Pests can be more than an unsightly nuisance. Some pests, like termites, can destroy your home, causing thousands of dollars in damage. Others can pose a serious health risk, carrying infectious diseases and parasites. As a homeowner, property manager, or business owner, keeping pests under control is paramount for health, safety, and financial reasons.
Unfortunately, getting rid of pests can feel overwhelming, and finding exact pricing for exterminators can be tricky. To help you better understand exterminator costs, I’ve researched the prices of the most popular national exterminator companies. Read on to find out how much exterminators cost and how to keep your home pest-free.
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4.7
Treats 20 types of pests
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What Is the Cost of an Exterminator?
On average, an exterminator costs between $150 and $400. This price can vary depending on which pest(s) you’re dealing with, the infestation level, treatment methods, and other factors. You can also choose from multiple service types, such as a one-off treatment or recurring visits, each with different pricing models.
What Are the Most Common Types of Exterminator Services and Their Costs?
The type of pest infesting your home is the most important factor in determining how much an exterminator costs. Some pests, like spiders or wasps, typically only need manual removal and are comparatively inexpensive. Others, like termites, mice, or large mammals, can require special treatment plans and multiple visits to fully eliminate. These difficult-to-dislodge pets can be much more expensive, requiring more labor hours and specialized equipment.
Here is a breakdown of the different exterminator services for the most common pests and their associated costs. For this table, I assume that the homeowner is only scheduling a one-time visit for an averaged sized (2000-square-foot) home, with no special circumstances. This table doesn’t account for initial inspection costs, which can be an additional $100 to $315, depending on the company.
Pest | Average Exterminator Cost |
Ant Exterminator | $150–$450 |
Bed Bug Exterminator | $550–$850 |
Bee and Wasp Exterminator | $100–$500 |
Cockroach Exterminator | $100–$400 |
Flea Exterminator | $150–$400 |
General Exterminator | $350–$850 |
Mosquito Exterminator | $300–$500 |
Rodent Exterminator | $145–$570 |
Silverfish Exterminator | $200–$650 |
Spider Exterminator | $100–$500 |
Termite Exterminator | $500–$3,000 |
Tick Exterminator | $50–$200 |
Ant Exterminator
While not as damaging or dangerous as some pests, ants are still a problem that homeowners should take care of ASAP. Ants can contaminate food, cause painful bites, and even (depending on the ant) destroy parts of the home. Ants are a pain to get rid of, typically requiring baits or sprays to fully eliminate them.
Although the cost of ant extermination can vary, on average, you can expect to pay between $150 and $450 for a one-time ant treatment. Some ant species, like carpenter ants, can be more expensive since they’re more difficult to uproot.
Bed Bug Exterminator
These flat, bloodsucking parasites hitch a ride on your luggage before making themselves at home in your bedroom. Unfortunately, they reproduce quickly, infest furniture, and are generally difficult to remove. While there are several methods exterminators use to get rid of bed bugs, extermination costs for these pests can be very high.
You can typically expect to pay between $550 to $850 for a bed bug treatment, but prices can go as high as $5,000.
Bee and Wasp Exterminator
Bee and wasp removal can have a broad price range, depending on the kind of stinging insect you’re dealing with and its location. While the cost of removing bees varies, a few paper wasp nests dangling from your eaves typically only costs $100 to $300 to remove, while a yellow jacket net along your driveway starts at nearly $1,000.
Some states have laws protecting helpful bee species, specifically honeybees. While there are no federal regulations for honeybee removal, some states require a permit to remove their hives. In these situations, live or no-kill removal is best, but it’s usually more expensive.
Cockroach Exterminator
These pests can contaminate your food, carrying many harmful diseases like campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis. Even worse, roaches are some of the hardest pests to get rid of, often requiring multiple follow-up visits from pest control professionals. The average cost for cockroach extermination is between $100 and $400, but depending on the severity of the infestation, it can be as high as $3,000.
Flea Exterminator
Fleas are another bothersome parasite, but unlike bed bugs, fleas can carry numerous dangerous diseases and parasites. Even worse, fleas are harder to detect than bed bugs, often infecting multiple animals and family members before you even realize you have an infestation. Luckily, fleas aren’t too expensive to treat, typically costing anywhere from $100 to $450, with a national average price of $250.
General Exterminator
You can hire a general exterminator when not looking to eliminate any specific pest. These companies will come in and inspect your property, create a treatment plan, remove existing pests, and seal possible entry points to keep future pests out.
Most exterminators cover a wide range of pests with their general plans. However, some pests, like ticks, mosquitoes, and bed bugs, are often excluded and require separate services. You can expect to pay between $300 and $800 for general extermination, averaging about $450.
