Proper equipment selection and use (traps, attractants, vehicles, etc.) euthanizing animals humanely, disposing of carcasses, and other nuts-and-bolts aspects of control work are all good topics.

We also want natural history topics, for example coyote territorial behavior, skunk home range size, or any other animal behavior information that will increase the understanding and effectiveness of the wildlife control operator.

We need business-related articles too, on topics like getting a business started, advertising and locating clients, pricing jobs, obtaining insurance, marketing by-products, keeping records, dealing with the IRS, and any other information that will help increase profit.

Other good topics are public relations, being professional and presenting a professional image, educating clients, dealing with animal welfare issues, and relating to Fish and Game departments, municipalities, and the press. Educational information is needed. Topics could be evaluation and sources of reading material, workshops, classes, seminars, conferences, personal instructions, and other educational material.

Our regular departments are focused on specific areas. Strictly Business deals with business information; Habits and Habitat discusses wildlife behavior and habitat; Learning Tools treats equipment and its usage; and Offbeat deals with unusual situations that need a different approach, for example dealing with an individual trap shy animal, or an unusual species or situation. Tech Tips are short pieces showing helpful solutions to everyday problems.

In short, any topic relating to control work could be valuable. If you have an idea for an article, write a brief letter summing it up. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or the assistant editor via e-mail (preferred) or mail, discussing article topics is part of our jobs. Try to avoid using the phone except in urgent situations. Please keep phone calls brief. I’m always looking for good information. If you are a proven writer we can also give you writing assignments.

Articles can be almost any length, however the longest we print are usually from 2,500 to 3,000 words. If the information is coming easily don’t stop until you have it all down, regardless of length. It’s not unusual for me to get two separate articles out of one long manuscript. We also have a need for short pieces from 100 to 600 words, describing a brief incident or containing an interesting fact or useful tip. We have a never-ending need for timely news about the animal control field!

Detailed, tightly focused, in-depth treatment of one subject is better than a general discussion of a broad topic. "Selecting Proper Trail Locations for Woodchuck Cage Traps in Urban Situations" is better than "Box Trapping Woodchucks".

Be as specific as possible, Avoid vague statements like, "Put the trap in a good trail near the den." Don’t assume people know what that means; they’re reading your article because they don’t. What exactly is a good trail? What type of terrain features or vegetation help you identify it as such? What type and size trap is best? How is it positioned? And exactly how far from the den? Include as much specific detail as possible. I’d much rather edit out extra material than have to ask you for more information to fill a topic out. Choose photos that help explain the article.

If you mention certain products, companies, books, internet resources etc. be sure to include information on how to contact those resources in a sidebar. A sidebar is just a page listing the contact or resource information. Remember, our readers run businesses and may want to learn more about the product or topic of your article.

A good way to find out what our topic needs and preferred writing styles are is to read a back issue of the magazine. The Assistant Editor can send you one, enclose a 9"x12" SASE ($1.35) with your request.

Although photos and illustrations aren’t essential if the article contains good information, they help greatly. Send all available quality photos as it gives me a selection. Sketches and diagrams help too. If you’re not an artist, we can redo them for you. Black and white photos, color prints or slides are fine. Try to use 100 or 200 speed film when using color film. When submitted with an article, photos are purchased as part of the package.

Include your name and address on the back of the photo. Please do not use a ball point pen to write on photos as you will score the photo. If it isn’t clear which side of the photo is the top, draw an arrow on the back to show which way the photo should be oriented. We are not responsible to return photos that do not have name and address attached.

f you send the photos by disk, save them in a tiff format at least 600 dpi. Please ask before sending photos taken with a digital camera. Most of the digital cameras in use do not take pictures of the quality we require, but they are getting better. JPEGs are seldom, if ever, acceptable.

Manuscripts should be typed or computer printed, single spaced. Information is our primary need. We prefer articles on disk in a Windows compatible file or text file (Rich Text Format RTF is preferred). We also accept articles by e-mail. Articles sent electronically (disk or e-mail) earn a $10 premium. If you send your article electronically, make sure your name and address are included. Please do not fax articles unless asked to do so in an emergency. Photos should be mailed. Don’t send them electronically at this time as the proper dpi settings would take too long to download over the internet. If you send the photos by disk, save them in a tiff format at least 600 dpi. Please ask before sending photos taken with a digital camera. Most of the digital cameras in use do not take pictures of the quality we require, but they are getting better. JPEGs are seldom, if ever, acceptable.

We’d be glad to look at reprints, articles that have already been published in other magazines, if the topic is nuisance wildlife related. We pay from $50.00 for short pieces to $175.00 for a full-length, feature article. Occasionally more for well-researched articles with excellent photo support. Topic, length, photo support, amount of editing needed, and quality of information all determine the price. We buy perpetual but nonexclusive rights including electronic rights.

We’re also interested in good cover and support photos. We pay $30.00 for cover photos and $15.00 for photos used inside to support articles. Good pictures of animals and people actively doing ADC work are always needed. Cover photos will be cropped square.

There are a lot of good people in this field who can talk for hours about their area of expertise, yet they feel they can’t write well enough to submit an article on it. Please don’t let that stop you. Write the article as if you were talking casually to another wildlife control operator. Do the best you can, but don’t let concern about perfect spelling, punctuation, or writing style prevent you from writing. Write clearly, then reread your article a couple times and fix phrases that seem unclear. Our primary need is for good information. If you think you have something valuable to share with other wildlife control operators, we want to hear about it.