Hi, I am fairly new to trapping in general and am new to running my own business as a wildlife control operator. I have the opportunity to trap boomers or mountain beavers for a Forestry company. After my liability insurance gets in place we are to discuss what I would like as an hourly wage while trapping for them. This is a dream for me to be in the mountains trapping and getting paid but yet don't want to shoot too low on wage. Any of you have experience with this? Not sure how many hours a week I will average and I am sure it will vary week to week. I also don't want to come up with a ridiculously high rate, where they think "this guy must be crazy". Any help would be appreciated! Thank you.

What's the difference between mountain beavers and regular beavers? Pardon the stupid question.

I am sorry, that is not a stupid question. I forget that mountain beavers don't live in other areas other than the Pacific Northwest, they are actually not related to Beavers at all and are just a rodent with no value in fur. They cause millions of dollars in damage to Forestry lands by clipping the seedlings or girdling trees in reforestation areas.

They are the ones with the mountain beaver problem, not you. Charge enough so they might actually say, "That guy must be crazy". DO NOT charge by the hour. You won't stay in business no more than a few months if you charge hobby prices. They are the ones with the mountain beaver problem, not you. You may want to learn about running a business and then learn about trapping. They are the ones with the mountain beaver problem, not you.

Thanks for the tip. I have ran my own business for the last 10 years but not doing this kind of work. I am new to fur trapping but have been in the pest control business so not completely new to trapping animals. I normally like to charge by the job and have had great success so far but this Forestry company does not price by the job and negotiating an hourly wage is the only way they will do it. They do pay my mileage to the unit and back as well but I have no idea if I will be out there 10 hours a week or 40 hours... I guess depends on activity. They also have others doing this line of work for them but they are a larger company with a team and have set as many as 2000 traps in one unit but I will be handling areas where activity is just starting maybe setting 15 to 20 traps in a unit. Do you think $30 an hour seems reasonable or too high/low? Obviously I am just looking for an opinion and there is no way for you to know what will work for me. Thank you!

Seems to me that would be based on your costs. What are licenses and insurance costing you ? Depreciation and maintenance on your vehicle ? Who buys the traps etc etc etc

more than you think you should to start,then work from there.

Thank you, I am waiting to hear back from the insurance so that will definitely play a part in the pricing again its just tough I guess because I really don't know how often they will need me. I will be buying the traps, so I will also put that into the pricing. Thank you for the response

Yes, that is what I was thinking, I just don't want to come across greedy or like I am trying to take advantage of them because they are a big multi million dollar operation. Thanks for the response

You would also want to consider who is responsible for things such as witholdings, taxes, whether state & local. Workman's comp etc. Are you their employee or a private contractor ? How frequently will you be paid ? Weekly or monthly ?? Don't price your work too low. People may think your price is a reflection of your work

Mountain beaver.

Maybe a couple of different rates, depending on the total hours each week they need you. If it was me, I would need more per hour if it was ten hours than if it was 40 hours.

I learned something new today. I figured mountain beaver must be bigfoot food. But no, it really exists.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/aplodontia-rufa#conflict

Are you allowed to salvage and sell parts of the animals you trap? Items like skulls and pelts (in the winter time).

Even though they are not a fur bearer, there is a market for those items.

Make sure this question is answered in your contract with the timber company.

I have no idea what to charge but i certainly would NOT charge by the hour. Piece work or a weekly/monthly amount.

Good Luck.

The rate you charge has to reflect all of your hidden costs, as well as what you want to make an hour. Also, a business should generate a profit.

Cost of traps, bait, truck wear and tear, gas, insurances(workmans comp, general liability, health), contributions to retirement, phone, office space, taxes, etc. Business should also earn a profit. Over the years I have found that the labor portion of a receipt usually needs to run between 25-30% for me to maintain a healthy profit. So if you want $30 on the check you should be at $100 an hour. Realize you don't have all of these expenses right now, but if you don't charge for them you will never have more than a hobby.

Most companies understand the costs to doing business and wouldn't be surprised at an hourly charge in this ballpark.

Just information for those who dont know what mountain beaver are.
Dont ignore what wissmiss posted.

http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/MountainBeaver.asp

I wouldn't charge by the hour either. Reason being, once you set your hourly rate, you're kind of stuck. You might find you have to adjust the rate once you really get going in the business.

I have done some regular nuisance beaver trapping and charged by the beaver. That way you can vary the amount you charge per job depending on the difficulty of the job. I've charged as much as $100 a beaver to 0. The 0 being an elderly retired couple who were surviving on their SS benefits. Beaver had suddenly showed up in their yard and began chewing on their smaller trees. They let me use their paddle boat to fish crappies in the spring on their pond for removing the beaver. I did that every year until they were both gone.

PM sent.

Thank you for all the responses... definitely some helpful information. Unfortunately I have to come up with an hourly wage because that is what is required by the forestry company. But I will definitely make it higher than I was originally thinking to make sure it covers all the business costs involved. Thank you so much!

Before you give them a number, you need to know if they are considering you a part time employee or a contractor. I would almost guarantee that you would be considered a contractor and thus get a 1099 at year end and you are responsible for all taxes, SS and all other expenses involved with being an independent contractor. In that case, IMO, $30 per billed hour id way too low. They pay your mileage at some rate but billed hours needs to include travel time as well as any short fall of vehicle expenses.