Predator Control Business

BobtheCat

New member
This is a question for those of you who get paid to control predators. My question is, How much do you charge rachers for coming in and taking care of problem coyotes during calving season? I have always done it for free in the past, but now i have too many clients to please them all. Some of the ranchers have asked me what they owe me and i dont know what to say. Thanks
 
It depends on what you are doing for them, and how effective you are at it. It also depends on the circumstances. I've been requested to to shoot coyotes on large ranches before, and in lieu of pay, I tell them that I would like to incorporate a predator control program on the ranch & in order to do that, I would have to be the only one that calls the ranch.

There's nothing worse than going out and finding that you are following someone that has a caller and no idea how to use it, other than to make your job way harder by educating all the coyotes....
In those cases I don't charge. I just have lots of land to call and it's worth it to be the only one calling.

If you are GOOD at what you do and someone calls you with an acute coyote problem, then a daily rate of $300 is reasonable. But, they need to understand that you may or may not get the coyote. I saves hard feelings later on, and lets the guy know what he might expect. If you charge that kind of money though, you need to be pretty good at what you do, and know how to get THE coyote. Not just A coyote.

I know I've had to kill 8-9 coyotes before to finally get the one that was causing the problem. If you don't know how to identify the problem coyote, and then know when you have killed him, then you may be better off not charging that kind of money.

The kind of coyote you are after may not be the kind you can call at all, and you may have to resort to other methods.
 
If you live in the East , You dont have to worry about that question.LOL

You will have to pay Big money and Know some good people to be able to get on the right places to call and kill in a Year what you guys out West get to see in one day.

You guys in my throughts have a Good problem.
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My best year was 32 if i remember right, And thats hunting all year ,every other 14 days straight, The mange has really put a hurt on my Coyotes the last couple years, And the ones that are still alive the hogs are pushing out.

I have called in and seen more in 2 days in NM then i have in a whole year in MS,AL,LA and AK.

Heck we called in 7 on one stand while hunting with Tony and i know guys around the house that just hunt saturdays due to work and church on sundays and dont see 7 in a year.
There are places where we might have just as many as areas out west , But we just cant see them before they wind you,

Like on some of my hunts over there where a dog might come in to 80 to 100yds and hang up for some reason are circle down wind at 150 yds, In the East it is hard to find a place where there is coyotes and also have the Terrain to see that far.Those 2 combos just dont go together to good for us.
Deer hunting is BIG over this way and most lands are lease up for the Rich guys that love the deer and you cant go any where near it from oct 1st till jan 31st,
As for my best spots i have the month of Feb to hunt , then Turkey seasons opens (march & april shut down) and i Can start back May 1 st till about mid sept when they start Plating there Food plotes and getting the Hunting leases ready.

Its just different, Heck i was Talking with Kerry Carver awhile back and he didnt know anything about running deer with dogs and that 3/4 of our deer season.
Coyote hunting is fun either way,
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Yes all our thickets are getting cleaned out, Places where i use to call coyotes out of cutovers and pine thickets you can get down on your knees now and see all over them where the hogs have cleaned them out.

There just isnt the cover and food around like it use to be before the hogs took over, We use to see rabbits every where,, Now you have to turn a good pack of dogs out to find one.
They might not be the reason but, all our rabbits and coyotes have sure vanished since the hogs got bad for some reason.
 
Prime place i use to be able to call a coyote in everytime i went, But since they moved in here i havnt seen a track ,heard one at night are called any in, The thicket across this pipeline is a couple hundreds acres and you can crawl anywhere in it without getting the first biar in you now.


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We even have some LAZY ones around there that like to lay down and eat.LOL
The river in the front of my house is cover with them for miles anyway you go.

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Just asking because the best hunt I have had in Mississippi was on land that was loaded with hogs in SW Ms. We called 6 coyotes and one Bobcat the first time I was there... next trip first two stands we got coyotes then we were skunked on the rest of the hunt.
Anyhow I guess its possible that that much change in habitat could cause a shift in patterns. Around here my best coyote grounds have good populations of hogs as well.
 
