How Much Does Cockroach Exterminator Cost? [By Method & Home Size]

Gary Evans
by Gary Evans

The cockroach may very well be the pest that most people want nothing to do with. They are troublesome home invaders that can spread disease, ruin food, and destroy clothing. Cockroaches also excel at striking fear into our hearts when they crawl on us or fly in our direction.

For many homeowners, a cockroach infestation is the stuff of nightmares. Thankfully, it’s a problem that has a clear solution since homeowners can hire exterminators to get rid of their unwanted guests. So, how much should you expect to pay if you’re hiring professionals to address your cockroach infestation?

On average, homeowners will have to pay $560 for professional cockroach extermination. Factors such as the intensity of the infestation, the methods used, and the size of your home can change that number. Homeowners may have to pay as much as $4,000 for cockroach extermination in some cases. The cost of extermination may also drop to as low as $175.

A cockroach infestation is a real problem that homeowners must address sooner rather than later. You may already need professional assistance to handle that issue. Find out how much professional cockroach extermination will cost by continuing with the rest of this article.

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Cost of Cockroach Inspection

Estimate TypeCost
Low-End Estimate$40
Mid-Range Estimate$60
High-End Estimate$80

Do you suspect that you have cockroaches hiding in your kitchen cabinets or other corners of your home? If so, you need to get your home inspected by professionals. The average cost of cockroach inspection is $60.

Paying for an inspection first is ideal. You don’t want to commit to extermination right away when you aren’t even sure about the issue plaguing your home. It’s best to hold off on spending money until it’s clear that you need to.

Going with a cockroach inspection first is also smart because it could save you money. Let’s say that the professionals confirmed that you have a cockroach infestation after performing the inspection. Typically, they will waive that inspection fee if you hire them to perform the extermination.

Proceed with the inspection if you fear that your home is being invaded by roaches. There is no downside to doing so and it will even yield information that may end up being valuable later on.

Cost of Cockroach Extermination by Intensity of Infestation

Intensity of InfestationCost
Minor$175
Moderate$400
Severe$1,100

The cost of professional cockroach infestation will be determined by several factors. Among those factors is none other than the intensity of the infestation that your household is dealing with. On the low end, exterminators will charge $175 if you’re calling on them to address a minor infestation.

How can you tell if the intensity of the infestation can still be considered minor? A minor infestation means that the cockroaches still rarely appear during the day. They may leave traces of their presence behind, but you won’t see them often.

You want to nip the infestation in the bud immediately. Exterminate the roaches even if your home is plagued by a minor infestation.

A step up from that is a moderate infestation. Exterminators will charge $400 to treat that kind of problem. You may start to see eggs and nests at that point so get rid of them as soon as possible.

The last level is a severe infestation. Addressing that level of infestation will cost you $1,100.

Rarely will a cockroach infestation ever reach the severe level because homeowners will notice before it gets to that point. That’s why homes that have been neglected are the ones affected most often by those severe infestations. If you’re looking to repair an old home, you may have to pay for extermination first.

Cost of Cockroach Extermination by Method

Method UsedCost
Baiting$350
Dusting$400
Fumigation$1,800
Spraying$70
Trapping$300

The method of extermination you choose for your home is also going to affect cost. Notably, you may not always have a choice when it comes to which extermination is used.

Spraying, dusting, or baiting may no longer suffice if you have a severe infestation on your hands. At a minimum, you may have to pay for fumigation to properly address the roach problem. Some extermination methods also come with supplemental expenses that will cause your bill to spike even higher.

Baiting

The first extermination method that may be deployed to address your home’s roach problem is baiting. Professionals will charge $350 if you want them to use the baiting method.

Exterminators will use a special gel to lure the cockroaches out. The cockroaches will die not long after they take the bait. This method can devastate the roach population inside your home if the pests take the gel back to their nests.

The baiting method works best on minor infestations where the roach populations are concentrated in certain areas. It can also produce good results if you’re faced with a moderate infestation.

Dusting

Think of dusting as a cost-effective way to handle a severe cockroach infestation. Dusting will cost an average of $400.

The dusting method is a good one to use if you cannot pinpoint the location of the cockroaches. Since the dust is being sprinkled all over your home, the roaches are bound to make contact with it eventually. Dusting is an imprecise method of dealing with cockroaches, but it is undeniably effective.

Given how expensive the other methods of dealing with severe infestations can be, it’s easy to understand the appeal of dusting. The dust is deadly so you will have to leave home. Even so, the value proposition this method offers is pretty appealing.

Fumigation

Speaking of extermination methods that can handle severe infestations, we now have fumigation. Fumigation is expensive. Expect to pay $1,800 if you want the exterminators to use this method for your household.

This is another extermination method that can prove highly effective if you don’t know where the cockroaches are nesting. The gas used during fumigation will reach all the corners of your home. It will only be a matter of time before the gas reaches the roaches too.

Depending on how your home is designed, the exterminators may also have to cover it with a tent before fumigating. The tent ensures that the cockroaches will have no escape.

The cost of fumigation increases significantly if a tent has to be used during the process. You’re probably looking at a final bill closer to $4,000 if tenting is required.

Furthermore, signing up for fumigation means you’ll have to stay away from home for a while. Unless you can stay with a relative or a friend, you’ll have to tack on hotel bills to your expenses.

