I had a question for you guys. Me and my dad wanted to start a small predator removal business and I was wondering how to charge clients. I was also just wanting tips and other things about the predator removal business. Thanks!

Well I would first start with the TN wildlife division and find out what kind of license or permits you would need.

From there I would see what kind of clientele you have in your area. Farmers or Ranchers would be your first line of contact.

As far as what to charge I always charged "per head" when I was doing predator control in Colorado. Ranchers liked that best and nothing felt better than pulling up to the house with a pile of coyotes in the back of the truck.

Your gonna hear a lot of guys talk about insurance and other business related items and that is all great advice and should be looked into by your dad. Being 13 I would let dad handle all that legal stuff and you should mainly focus on your calling ability and shot placement.

Good Luck.

Thanks Nathan I will definitely look into that. That was me and my dads agreement he handles business stuff and I catch the critters. How much for a rough estimate did you charge per head for coyote,fox,bobcat etc.

If I were in an area with decent fox and bobcat I would honestly just do the work for the rights to private property. Unless you are already an accomplished trapper.

I always charge by time, but again, if you are not already accomplished , you may be better off going with per animal.

cost depends on a LOT of things. Do you plan on doing this under the table? Or legit? Insurance, license, bonding?

We are planning on doing it legit all the way. We have a REALLY good fox population and I'm not to certain on bobcat. How much equipment would you get to start off in the business?

Don't quit the day job. One requirement any business needs is paying customers. Unless lebanon, tn is radically different than the rest of the southeast there will not be enough market interest to support predator only services. Almost every ADC outfit I know is actually a NWCO doing mixed species work with most of the work being urban structural work.

Thanks warrior . Me and my dad love trapping extremely and wanted to help out some of the farmers and such around here. We have a lot of cattle and horse farmers around here that complain about coyotes and other predators getting after there animals so that would probably be a large amount of the customers.

smithco, here I go again, giving my speech. I am very proud of your dad for taking the time to teach you. My father wasn't a trapper, but he was a farmer. ( I hope your Tennessee farmers are not as cheap as our Wisconsin farmers )

My son was an athlete and although he hunted with me when he could, he was way more interested in sports. He did pay for his entire college education by working for us during the summer. It did shock me when he graduated from college and decided to join our company, which he now runs.

What I am trying to say, is if you love trapping and want to make a career of it, good for you. But do it right. Get good grades in high school, go to college and take courses like business administration and communication. If you're going to be an ADC guy in Tennessee, be the best ADC guy that Tennessee has ever seen.

Thanks Paul I really appreciate what you told me. I have always been self conscious about my work and how I do it.

Keep track of EVERY dollar you have to spend. License, bonding, traps, gloves, bait, mask, etc. Thats all money you HAVE to make back.

Now think gas and materials. You have to make all that money back.

Is your dad going to make money? What is his time worth?

Then figure what is YOUR time worth?

How long does a job take you?

I charge USD....but the new rage is bitcoins.

You may want to introduce yourself to some farmers/ranchers in your area and spell out what you intend to do for a living just like you did for us. Include that you really don't know what to charge and ask them if they would work with you until you can figure it out. I can't imagine them turning away a 13 year old kid who isn't sitting in a chair playing video games.

You need a ADC lisence which are easy to get in TN. It also requires you to have liability ins. Here where I'm at most companies charge a set up fee and per yote. Around $200 set up and $125 per yote. And we run that on a week basis. give or take a few days. If your in more rural country good luck they won't pay. I do about 6 jobs a year and there in the city or home owner associations. good luck. I would starve if I only did yotes

Ok you guys thanks for the input. A lot of the farmers around here don't have a lot of money so I was thinking $75 initial cost. Then I was thinking $40-$50 for coyotes. Paul do i have to do a test like the hunter education class or is it like you apply for it then they accept/deny you.

No Test. Good references tho

You are correct about most farmers don't have a lot of money floating around. But that can be used to your advantage. They also can't afford to withstand heavy losses from predators. A conversation about what his losses have been in the past year will give you an idea of what he can afford to pay you. If you can show him that he will end up way ahead in money after paying you your fee, he will then have an easy decision to make.
Carl

Every kid I went to grade school with was the son or daughter of a farmer and you want to guess how many of them are millionaires or better? Yep, everyone of them. I don't know about the rest of the country, of course, but around here, farmer subsidies are a joke.

Just because someone is tight, doesn't mean they ain't rich. There have been a lot of posts on how the wealthy are sometimes the hardest people to collect from. Well, how do you think the got rich? Every day that they are making interest is a day that you aren't.

Yes I know what your saying Paul. But trust me these some of the farmers barely make it through the year sometimes

Ok. I have a question for a fellow Tennesseean. I have a friend that needs muskrats removed out of a pond. Muskrats are now out of season. So I need to get a nuisance animal permit. My question is how would I go about obtaining one? Thanks ahead of time!!

http://www.tn.gov/sos/rules/1660/1660-01/1660-01-21.pdf
"Revised" in 2001.
http://www.tn.gov/twra/contact.html

In Ohio we have a test for Commercial Nuisance Wild Animal Control for all permit holders and employees who will perform Nuisance Wild Animal Control activities.

You really need to contact the TWRA.

To bad you couldn't do the rats in season!

Thanks coonwacka I will definitely be getting a hold of them soon

Thanks for all of you guys help!! I'm going to do the job not this weekend but the next. The situation is that a guy has a pond with tilapia in it and the muskrats are making burrows in the dam. Do you guys have any tips or tricks about how I should set up? Thanks ahead of time

Set colony traps in the runs, through vegetation is best. Set away from the bank dens. After the catch numbers fall off, cover all the den entrances with 110's. That should do it.

Ok thanks I'll be sure to post pictures after the fact. Has anybody ever used marsyada a muskrat food and call lure?

Also tax deductable.

Thanks for everybody's help on this.

Really??? I'm considering this line of work myself Here in Ky you have to pass a 100 question test and be 18 or older.

Varies from state to state I guess.