Was contacted by an landowner for help with coyotes,fox and coon usually trap in winter and sell hides so I do it just for the use of the land, but how do you guys charge in the spring when fur is no good to market. He has 1100 acres and is 10 min. from my residence.

More than you would make on the fur. The job I'm on now I'll do 100/hr.

Here is a link to a similar discussion- http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4385829/Pricing_layout_??#Post4385829

We have never charged by how wealthy you are. Nearly all of our figures are etched in stone. We don't, however, have a whole lot of customers that are 10 minutes away and own over a thousand acres.

We ALWAYS charge at least a one time service call. This can be $100 to probably several hundred dollars, depending on what's being asked. I'm sure that there will be a lot of opinions on this subject, but just to get things rolling:

Coyotes; no less than $250, foxes; no less than $100, raccoons: no less than $50.

P.S. You will probably be amazed at the difference in answers. I always am.

I have done and do jobs like what your talking about for farmers that let me fur trap
for free.

Im not saying anything against charging. But if you are going to charge, it is advisable to have some basic liability insurance.

It is possible to be both a full time ADC operator and a fur trapper in the winter. In my area, ADC calls in the winter are very slow. Need something to help pay the bills.

I wholeheartedly agree with Jim with combining the two.

bgfur,

If you're going to provide this type of service, the first step is to find out what the laws are. You may have to have a business license, commercial wildlife license, commercial trapping license, liability insurance, and/or certification even if you don't charge a fee. For instance, the Ohio law now states that no compensation of any kind is allowed unless you have a Commercial Wild Animal Control license. That includes trading services for trapping rights.

Once you know what is required for taking the job, then you can decide on compensation. If you decide to charge a fee, make sure the fee is more than your expenses and time spent, otherwise you are paying them for the privilege to trap instead of them paying you.

bgfur3065, the first step is always to contact your fish&game dept. and ask what you need to do the job.

Don't take my word for it but I think in Texas you'll need nothing more than your trapping license but make sure to call f&g.

It's hard to know what the going rate is in West Texas but $100 per dog and $50 per raccoon is the going rate out here.

There's nothing wrong with doing it just for future trapping/hunting privileges either. Being your first control job, just make sure the rewards equal the effort.

Please keep this topic going. I love to hear the prices for different areas of the country. I am not usually one to criticize. I've been in just about every position that you guys might run across.

While we have done jobs in the past for no profit, if the customer was truly needy, ( And by the way, once those people get back on their feet, you have a customer for life ) the ones I really despise are the professional people who can more than afford you, but leave you high and dry and leave the state. They should have their scalpels taken away.

Anyway, I think WCT put it as well as anyone could: You are working for the customer; Don't end up making you pay him for working!

IMO there is nothing wrong with trading services or helping a friend without charging them money for
your services, as long as you BOTH are happy with the outcome. When I help a farmer out by catching
a coon that gets into his cat food I come out making way more money trapping fur on his ground in the
winter that I would have made charging him a fee.

opie, don't get the two things confused. I recently took care of a problem for a boyhood friend of mine. It took several short trips and did not cost me very much. I never billed him, in spite of the fact that he is worth several million dollars more than I.

As far as not billing a farmer because you will make more money trapping, maybe, maybe not. I know of ADC guys that have caught just a couple of lousy animals and made more money than I did in on my entire fur check.

I do love farmers. Nearly all of my classmates were farmers and I almost always look like I am more successful than them. Don't believe it. Being tight doesn't mean you're poor. They're all worth a lot more than I, but a don't begrudge them a cent.

When trapping coyote on a property of that size you have to determine what the potential clients goal is. With that being said you also need to know what their motivation is for removing the dogs. The reason I ask these questions up front is because it will determine the extent of the trapping program required to meet their goals and the desired results for the property and in the long run it will determine the costs to achieve those results. It's easy to say I'll charge $250 to set up traps and $100 Dollars per dog on 5 acres in a subdivision with maybe two nuisance coyote occasionally roaming in the back yard. This can be a quick and profitable venture for a Nuisance Wildlife Operator. But when you have 1100 acres and the client wants you to trap every square inch of it and remove every dog you can because they are eating his fawns and turkeys then you have a different situation entirely. So, I say this, whether it's 10 min. from home or 100 miles it takes a great deal of time to set up on and run a trap line on 1100 acres. In our line of work time is money and if your spend half a day running your trap line each and every day(which most states require trap checks every 24 hours) for a designated period, then you better make it worth your time. Because it will eat up your time quickly and afford little time for anything else. Those of you that have taken on a big coyote project can relate to what I am talking about. So my bottom line is and my answer to your question is "what is your time worth?" Estimate that and that will give your answer. Nothing is free my friend and time is money! whether its your spare time or your work time you have to place a value on it. Good Luck!