Fumigation will make a noticeable dent in your bank account. Still, paying up for it is preferable to living with a severe cockroach infestation.

Spraying

Spraying is the cheapest cockroach extermination method available. Homeowners often have to pay $70 for a single roach spraying session.

Different products can be used for spraying cockroaches. Some of them are even sold in supermarkets.

The drawback to spraying is that it will only be effective if you already know where the roaches are. If you know where the cockroaches are nesting, you can spray those spots and kill the pests quickly.

Spraying is not as effective if you don’t know where the cockroaches live. You’ll be better off using a different extermination method in that scenario. The spraying method works well against minor infestations.

Trapping

Finally, you also have the option of trapping the cockroaches. Trapping will cost $300.

The trapping method makes sense if you already have an idea of where the cockroaches are located. The exterminators can line those areas with glue traps and capture the pests before they can return to their nests.

Some homeowners prefer trapping because it kills the roaches without spreading chemicals first. However, trapping may not be effective if you’re dealing with anything above a minor infestation.

Cost of Cockroach Extermination Based on the Size of Your Home

Size of Your Home in Square FeetCost
1,000$175
1,500$225
2,000$275
2,500$350
3,000$400

Unsurprisingly, the size of your home will be another factor that impacts the cost of cockroach extermination. We’ll be using square footage so you have a better idea of how much the cost will be for your household. First off, treating a home that measures 1,000 square feet will cost $175.

For homes that measure 1,500 square feet, the cost of extermination climbs to $225. It spikes again to $275 for homes that measure 2,000.

You’re staring at a potential fee of $350 if you want cockroaches removed from your 2,500-square foot home. Lastly, the cost of treating a home that measures 3,000 square feet is $400.

As you may have noticed, the extermination costs are more clustered when together when basing them on house size. Compared to the infestation intensity and the extermination method chosen, the size of your home is not a major cost factor. You shouldn’t worry about it as much when thinking about how much roach extermination will cost.

Cost of Cockroach Extermination Based on Frequency

Frequency of ExterminationCost Per Visit
Annual Visits$250
Quarterly$100
Monthly Visits$40

How often is your home treated for cockroaches? Your answer to that question will affect how much exterminators will charge. Homeowners can sign up for monthly roach extermination which will cost them $40 per visit.

The cost of those monthly visits can pile up. At the end of the year, your total bill will be $480.

Monthly extermination is costly, but it is the best way to keep the roaches at bay. Infestations cannot take hold if the cockroaches are being snuffed out monthly.

Opting for quarterly examinations is another option to consider. Each quarterly visit will cost $100 so that’s $400 at the end of the year.

Subscribing to a quarterly extermination plan should suffice for most homeowners. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll be dealing with anything more than a moderate infestation if exterminations are taking place quarterly.

Some exterminators will also offer to treat your home annually. Those annual visits cost $250 each.

You can save money by opting for annual exterminations. The problem is you’ll have to pay extra if an infestation unexpectedly takes hold. For a single year, your extermination costs may exceed $500 if your household suffers from a surprise infestation.

DIY or Professional Cockroach Extermination

Should you attempt to eliminate the cockroaches yourself or rely on professional exterminators? That’s the question that many homeowners have to answer at some point.

When deciding between those two options, you should first consider the intensity of the infestation. If it’s a minor infestation, going the DIY route is a definite option.

You can pick up a spray and some glue traps at the supermarket and use them to take out the cockroaches. As long as you know where the roaches are, those aforementioned extermination tools will be effective.

The problem is that the infestations are not always minor. Unbeknownst to you, the cockroach population inside your home is already quite large.

If the cockroaches have scattered throughout your home, sprays and glue traps will no longer work on them. Other extermination methods will have to be used.

Do note that items like cockroach dust and gel baits are highly toxic. Using them without any prior experience is a bad idea. You can endanger your pets and kids by using those items carelessly.

Once you’ve determined that you’re dealing with at least a moderate infestation that requires harsh treatment methods, you should hire a professional. They are better equipped to deal with the situation and they’ll ensure that only the cockroaches inside your home are harmed.

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Related Questions

How Long Does It Take for an Exterminator to Get Rid of Roaches?

The average cockroach extermination session lasts for about an hour and a half. That assumes that your household is affected by a moderate infestation.Handling a severe infestation is going to take way more time. The extermination session may last for the whole day if your house is overrun by cockroaches.


Do Roaches Come Back after Extermination?

You already paid for professional extermination, but cockroaches are still present on your property. Were you duped or is that an expected outcome?It’s important to point out that not all cockroaches will immediately die during the extermination session. Some of them may survive but end up severely weakened. It may only take some more time before they die as well.Give the treatment at least two weeks to deliver the results. If roaches are still crawling all over your property after two weeks, call up the exterminators to get an explanation.


Do Dead Roaches Attract More Cockroaches?

Yes, a dead cockroach can lure out other roaches in hiding. That is likely to happen if the cockroach was killed using force instead of chemicals.After it’s smashed, the dead cockroach will release a substance that other cockroaches can detect. The other cockroaches may inspect the dead cockroach and they may eat its carcass as well.

Gary Evans
Gary Evans

Gary Evans is passionate about home improvement. He loves finding out how to make improvements in the easiest, most practical, and most affordable ways. Upgrading his home kitchen is one of his ongoing hobbies. Gary is also a long-time content creator and enjoys spending his free time tending to his hydroponic vegetable garden.

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