I’m 16 years old and this is my 3rd year trapping I want to start making some money from it, is it possible to start my own trapping business at 16? And what would I even charge?

Don't quit your day job....

Ah the best laid plans of mice and men!!
See if there is an ADC guy in your area that would let you job shadow and see if you really want to make a career out of it.
I’m so bad at it, I can’t even make it a hobby

I am not familiar with MN laws but if you do start try to set prices at a point you win 75% of the jobs. If you do ypu will be in the ballpark of what the market will bear. How you charge is up to you estimated hours, number of animals to remove, if any exclusions to install, ease of access, all things to consider but it can be done (if legal)

Read state and local statutes often to protect yourself.

Welcome to T-man there is a wealth of knowledge here

I'd guess you'll need to graduate high school and see if you have time to do it after that, there are a lot of distractions out there. Secondly, you'd need to live in an area where there is a big unfulfilled need for a nuisance wildlife guy, so you have a market to operate in. Third you'll need to know a lot more than just how to trap well, like how to run a business, deal with contracts and ignorant people, mating and gestation habits of all the animals, summer time tactics, and how to deal with snakes, gophers, bats, and whatever other critters you have in addition to furbearing animals, and a few other things as well. Insurance, licenses, etc...

Good luck. Welcome to Trapperman.

It's possible to make money trapping, but not so much from fur trapping.

You're only viable option to make money is to do nuisance trapping work. But, a reputation of service has to be built up in the nuisance business b4 you'll have consistent work.

It's not impossible. It took me only 40 plus years to build my reputation, so hang in there, you have about 2 decades to work on it.

A young person willing to try to work at something, good for you! If your near or can get to urban areas, there is money to be made. Skunk, coon, muskrat, beaver, etc. nuisance work. Around northern WI there is money being made and more in southern. Trapping ponds, housing etc. Check with others as per pricing, set up fees and per animal caught. Good Luck. Maybe some others can chime in and help him out.

Welcome aboard.I would take business courses in school first then go from there when you graduate from school.

There was a post on here about what to charge for doing nuisance work a few days ago. See if you can find that. It should give you an idea as to what to charge.
School must just about be ending and summer vacation coming up. You might be able to find some work then. Otherwise, when school starts not a good idea to let it interfere with your studies.
There are a lot of excellent trappers that post on this site. You can glean a lot of info from them.

Business course in school won't help you much in trapping.

You should attend the Fur Takers school or take instruction from a pro trapper.

But, at your young age, you should 1st just trap...and gain more experience. The learning curve is steep.

Good Information ^^^

Welcome to Tman

It will help you know how to run a business

X2. What the others are saying, in so many words, there is little to no money to be made at today's prices trapping fur. But furbearers go by another name and that is varmint. Around people, they cause all kinds of trouble and people will pay you to get rid of them. I knew a young man about OP's same age and circumstance. He taught himself to catch coons with dog proof traps, and got pretty good at it. Word got out in the neighborhood and people started calling him. And paying him. That was over 5 years ago and he got $25 per coon. Short while after that, I saw his grandfather and asked how the trapping deal was going. Was told he had stopped. He liked the catching, didn't like the dispatching.......the waste of it. So he quit. Unfortunate as the need for his services was still there.

So if OP can accept the 2nd part.......then get yourself some basic traps........a variety.......and learn how to use them, and put the word out you are available. You might be surprised at what happens next. Good news is OP is young and has time to practice and grow into it. If you have a knack and you like the work, you might be surprised at how it works out.

Don't know if your in the metro area or rural but the farmers around here are too cheap to pay and would rather complain about it than to pay to have someone knowledge do anything to help out. I do a lot of pocket gopher trapping. Township pays $4/gopher. In some townships the local cellphone company will match that due to the gophers eating the covering off their fiber-optics lines. Most farmers think that is good enough money as they use to get a quarter for them back in the day. Being creative and finding alternative markets for bipoductsis helpful.

You driving? see if you can get a part time job with a local nuisance guy, maybe checking traps or removing trapped critters to give him time to do other jobs....keep your eyes open and ask questions...just a thought.

I would make the following recommendations ... Find an animal control company that is willing to hire and work with you around your school schedule to gain experience and get a glimpse into the industry. Second, take all the business, finance and ethics classes that you can. You will be dealing with all manner of people more than with the animals you want to trap.

Enthusiasm is everything and not to discourage you; but, at 16 you have a few legal obstacles in front of you, the first being your inability to enter into legal contracts.

Make sure you graduate from high school. DON'T quit. As in any business, you are going to have to make an investment in equipment, time and learn the trade. Might be a good idea to work with somebody else in the ADC business to learn the ropes. Also, the several people that I know who started out in ADC were experienced trappers and started out slow doing simple jobs and gradually built up the business.

first off welcome, to t-man, go slow, little steps, do you need a special license in Minn, to be paid to trap?check with people who might have problems with animals, rabbits, squirrels, and stuff

Do a few beaver jobs for friends and relatives, they’ll usually more than cover your fuel. For strangers, tell him how far you drive and that you wouldn’t mind getting your fuel costs covered. Give them a heads up about the fur market too. Word gets around and you’ll be turning lots of jobs down. Every jobs a bit different, but around here, RMs and our MIT pay a flat rate…..which is $50-$60/beaver. It’s low but if they give you several locations to hit within a few miles you can make a few bucks on a weekend. Im lucky in that they won’t mess with the dam or blockage until I’m finished, but I have to get on it quick and hit ‘em hard, no fooling around.