It doesn’t cover you if you are doing it for reward.
Do any of you charge for pest control / stalking?
- Thread starter SurreyHunter
- Start date
If you have unlimited funds, go down that route, but as soon as you do, anyone with more money will take it off you.
I would agree that someone can always come along, and make an offer, but if you build a relationship with the land owner, and do a good job, it's much harder for them to change, to an unknown ?
Chances are most of the places have people knocking doors to gain the shooting so if you start charging for something most people will do for free recreationally you may find you lose ground. Especially if you are not offering a full pest control service to include, moles, rats and Corvids on the golf course ripping it up for the leather jackets.
I really don’t understand why people expect shooting as a hobby to be cost neutral not many other hobbies are! If it is your full time job that is different but if you are recreational then expect to pay for it!
One way to find out.
I really don’t understand why people expect shooting as a hobby to be cost neutral not many other hobbies are! If it is your full time job that is different but if you are recreational then expect to pay for it!
One way to find out.
Rake Aboot
Well-Known Member
Much as it does my dome in when folk do a pest control job for free or even get charged for doing it , there is no denying that plenty folk would take the job off you in a heartbeat.
Farmers take the **** in my opinion but at least make sure you keep the carcass and sell them to pay for your costs.
Farmers take the **** in my opinion but at least make sure you keep the carcass and sell them to pay for your costs.
Couldn't agree more
Hook'N'Bullet
Well-Known Member
No wouldn't dream of taking shells or asking for money. Farmers doing me the favor by giving me permissions and I do what I can for him in the Pest control department
76thirty
Well-Known Member
Plenty of cowboys around by me, I’ve taken on 4 different sites for rabbits in the last year that have had various hobby shooters/ferreters on and they are sick of it so ring me and happy to pay, lots of lads doing it for hobby don’t want to “kill their sport” so only knock a few down, I don’t blame them but I’m also glad of itI suppose if the said golf course is run well they would expect to pay for a professional service from you. Why not lay your cards on the table with them and thrash out some charge that is acceptable to both parties? I'm sure honesty pays off.
Like others have said land and permissions are in high demand, so they will have a queue of people wanting to do it, it's a different matter what sort of a job some of these folks would do, there are plenty of cowboys in my neck of the woods... god only knows how some have got a firearms license
It depends on the situation, if you undertake to do a professional job, not just rock up for a bit of shooting when you feel like it then certainly you are committing to remove the problem. This can take time and effort and very often no little cost. As has been mentioned already there are plenty of people who want to go shooting, but that's a different matter than taking on problems caused by generally foxes or rabbits and sticking at it until the job is done.
If there's a fox taking livestock then that fox has to be removed no matter how long it takes, same with the rabbits, the job needs to be done properly and I've found over the very many years I've been doing this sort of work that there's a very great difference between saying "I'll have a go when I can fit it in" to providing a service that will get the job done no matter how long it takes.
Today things are very different to when I started and costs now to set up with the gear you need, fuel, time etc. can be horrendous. As a farmer said to me recently, I'm more than happy to pay to get the job done properly, he was losing a couple of lambs a night that in due course would be worth around £100 each.
If there's a fox taking livestock then that fox has to be removed no matter how long it takes, same with the rabbits, the job needs to be done properly and I've found over the very many years I've been doing this sort of work that there's a very great difference between saying "I'll have a go when I can fit it in" to providing a service that will get the job done no matter how long it takes.
Today things are very different to when I started and costs now to set up with the gear you need, fuel, time etc. can be horrendous. As a farmer said to me recently, I'm more than happy to pay to get the job done properly, he was losing a couple of lambs a night that in due course would be worth around £100 each.
