How much should pet waste removal techs charge?

This business runs almost entirely on recurring weekly (or twice-weekly) visits, each one quick — most solo operators clear 10-20+ yards in a single route day. Set your real hourly rate here and use the default visit length as a starting point for one dog on a typical suburban yard; a route's effective hourly rate is usually higher than a one-off house-service call because drive time between stops is short and each stop itself is fast.

What moves the rate

• Number of dogs — most operators charge a base rate for one dog plus $3-10 per additional dog per visit
• Yard size — small urban yards run cheaper per visit than large suburban or acreage properties, which take longer to fully clear
• Visit frequency — weekly is the default; twice-weekly costs more per visit but less per pickup, biweekly and monthly cost more per visit since more waste has accumulated
• One-time or "initial cleanup" jobs — a yard that hasn't been cleared in weeks or months takes far longer than a maintained route stop and should be priced separately, often $60-150+
• Route density — a new client far from your existing route adds drive time that isn't reflected in a flat per-visit price, so factor in trip cost when quoting outside your service area
• Local cost of living and competitor rates
• Gate/yard access — locked gates, multiple dogs to manage during the visit, or difficult terrain slow down an otherwise fast stop

baseHourly of $80 reflects that this is route-based, fast-stop work — a $20 visit at the default 15-minute length works out to an effective $80/hr, well above what a similarly-priced single house-service call would imply, because a solo operator strings together many stops per route day with minimal per-stop overhead. The 15-minute default models a single dog on a typical maintained suburban yard; the calculator's output lands within the researched $15-40/visit weekly-service range (national average roughly $20-22/week per customer, monthly averages of $65-130 with most companies around $86-95/month). The $3,000/yr expense default covers a personal (not dedicated commercial) vehicle used for the route: commercial auto insurance ($600-2,400/yr depending on driving history/location), general liability insurance (commonly cited around $50/month, i.e. ~$600/yr, sometimes bundled into low-cost "pooper scooper insurance" policies starting near $139/yr), basic equipment (scoopers, sealable waste containers, boots, sanitizer — $150-300 to start with ongoing replacement), and route-scheduling software.