Questions about pricing jobs.

I live in a very small town in Arkansas. I do alot of beaver, coons, oppsum, otter, and skunk removal. I am a nuisance control trapper for game and fish. The g & f gives the person my number. I get to charge what I want too. I started off doing it for free has long as I got to trap there land in season. But I am picking up way too many jobs. I started charging them 40.00 set up fee and 25.00 an animal. I done one beaver job got me thinking. I had to go in there after 3 other trappers plus land owner after them. He said nobody could catch them. He said he hated them so bad. I told him it was 40 set up and 25.00 per animal. He said he didnt care he wanted them gone. First day I set few drowning rods body traps and snares. He told me I wasnt charging enough has hard as I went after them. I caught one first night. He was so happy. He said u catch them out. I will make worth your time. The beaver ended up shying away from body traps. I caught 3 out of farm pond in 3 days. Left them set for 3 more days no new sign. So I pulled them. He said u make it look so easy to catch them. The guy handed me the money. I stuck it in my pocket. I got to talking fishing. He told me I could fish in his stocked crappie and catfish ponds anytime. Keep all the fish I wanted. I could also trap this winter. I went fishing I caught 24 bream bigger than my hands. But forgot my stringer at home. So I let them go. Headed home got home took money out. I thought 120.00 would be the most I would make. He paid me 300.00 for catching 3 beaver plus give me a 330 trap too. I took the money invested in more beaver traps. My wife said I was too cheap on my prices. If I went up to 50.00 for setup and 30.00 or 35.00 per animal. Would that be too high? I dont do it full time. I do it before and after work. My setup free is for gas and setting traps out. I get a few calls that says 40.00 setup free and 25 per animal is too high. If they dont want to pay it for animal. Then that animal wasnt that big enough of a nuisance. Not doing it for free no more. I get called to the bigger city's too. I will take any advice I can get. Thanks Rich.

Every area is different, so my prices might not fly in your area.

What are your competitors charging? I think that's a good base to figure your prices.

Consider your time setting and doing to your job. Checking traps, etc.


Also consider what the average service call costs for other trades. What does the electrician or plumber charge per hour? If your area is used to paying them $100/hour, you can charge close to that!

Depends on where I'm trapping. I charge less for farmers/homeowners than I do for an HOA or apartment complex. I used to charge $150 setup and $75 per. I do a flat rate now though. I also called my competition and got an estimate for a beaver removal and I was way under priced. I'm still a newbie though.

I think the owner got it right. $100 per beaver, plus set up fee, plus trip charge is very reasonable.
Beaver trapping is a lot of hard work, and few people willing to do it. So charge what you can get and what makes it worth your while.

X2 - I charge $200 set up and $100 per beaver. You are cheap but maybe that's what you area can handle. The bottom line is that if you are happy that is what counts. Deals like you just mentioned are few and far between here. You must be a nice guy and make friends easily- that's a great start at any job. That type of bedside manor goes a long way to repeat business. Mileage is a good thing to charge. If you claim it on your taxes you will be claiming the miles so you might as well come up with some way to make it easy for your customers and you to pay and charge. You could even make it hourly if you wanted to. Beaver are a lot of work so I would charge at least $30.00 an hour if you go that route. You might even ask around and see what carpenters or painters or other trades charge and do something similar. People expect to pay something and after all you are the expert. My dad always told me to get all I can. After a while the fishing and trapping isn't going to do for the misses - my experience anyway. Doing it part time is a great thing because you do not need to make the money you would if you were doing if full time. No matter the cost - even if you had a $10 set up and $2 an animal you will always get people who try to talk you down in price. Stick to your guns and when you lose a job just think to yourself how glad you are that you dodged that bullet and didn't work for cheap the whole time and end up in the hole. It has been my experience that people who try to talk down a price are usually (not always) good ones to stay away from. If a job starts out that way (with you giving in) the whole job seems to go that way.

I charge by the hour including drive time to and from, plus mileage to cover gas and wear and tear on my truck. If the job requires abnormal extra expense for supplies I charge for that too.
This method of doing business requires trust from the customer. If you are a trustworthy person and skilled at your trade, this method is beneficial for both parties.They get exactly what they pay for, and I stay in business.
I may throw out a ballpark number at them if they ask so that they can determine if their problem is that much of a problem to justify the expense.

You’re too low. For late spring or summer beaver work you’re wayyyy too low. I’ve charged all kinds of ways. They can all work at times, but some don’t work every time.

For fur trapping, getting the last one doesn’t matter. Catch easy ones, move on.

Doing beaver work, there’s only one that matters—the last one. You have to be willing to make as many trips as it takes to close the deal or your time spent trying to solve beaver problems was in vain.


By the beaver is the hardest way to price for typical ADC work, period. Why? Because not every beaver is the same. Some are on the side of the highway, some are in city limits, some are only accessible by boat, some have to be walked to, some are easy, some are hard, some are easy to setup, some require improvising, perhaps buying equipment that will only be used once.

Per beaver works when they expect you to catch some beavers and they have a lot of them, unless of course you charge a lot per beaver——not to make it a jackpot, but to ensure your costs and time are covered for the ones that take the longest. Sure, you can run hard for a week, catch a lot and make a whole lot of money, so it’s not always a bad thing, it’s just not practical for single jobs. If there are many locations, it could work, maybe.

By the hour is okay at times, but it’s easy to get complicated dealing with multiple customers on the same day, and complicated isn’t what I want.

My two favorites are by the trip and by the job. What you charge has to be enough for you to be glad you took the job and hoping they call you for more. If at ANY rate you don’t enjoy beaver trapping anymore, you’re not charging enough.

Record your mileage, expenses, and income, and then look at it at tax time. That’s when the “I don’t charge enough” becomes most clear. Insurance alone is just a hair under $1000 per year for me. That’s a lot of $40-50 beavers just to cover that single expense. You have to make a profit and people will know that. Do your best, charge enough or don’t take the job, and you should be fine.