I have been in business for 4.5 years and still struggle with the "sweet spot." This will be first full calendar year in business full time.

Starting out my prices were low, you have to pay for your experience and lower prices help you get work and gain experience. However, low prices are not sustainable unless you are doing this for beer money or you enjoy living in poverty. One of the convenience store chains in my area starts everyone off $17.50/hour. If I am buying equipment, driving to your house, and climbing on your roof; I'm going to make more than that an hour.

If you are charging customers you are a business and should be set up as one. This includes paying taxes.

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Example: Karen sees a groundhog going under her shed and wants it gone. She is 35 minutes from your door and is 18 miles away. You are trapping for 7 days.


Lets say I'm charging $100 set up fee. . . .



Day 1- set up and you chat with her about the problem. She shows you a couple of other holes around the house. You are there an hour. You go home

Day 2- No catches.

Day 3- You haven't caught anything and you wonder why. You go back out and look around to see if the animal didn't dig next to your trap. Things look okay and you leave.

Day 4- No catches.

Day 5- Nothing yet, so you go back out and you see a dead groundhog in the road about a block away from her house. You make an adjustment and leave.

Day 6- Nothing

Day 7- Both you and Karen are sad that nothing was caught. You pull your traps and leave, or maybe you wait a day or so.
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Time:

So, in this example you made 4 trips, you spent 1 full hour on set up, plus smaller chunks of time on reassessments. Let's say you spent a total of 2 hours onsite

35 minutes one way = 70 minutes round trip x 4 trips = ~4 hours 40 minutes of your time driving + 2 hours onsite = 6 hours 40 min of your time


Fuel:

I get ~17 miles/gallon

18 miles one way = 36 miles round trip. This is a bit more than 2 gallons/round trip x $3.85/gallon = $7.70/ round trip in fuel x 4 trips = $30.80 in total fuel costs

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Your $100 set up fee:

$100.00 - $5.66 (6% sales tax in PA) = $94.34

$94.34- $30.80 (fuel) = $63.54

Sometimes I will get cantaloupe or produce to use with my commercial bait/ lure. $63.54- $2 = $61.54

$61.54 / 6 hours and 40 min = ~ $9.24/ hour BEFORE you pay any income tax

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Obviously, if you catch the groundhog it will bump you up. If you charge $50/head

$150- $8.49 (6% sales tax in PA) =$141.51

$141.51- $30.80 (fuel) = $110.71

$110.71- bait = $108.71

$108.71 / 6 hours and 40 minutes = ~ $16.32/hr


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Keep in mind you will have other expenses- buying traps, bait, insurance, vehicle maintenance, and etc. It costs money to stay in business!

NWCOA - Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators Association is a good place to start. I am not sure if they offer their general (basic) course online or not. When I took it, it blew my mind. It's not fur trapping!

I charge mileage and per animal killed/removed.
If they need carpentry work or fencing etc to eliminate re infestation they can call a carpenter or farmhand.

A good rule of thumb is figure out what you think is a good price schedule, then add 25 %, then double that amount. You may then be able to keep gas in the truck, you and your kids fed, and your wife off your tail. Maybe.

For the guys charging per animal, how do you expect to stay in business when you only catch 1 or two critter a week or no critter at all off that job? This business- its not fur trapping it's a service, charge for your time or service trips.

I get paid for killing animals,not riding around sightseeing.,Thats how.

I agree, you must charge for every trip made to the place of business for whatever the reason. If you don't or if you are trying to work on a flat rate service fee, many times that will not pencil out at the end of many jobs. Just too many variables that can arise on this kind of work. That is why many who try to transition into the ADC field don't make it. You need to be a businessman as well as a trapper or you better stay with your primary income job.

Bob could you give an example ? Thanks

Mole contracts are bid for a period of time. Usually, a setup fee and a pre-determined number of visits for trap maintenance and animal removal. For flying squirrels if you have nailed the entry/exit points correctly they can be bid on a flat rate price in many cases. We don't set traps in attics or in homes/businesses as a rule. Too difficult to do service call arrangements.

You must also always explain to the customer before any work begins that wildlife work is not a perfect science and things do not always go as planned or as expected.

Greys and Red squirrel jobs are bid a setup fee and a per trip fee for removals and trap adjustment visits as needed. Ground animal work can vary but typically it is all based on a setup fee and a per trip fee basis as needed for wildlife removal or trap maintenance.

Thank you Bob for your time and example.

What are your guys typical price structure on beaver jobs for populated lakes? Not asking prices, just how you charge.