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Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. A sudden bloom of spiders in the springtime, a trail of tiny ants, or the occasional group of fleas can be dismissed as seasonal nuisances.
But a cockroach scuttling out of sight in the corner of your peripheral vision, mouse or rat droppings in the pantry cabinet, wood dust suggesting termites, or a string of bedbug bites on your leg is another matter entirely and can quickly become matters of health and safety. For small infestations, extermination may be something you can handle yourself, but larger infestations or pests can cause structural damage or serious health concerns that warrant professional treatment.
Before you call in assistance, there are several factors to consider and questions to ask as you begin to assess how much to budget. One important consideration is the emotional impact of finding pests in your home: Is managing the situation something you have the time and bandwidth to manage? Pests do not helpfully stay in the first location they find to nest—they will perpetually hunt for a spot with better access to food and water sources.
Therefore, the larger your home and yard, the more expensive extermination will be. If the infestation is small and can be successfully managed with a single treatment, your exterminator cost will be toward the lower end of the range.
Larger infestations may require multiple visits or a broader spectrum of strategies, adding cost to your total. Surface infestations are relatively easy to treat with traps or chemicals.
If the infestation is inside the walls or structural wood, the solution will be more expensive, especially if it requires total fumigation to treat unreachable areas.
Inaccessible infestations can also result in the need to open walls and repair them after the treatment is complete, adding to total costs. Most pest control professionals will do a consultation or initial visit to assess the scope and type of the problem. During this visit, the exterminator will look for evidence of an infestation, locate the nest or entry points, and create a treatment plan. Often, upon approval of the plan, the exterminator will then apply the initial treatment and mitigation strategies, and in some cases, this may be the only necessary visit.
The cost of the treatment itself will vary based on several different factors. What kind of treatment is necessary?
Is it a one-time treatment, or will there be recurring visits? Will they be simple chemical treatments or physical traps, or will your home need to be fumigated? Some treatment is basically free: Removing the attraction that convinced the pests that your home was an ideal spot is the first step. But some pests, like bedbugs and wood-boring insects, will drive up costs—in fact, termites are some of the most expensive pests to treat. Basic physical pest control will be the first step in most cases, including nest removal, traps, and bait and trap stations.
The greater cost for wildlife removal will most likely be damage repair and access point remediation. Indoor pest control is what most people think of when they consider calling an exterminator. Still, outdoor pests, such as skunks, groundhogs, moles, and even coyotes and foxes, can make your outdoor living spaces undesirable or unsafe. Exterminators can work on live trapping and relocation of those outdoor pests.
Outdoor services may be limited by local ordinances guiding relocation or trapping policies. Some extermination needs are simple enough to be completed in a single visit, while other infestations require a longer plan of treatment to remove the pests altogether and prevent a recurrence.
The costs do not necessarily correlate with the length of treatment, however. For many homeowners, discovering any kind of pest triggers an instantaneous desire to scrub down all surfaces. However, a homeowner outside the standard service area or in a remote location might be charged travel fees to make up for additional time, mileage and transportation costs.
How can I find the best price? As you should when buying a car or a house, you should shop around to see what the prices and reviews are for pest control in your area. One of the best places to start your search is online. Websites such as HomeGuide have amassed millions of reviews from homeowners and bring you free quotes almost instantly. This way, you can compare local pros and make an educated decison quickly.
Also, hit up your friends, relatives, neighbors and colleagues for recommendations on reasonably priced, top-rated pest control services. Most pest control companies provide free, on-site quotes for their services. You should seek bids from several businesses before making your final decision. Anti-Pesto says you should look out for pest control providers that will nickel-and-dime you for services like retreatments.
In addition, watch out for companies that charge extra for same-day or next-day service. Value is a key factor when hiring a pest control company, but quality is a big consideration, too, according to the EPA. Some pest control companies will strike a bargain with you. For instance, a company might match the price of one of its competitors in order to win your business. Here are a few things you should avoid, courtesy of the Better Business Bureau and the U.
A deal that sounds too good to be true. Rely on your common sense to separate unrealistic deals from normal ones. And you should avoid any contractor that charges extra for same-day or next-day services. In fact, the EPA even suggests you ask how long the contractor has been in business at its current address in order to determine their longevity and stability.
Experience and staying power are always a sign of a strong company. Also be sure to ask friends, neighbors and relatives if they have any experience with a particular contractor. Word of mouth references are worth their weight in gold. Any contractor worth its salt should be happy and forthright with that information. After all, you are paying for it.
It is not necessarily a quick procedure, though it should not be difficult, and it is one you should undertake as quick as possible. The reason why? Once pests infiltrate your home, the longer you allow them to settle in, the harder it is to get rid of them. That is because they are producing baby pests and spreading more problems around your property. Insects and rodents have thrived alongside mankind for millennia largely because they have learned how to inhabit similar spaces without being seen very often.
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