Mosquito Exterminator
Certain regions of the U.S. have severe mosquito problems that require the help of a trained professional. Unfortunately, mosquito control is usually a yearly treatment that can range from $300 to $500 per visit.
Rodent Exterminator
A rat infestation is every homeowner’s worst nightmare. These scurrying vermin can spread various diseases while destroying insulation and wiring. If not taken care of quickly, they can reproduce quickly, infesting your entire home and becoming more expensive to exterminate.
When talking about rodent extermination, there are three major kinds of pests that can infest a home: rats, mice, and gophers.
- Rats: Rats are large, difficult to dislodge, and cause damage quickly. Rat exterminators cost between $145 and $570, usually about $350 on average.
- Mice: Smaller and faster than rats, mice are just as much of a problem as their bulkier cousins. A mouse exterminator costs from $150 to $575, but severe infestations can grow as expensive as $600.
- Gophers: While they may seem cuter than the average pest, gophers can cause serious damage to your yard, creating a series of tunnels and holes that are a tripping hazard. Depending on how many gophers you have scrounging around, you may have to pay between $125 to $600 to exterminate them.
Read our article on the best rat exterminators for more rodent control information
Silverfish Exterminator
Silverfish are small, water-loving insects that hide in walls and infest bathrooms. While not dangerous or destructive, they’re an unnerving nuisance. Silverfish extermination typically costs $200 to $650, depending on infestation levels.
Spider Exterminator
Few spiders in the United States pose a medically significant risk to humans, but still, most people don’t want to deal with spider infestations. When this happens, it’s best to get them removed quickly.
Spiders are typically less expensive than other pests since they’re not difficult to exterminate. Spiders usually don’t require invasive techniques, with spider extermination costs ranging from $100 to $500.
Termite Exterminator
Termites cause an estimated $30 billion of damage to human structures and crops yearly. Once inside your home, they create complex tunnels through wooden systems, silently weakening the structure of your home.
Not only are termites highly destructive, but they’re exceptionally difficult to detect. Termites show very few signs of infestation, but once these signs have become clear, they’ve likely inflicted major damage to your home. Since termites can become deeply ingrained into structures, they’re also challenging to remove, making extermination expensive. The cost of termite control averages around $500 to $3,000, with severe infestations climbing much higher.
If you’re interested in more information on how to detect termites, check out this helpful video from Orkin:
Tick Exterminator
Ticks are some of the more dangerous pests, carrying Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), and a host of parasites. If your home is next to a heavily wooded area, it can become infected during tick season. In these situations, your best bet is to hire an extermination service to remove them.
Seasonal tick treatments cost anywhere from $50 to around $200, with larger properties costing more.
Learn more about the cost of terminix, a top extermination service.
What Factors Affect Exterminator Pricing?
Aside from the type of pest infesting your home, numerous other factors influence the cost of your exterminator services. What follows are a few of the most important factors that play a role in your exterminator’s cost.
Treatment Frequency
While often used interchangeably, pest control services are much different than extermination services. Exterminators come only once, and their goal is to eradicate whatever pest infestation you have. On the other hand, pest management companies use a combination of removal and preventative measures for general pest control. Below is the average cost of pest control for each type of service plan.
- One-time treatment cost: A single pest control treatment costs $150 to $500. This price doesn’t include an initial inspection, which can often cost up to $135.
- Monthly pest control treatment cost: If you sign up for monthly pest control treatment, you can expect to pay less per treatment than you would for a single pest control treatment. The average cost for monthly pest control services is $50 to $75 after an initial visit and inspection.
- Quarterly pest control treatment cost: Quarterly visit pest control plans average from about $125 to $300 per visit.
- Annual pest control treatment cost: Annual treatment cost for pest control ranges from about $500 to around $1,200. However, it may be higher, depending on the treatments your home needs.
Level of Infestation
If you’re calling an exterminator, the severity of your infestation plays a major role in the total price you pay for services. If you have a small, localized pest problem, your exterminator can likely catch all or most of the pests with a single visit. However, if your problem spreads throughout your home (or worse, across an entire property), your exterminator may need more personnel to get the job done.
Removal Method
The severity of your pest infestation can influence the type of treatment and removal method your exterminator or pest control service must use. If you have a mild or moderate termite problem, most pest control companies can solve the problem using baits and pesticides. However, if you have a major household infestation of drywood termites, your pest control company might need to book a full fumigation of your property, which is more costly.