No issues with hog and coyote habitat overlap down here either. When I was walking and stalking during gun season for hog this fall, I was also scouting coyote for small game season as well.

Not unusual to find coyote and bobcat tracks mixed right in with the hog tracks. They seem to get along just fine in my area.

Raptor
 
Almost forgot to say - dang if those aren't some healthy fat hogs. We just had a tasty public land ham for Easter dinner yesterday. I don't imagine you have any problems keeping your freezer full up.

Raptor
 
I've owned a nuisance control company for just shy of 10 years now and it's tough to be able to give you a really good answer.
There is alot that I have to consider when giving someone a price. How far away from me are they, what type of program are they wanting (calling and shooting, trapping, any problems with footholds vs snares, a combination of several different techniques) If you are going to trap them what are your laws on trap checks, do you have to do it every 24 hours? Not much money to be made if you have to drive a hundred or so miles every day, seven days a week for a couple hundred bucks.
If they don't care how I accomplish the goal then I suggest a flat per animal fee. This allows me to do what needs to be done and at the same time they are only paying for results.
The flat rate fee of course varies again depending on distance etc.
One thing that you need to keep in mind and that is liability and insurance. If you get hurt or do damage to someones animals, property etc. who is paying the bill?
Good luck to ya.
 
I have some ranches that i do control on and we work out a rate based on what each of us needs to be happy , ie on local ranches within 25 miles i trade out service , i kill coyotes for the right to film on thier land for my dvds, and the right to be the only caller of the ranch , i also trade out other hunting such as deer and turkey, for ranches out of the way i charge 35.00 a coyote be it mature or a pup in the den they are all worth 35.00.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I think i am going to work out a fair price that will at least cover my gas. It is hard to charge someone for doing something that i love so much.

Originally Posted By: rockinbbarIt depends on what you are doing for them, and how effective you are at it. It also depends on the circumstances. I've been requested to to shoot coyotes on large ranches before, and in lieu of pay, I tell them that I would like to incorporate a predator control program on the ranch & in order to do that, I would have to be the only one that calls the ranch.

There's nothing worse than going out and finding that you are following someone that has a caller and no idea how to use it, other than to make your job way harder by educating all the coyotes....
In those cases I don't charge. I just have lots of land to call and it's worth it to be the only one calling.

If you are GOOD at what you do and someone calls you with an acute coyote problem, then a daily rate of $300 is reasonable. But, they need to understand that you may or may not get the coyote. I saves hard feelings later on, and lets the guy know what he might expect. If you charge that kind of money though, you need to be pretty good at what you do, and know how to get THE coyote. Not just A coyote.

I know I've had to kill 8-9 coyotes before to finally get the one that was causing the problem. If you don't know how to identify the problem coyote, and then know when you have killed him, then you may be better off not charging that kind of money.

The kind of coyote you are after may not be the kind you can call at all, and you may have to resort to other methods.

This is great advice Barry. One thing that i always tell ranchers when they are having calves killed by coyotes is, you should start shooting the coyotes before you start calving. This has worked well for me in being able to hunt these properties year round. I think i will only charge for the ones that i have to travel more than 30 miles for.
 
I know things might be different for me here in California than some other parts of the country, but I can't imagine charging someone for me to hunt coyotes for them. I also don't know that I would want to make that a job, I work enough as it is. And I love it too much to make it into work.
 
Most times, I kill yotes and cats, for the rights to hunt other game.I do though insist that I am the only predator hunter on the outfit.If the land owner insist on a "pay per nose" basis, I charge 25$ a yote, adults, pups, yoy,they all pay the same.In that case I check in at the ranch, and check out, and get paid when I leave the main gate. Not real handy, and not my preference.Duane
 


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