As a homeowner, you can usually expect to pay around $390 each time you have a pest control company or exterminator visit your property. However, this is simply an average based on the overall cost of a single exterminator visit. The figure does not take into account the type of pest there is to eradicate, nor do the statistics include the severity of the infestation or the size of your home, or the infected area being treated. Let’s break down how much professional exterminators cost, which depends on the type of treatment they use, the type of pest you need to get rid of, and the size of the infestation.
How much does an exterminator cost for roaches?
If you hire an exterminator to get rid of your palmetto bug or cockroach problem, you can expect to pay around $140 for a one-time treatment. That’s the average exterminator cost for a single visit, but keep in mind that exterminators aren’t obligated to come back once the treatment is completed. However, if it’s a large infestation of roaches that have infiltrated your house, you might be looking at a price tag of a few hundred dollars. Exterminators often employ a technique called “fumigation” to get rid of severe cockroach infestations, which is a more intensive extermination service than baiting or spraying insecticides in and around the perimeter of your home. Fumigation treatments start at around $1,200.
How much is a bed bug exterminator?
If you need to call a bed bug exterminator, you’re looking at a starting price tag of a whopping $400. This is because any bed bug infestation is extremely invasive, and these flat, blood-sucking pests need to be taken care of using radical measures. The exterminator will likely have to make an initial visit to assess the situation, and that is an added cost to the whole process. Bed bugs are removed via heat treatment, entry point sealing, and insecticide spraying, none of which you can be inside your home for. Bed bug treatment can run up to $2,000.
How much does an exterminator cost for ants?
Whether you have fire ants, sugar ants, carpenter ants, or flying ants, the treatment cost for an ant extermination service starts at around $130. It’s on the lower end of the pest control and extermination spectrum as far as prices go. This is because ants live in colonies, and they send messages to the other members of the colony. If the ants you see find out that there are toxins in the area or the food sources they’ve been after no longer exist, they will communicate that to the rest of the colony and get out of your home.
Read our DIY ant killing guide to try your hand at eliminating the colonies yourself.
This method of pest control is usually employed by pest control companies rather than exterminators. Exterminators can spray pesticides inside your walls to make sure the ants leave and stay gone. However, depending on the severity of your ant infestation, the cost can go up to around $400 for treatment, especially if the exterminators have to come back.
We recommend working with one of the best pest control companies if ants are your household pest.
How much is a flea exterminator?
The average cost to exterminate fleas is about $140. You may be able to use DIY methods at first to control your flea problem if your pets have brought them inside or if they are localized to a specific area in your home. If the fleas cover significant square footage in your home, it’s time to call an exterminator. One extermination company, Orkin, uses pesticides at entry points for fleas and also uses a flea vacuum to remove the eggs and adults that congregate together. This company will actually do a follow-up, unlike many other exterminators.
How much does bee removal cost?
The key word here is “removal.” Bees are essential pollinators, and it’s unlikely that they will make it into your home unless you have a colony of carpenter bees that have infiltrated the wooden structures in your home. They also do not sting humans unless directly threatened — in fact, it isn’t a stretch to say that most bees are much more afraid of you than you are of them.
Bees normally live in hives outside and they may build these hives in your gutter or on the eaves of your home. You can schedule extermination services, but remember that these “pests” are essential to the ecosystem. If you call a beekeeper in your area, either they or someone they know will remove the beehive for free. In fact, if you have a flower garden, bees might be one of the only “pests” that you might not mind intentionally attracting to your property.
How much does wasp removal cost?
Wasps, like bees, are pollinators. However, they are much more aggressive and louder than bees. Unlike bees, wasps are not facing endangerment and their populations are doing just fine. The treatment cost for wasp extermination is between $175 and $600. Why such a wide range? It depends on the size of the wasp nest and the type of treatment performed, which can include pesticides in the form of aerosolized sprays, liquids, and dust. The exterminator then removes the dead wasps and the whole nest so that wasps don’t return to the site later.
How much does mosquito control cost?
Mosquito control is usually a quarterly service or an annual service performed at the height of mosquito season, which typically includes June, July, and August. A pest control company will do quarterly visits (or visits set up on your schedule) to spray for mosquitoes around the outside of your home. They will also search for likely breeding grounds for mosquitoes, like standing water, and pummel those areas with insecticides. Each of these treatments can cost around $75, but if you’re after extermination for mosquitos, that’s a different story. Whether you have a small infestation or a larger infestation in your walls or basement or other areas of your home, mosquito extermination services cost between $175 and $380.
