Peninsula Pest Shooting is owner-operated. You deal with Josh — the person who assesses your property, does the work and turns up again next time. No call centre, no subcontractors, no franchise.

I've lived on the Mornington Peninsula for more than 25 years, so this isn't a patch I drive out to — it's home. I've been shooting for around 18 years and controlling pests on and off on other people's properties for about 9 of them. That means I know the country, the seasons and the problems particular to blocks around here: foxes on the lambing paddocks, rabbits ring-barking the vines, deer coming out of the parks and reserves.

What drives it is conservation as much as anything. Foxes, rabbits, feral cats and introduced birds do real damage to native wildlife and habitat on the Peninsula, and doing the job properly — target-specific, bait-free, with nothing left in the paddock to poison an owl or a working dog — protects the native animals as well as your stock and crops. That's why I shoot rather than bait, and why I won't touch protected native species without the right permit.

I hold a Victorian firearms licence, a game licence for deer, public liability insurance, and a Victoria Police Public Place Permit for working on blocks close to houses and roads. Every job is done humanely, within the law, and with your neighbours and your animals in mind.

If foxes, rabbits, deer, feral cats, rats or pest birds are doing damage, the first night on your property is a $50 callout and we'll walk it together. Text 0466 659 997.