I do this for a hobby but at the same time I have a few places that will never be more than they are, ie, fox poohing on the door step, rabbits coming and eating the flowers in the garden. These will never develop into anything else. I charge these expenses. There is a set fee for a certain amount of hours work. If I have to ruck up somewhere to shoot 2 bunnies in a garden and it costs me a tenner in fuel then why not charge. The owner is happy. So I charge a set fee for 4 hours. I may visit the place 4 times at an hour a time, the fee doesn’t change whether 1 visit for 4 hours or 4 visits of one hours. Does this cover my costs?probably not, but it does help.
If you take on a job, you have to show up, long as they know you are turning up and doing the job they are usually happy and with a number I go in for a chat as well, the clock isn’t ticking when I am chatting.
Small places can get you ratting, some rabbits and a bit of foxing, then you you can get more recommendations for others. Again, this is a hobby so I am not looking to make a living but 110 mile round trip to shoot a fox at 28 mpg plus all the other things we do such as not going to the pub so we can leave early and sober.
There are places and people that will pay, there are others who won’t.
I share 1 bit of ground with 2 others and it is the only ground we pay for. Farmer wanted to increase the money before covid. I told him no as it was the only ground I paid for and it didn’t hold the deer to make it viable. I did say I undersgood and would help him get in someone reliable if he wanted. He said he would stick with us because in the 10 years plus we have done a good job.
you choose if you want to charge or not. some I charge, some I don’t. if fact at the weekend I took one of the landowners out to a riflesmith to fix his rifle. He wanted to pay me but I refused. But on his ground I have the deer stalking.
Don't be put off by people who say don’t charge. You are on the ground so you make the decision. Just always keep in regular contact with the people so they see you are there and pop in for a chat. it is all about building relationship over a long time and they are less likely to get rid of you if they see you as a friend.
If you take on a job, you have to show up, long as they know you are turning up and doing the job they are usually happy and with a number I go in for a chat as well, the clock isn’t ticking when I am chatting.
Small places can get you ratting, some rabbits and a bit of foxing, then you you can get more recommendations for others. Again, this is a hobby so I am not looking to make a living but 110 mile round trip to shoot a fox at 28 mpg plus all the other things we do such as not going to the pub so we can leave early and sober.
There are places and people that will pay, there are others who won’t.
I share 1 bit of ground with 2 others and it is the only ground we pay for. Farmer wanted to increase the money before covid. I told him no as it was the only ground I paid for and it didn’t hold the deer to make it viable. I did say I undersgood and would help him get in someone reliable if he wanted. He said he would stick with us because in the 10 years plus we have done a good job.
you choose if you want to charge or not. some I charge, some I don’t. if fact at the weekend I took one of the landowners out to a riflesmith to fix his rifle. He wanted to pay me but I refused. But on his ground I have the deer stalking.
Don't be put off by people who say don’t charge. You are on the ground so you make the decision. Just always keep in regular contact with the people so they see you are there and pop in for a chat. it is all about building relationship over a long time and they are less likely to get rid of you if they see you as a friend.
roaring_stag
Well-Known Member
ping me a PM if you want to talk about charges for stalking, i'll happily share my rates with you.
RS
RS
Why on earth does it do your head in if people do it purely for enjoyment??
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
Not sure can shoot corvids to protect golf course now
Probably not now, no.
But you get the point, he either has to treat it as a professional and deal with all of the issues and get paid or as a recreational shooter and just shoot the things he wants to eat.
David Barker
Well-Known Member
I charge on a few places i go to. Mainly new plantations that are getting hit hard. I am sure lots on here would love to do it that way but you need to be local and you need to hit the area regular and when deer are seen in the plantations. This is not the type of work for long distance travelers .
tikkathreebarrels
Well-Known Member
I'm with him.... My landowner makes no attempt to charge me or pay me for the service I provide on his land but I am at liberty to provide my family with venison.
And back to the OP opening post, the remark about the cost of fuel for the truck, there will be some sectors where charging a home to site mileage is acceptable but I can't imagine that any kind of vermin control comes with a significant "on site" fuel cost?
SurreyHunter
Member
Lol yup, these guys open their doors from 6am - 9pm
Similar threads