How much does a rat exterminator cost?
Rats are one of the most dreaded household pests. They damage electrical wiring, insulation, and walls, and they can pass on respiratory illnesses through their droppings and urine. If you have a sizable infestation of rats, you can expect to pay between $170 and $500 for professional services. On the higher end of the treatment price tag, the exterminators must go into the walls of your attic or elsewhere to remove dead rats. It’s worth paying a little more so you’re not the one who has the pleasure of taking care of that task.
How much does an exterminator cost for mice?
Mice exterminator costs are about the same as exterminators for rats. It can be around $200 up to $500 or $600, depending on the extent of your pest problem. Perhaps you only have a few mice in and around your home and you can trap them yourself. But if you see torn open food packages, rice-shaped black droppings, and strewn about nesting materials, you will most likely need to call in the professionals. If you decide to kill the mice rather than humanely trap and release them, it’s better to let the exterminator clean up the mouse bodies.
How much does an exterminator cost for silverfish?
Silverfish are known for feasting on the glue of old books, but you’re more likely to encounter them in your pantry, kitchen cabinets, or kitchen drawers. They wriggle their way through any tiny crack and crevice to get at your tasty morsels. You can get silverfish traps yourself and make homemade repellents, but if your silverfish problem is a bit (or a lot) more than you can handle and they just keep coming back, an exterminator for silverfish costs between $130 to $450, whether that’s a one-time deal or you need ongoing treatments. Silverfish are difficult to get rid of all in one go, so the exterminator will likely have to return to finish the job. However, if they spray enough chemicals to kill most of them and only a few are left, you can kill those yourself as they emerge from their dark lairs.
How much does an exterminator cost for spiders?
One or two spiders building a web in the corner of your home is no cause for alarm. In fact, they might be helping you with pest management! But once the spider population gets out of hand, and if they are venomous spiders, it turns into a pest infestation, and for the safety of your family as well as your peace of mind, you’ve got to call in the professionals. Spider extermination is on the lower end of the spectrum of exterminator prices at between $150 to $300. Exterminators will make sure to make the perimeter of your home as unappealing to outside spiders as possible, and the ones inside your home will eventually leave.
How Much Does Wildlife Removal Cost?
Wildlife removal is a different ballgame than pest control or extermination. These are wild animals that don’t often get into our homes, but this is an occurrence that if it does happen, we can be ready for it. Rather than calling an exterminator or pest control professional to handle a pesky raccoon or a wayward bat, homeowners should normally call their local wildlife or animal control center for these issues. However, many nationwide exterminators like Terminix have actually added wildlife control to their services. If you have a pest control company that you trust, you can ask if they include this type of capture and relocation service.
How much does squirrel removal cost?
The national average cost of removing squirrels from your home and/or property is $350. However, this is just an average cost. Removing squirrels can be a $200 job or up to a $1,200 job, depending on how far the squirrels have gotten into the structure of your home or other buildings on your property.
How much does gopher removal cost?
Gophers cause serious damage to your yard, and it’s understandable to want them gone as soon as possible. Gopher removal on average costs $400 across the nation, but again, depending on the square footage of the infestation, the size of gopher population, and the severity of the invasion, this cost can rise up to $500 or be as low as around $120.
How much does bat removal cost?
Sometimes bats get into our homes. Whether it’s one or a few, they belong outside, pollinating plants and keeping the insect population under control. The average cost for removing a single bat is between $200 and $600, although, at that price, you might be better off waiting for it to leave on its own, encouraging it to fly out of open windows and doors. If your home is infested with an entire bat colony, that is a hugely serious problem for your health and that should be dealt with as soon as possible. The cost for bat colony removal ranges from a few hundred dollars to $1,500, depending on the size of the bat colony.
Factors that Impact Cost of Exterminators
There are a number of factors that can influence the cost that you pay for your exterminator or pest control services. The following are a few of the most important factors that play a role in the total cost you’ll pay for an exterminator to visit your property.