Fumigation services
In the case of extreme infestations, exterminators may suggest fumigation. With fumigation, you’ll need to vacate your home for multiple days (sometimes up to a week) while every room is filled with pesticides. While it is one of the most effective pest control treatment options, fumigation can be expensive and can be temporarily disruptive since you have to leave your home.
Home Size
The square footage of your home plays a role in the price of your treatment. If you own a larger property, your pest control company or exterminator will need to use more products and spend more time tackling your infestation. These factors increase the price that you’ll pay for service.
Find Pest Control Cost Estimates In Your State
How To Minimize Costs When Hiring an Exterminator
When hiring an extermination company, there are a few things you can do to save money on costs and service fees. Here’s a quick rundown of the most effective cost-saving strategies:
Do Your Own Inspections
Most pest control companies want to inspect a home before services can begin. However, if you’ve already identified the location, severity, and type of pest that’s invaded your space, you may be able to save on an initial inspection.
Make Access to Pests as Easy as Possible
If pests are in a hard-to-reach area, you may get charged more for service fees. Ensuring the area is clean of trash, debris, or other obstacles can help prevent additional charges.
Shop Smart When Picking Out an Exterminator
Picking the best pest control company or exterminator means you’ll avoid unfair rates and unnecessary fees. When choosing an exterminator, always check their customer reviews, history of complaints, and company background through websites like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, or Google My Business page. Additionally, it’s always a good idea to shop around for multiple quotes before making your final decision — this way, you can find the most qualified company for the best price.
4.6
90+ years of experience
Nationwide service area
Free treatments if pests return
4.7
Treats 20 types of pests
Offers instant online quotes
30-day money-back guarantee
Prevent Pests in the First Place
The best way to cut back on extermination costs is to prevent pest issues in the first place. Some of the best, simplest steps you can take to reduce household pests include:
- Using sealable, locking plastic waste bins.
- Keeping firewood 30 feet or more away from your home.
- Regularly cleaning your gutters.
- Keeping your lawn neat and trimmed.
- Keeping your home free of trash, clutter, and dirty dishes.
- Cleaning up outdoor animal food containers.
- Sealing exterior entry points for pests like cracks, gaps, and holes in your foundation.
- Repairing or replacing broken window and door screens.
- Watch for signs of pests such as droppings, foul smells, and damaged food containers.
DIY Vs. Professional Extermination: Which One Is Better?
While some pests can be handled on your own, for severe installations, most at-home solutions won’t cut it, and calling an exterminator is necessary. Furthermore, some pests, like termites, cockroaches, rats, and bed bugs, can infest a home so deeply that the skills and equipment of a professional are the only way to dislodge them.
Ultimately, you should always practice active pest control as a natural part of homeownership or property management. However, sometimes pests get in anyway. When that happens, the best thing to do is contact a professional immediately.
Prevention is also important. Plan to contact a pest control company to set up a prevention plan if you live in a location with frequent pest problems (like most Southern states).
Pros and Cons of DIY Pest Control and Professional Exterminators
While professional exterminators are the best choice for getting rid of troublesome pests, they aren’t without problems. Here is a breakdown of some of the major benefits and downsides of DIY pest control and professional exterminators:
So, What’s My Take on the Cost of Exterminators?
While hiring an exterminator can be expensive, it’s worth the price. Handling an infestation alone can be challenging and dangerous, depending on the pest. Many pests, like rats or termites, not only pose a risk to your family’s safety but can also damage the structure of your home. In these cases, the highest cost for extermination services pales in comparison with the repair expenses that result from pest damage.
When working with an exterminator or local pest control company, you obtain a safer, pest-free home and invaluable peace of mind.
FAQs About Exterminator Costs
How much is an exterminator?
You can expect to pay between $150 to $500 per treatment for an exterminator. Some pests, like termites, will be much more expensive, and extermination prices may be as high as $3,000 per treatment.
What types of pests does an exterminator get rid of?
Exterminators typically have plans for both specific pests and general removal. General removal plans cover a wide range of common pests, like ants, wasps, and spiders, but often exclude more difficult-to-remove pests, like bed bugs or termites.
What is the pest control cost for ants?
Ant extermination costs between $150 and $450.
How much is it to get rid of bed bugs?
Bed bugs are tricky to eliminate and can reproduce quickly, leading to heavy infestations. As a result, bed bug extermination can be much more expensive than other pests. The average cost of exterminating bed bugs is between $550 and $850.
Do pest control specialists offer free inspections?
While many companies offer free inspections, some don’t. Furthermore, some companies offer free inspections for specific pests. For example, Orkin offers free termite inspections, but its regular inspections carry a service fee.