Cost of Pest Control Treatment Frequency
Pest control services are much different than extermination services. Exterminators come only once, and their goal is to completely annihilate whatever pest infestation you have. Pest control combines environmentally sustainable and regular treatments to both get rid of pests and prevent them from coming back throughout the year. Whether you sign up for a one-time visit with a pest control company or you subscribe to annual service, this affects how much each visit costs.
Single Pest Control Treatment Cost
A single pest control treatment is typically a few hundred dollars, perhaps $300 to $500. Many pest control companies will give you a free quote, but most of the time they have to visit your home to do a preliminary inspection to see how much it’s going to cost you for their services. Sometimes initial visits are as low as $130.
Monthly Pest Control Treatment Cost
If you sign up for monthly pest control treatment (this is preventive or it’s for persistent infestations), 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 $30 to $50 according to Architectural Digest, which adds up at the end of the year, but this looks like the most affordable subscription. However, it may be cumbersome to have pest control experts show up each and every month.
Quarterly Pest Control Treatment Cost
Quarterly pest control visits average out to about $100 to $300 each time, which comes out to between $400 and $1,200 per year. Quarterly plans for rodents and mosquitoes are popular, as are preventive measures against cockroaches.
Annual Pest Control Treatment Cost
As we explained above, the annual treatment cost for pest control ranges from about $400 to around $1,200, sometimes higher, depending on the treatments your home needs and whether you need to sign up to remove more than one type of pest (rodents and roaches, silverfish and moles, etc.). Annual termite treatment services will cost more than services to eradicate other types of pests.
Level of Infestation
If you’re calling an exterminator, the severity of your infestation will play a major role in the total price you pay for services. If you have a small, localized pest problem, your exterminator will likely be able to catch all or most of the pests with a single visit. However, if your problem is spread throughout your home (or worse, across an entire property), your exterminator may need to bring along more personnel to get the job done. Your pest control team might even need to adjust the type of treatment being used to control the problem if the infestation is too severe for moderate control methods. The more severe your infestation, the more you’ll pay for service.
Removal Method
The severity of your pest infestation can also influence the type of treatment and removal method that your exterminator or pest control service must use. For example, the treatment methods for termites can vary depending on the number of pests on your property. If you have a mild or moderate termite problem, most pest control companies can solve the problem using a mixture of pesticides that are fatal for bugs but safe in small doses for humans. However, if you have a major household infestation of drywood termites, your pest control company might need to book a full fumigation for your property.
Fumigation services are much more intensive (and expensive) than standard pesticide application. If you have termites throughout your property, it can be necessary to fumigate in order to ensure that all of the pests are gone after treatment. Allowing your termite problem to get to the point where it requires fumigation will significantly increase the price you pay for treatment. This is part of the reason why it’s important to call a pest control company as soon as you notice insect activity in your home.
Home Size
Finally, the square foot area of your home will play 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 product and spend more time tackling your infestation. This increases the price that you’ll pay for service. Pest control companies and exterminators will usually provide you with a free quote based on the square footage of your home, so you won’t be left guessing how your property size is impacting your final cost.
Final Thoughts
While the average cost of an exterminator is around $400, when you call for assistance plays a big role in this cost. If you allow a pest problem to grow over time, it’s likely that you’ll pay more to deal with it later down the line. If you notice insect or rodent activity in your home, don’t wait and allow the problem to become more expensive — call for a free quote as soon as possible to start exploring your options.
Today’s Homeowner Rating & Methodology
Our research process involves a multi-step process to get real insights into the customer experience for each company. We contacted each pest control company directly and spoke to representatives via phone and online chat (if available). This allowed us better understand the company’s treatment offerings and customer service. We also consider BBB accreditation and what customer reviews say about each company. Additionally, we fact-check and update company data regularly to ensure accurate and up-to-date information.
We developed a 100-point rating system to compare the companies numerically.
- Plan options (35 points): Companies with more plans and flexibility on services to address specific issues were given a higher score.
- State Availability (5 points): Those that offer coverage in fewer than 45 states were deducted points for availability.
- Trustworthiness (10 points): This is based on whether companies have money-back guarantees, service guarantees, and additional satisfaction assurance measures.
- Customer Service (30 points): We considered accessibility (including on weekends and holidays) of technicians and customer support.
- Additional Benefits (20 points): Companies that offer further conveniences such as an app, comprehensive resources, and other benefits were rated higher.
