How Much Does Rodent Control Cost?

As a homeowner, you are the one who welcomes people into your humble abode. You host your family members, your friends, and maybe even some of your colleagues and share good times with them. Of course, there are certain house guests you didn’t invite who are making themselves at home anyway.

We are talking about none other than those pesky rodents. Rodents can be troublesome house guests because they can damage your property, eat your food, and potentially even spread diseases. Once you discover that you have rodents inside your home, you must take action and remove them as soon as possible.

Homeowners can use traps to take control of their rodent-related problems. The average cost of a single trap is $15. You can also enlist the help of exterminators to set the traps and to handle the rodents after they’re captured. Professionals will charge $450 to clean up the rodents left behind and an additional $50 for live rodent removal.

Paying for an exterminator or even some traps is something some homeowners may prefer not to do. However, that may not be an option if the rodents are already rampaging through your home. Learn more about rodent control and how much it will cost by reading the rest of this article.

Rodents can wreak plenty of havoc inside your home. You must take action if you see their droppings, smell traces of their urine, or hear scratching noises inside your walls. Trapping the rodents can work and you can pick up a new trap for the average cost of $15.

Homeowners can use different traps to capture rodents. How much you’ll have to spend on rodent control will depend in part on the traps you prefer to use.

Bait stations work by poisoning the rodents, but they are not the safest traps. If you have a curious pet, they could end up being the one poisoned instead of the pesky rodent.

Glue, jaw, and snap traps are easy to set and highly effective. They are also among the least expensive traps you can pick up. Still, some homeowners avoid those traps because they are inhumane solutions to a rodent infestation.

Electronic traps are good options to consider if you want something more humane. However, the price of a single electronic trap may dissuade you from making that purchase.

You can also use a live trap to capture the rodent. If you decide to use live traps, remember that you’ll also have to pay for live rodent removal. Animal control professionals typically charge $50 to carry out that service.

Rodent control is not just about getting rid of the pests already inside your home. You should also do your best to prevent rodents from entering your home in the first place. Animal control experts can render the rodent exclusion service for $400 if you want to keep those pests away.

Some animal control professionals will perform that service for a lower cost of $250. Then again, some companies may charge you as much as $600 for rodent exclusion.

Rodent exclusion involves sealing all the potential entry spots into your home that the rodents can use. You should consider relying on them because they already have the tools necessary for that particular job.

If you don’t want to pay for rodent exclusion, you can try your hand at sealing your home. The most important part of rodent exclusion is sealing the right spots.

Spots you want to target include any holes in your crawlspaces, vents, and openings on your roof. Rodents may also squeeze through damaged walls or gutters so make sure you repair those parts of your home. You should also trim any trees close to your home because the rodents can use them as makeshift bridges.

Unless you’re fine with lingering dead rodent smells, trapping and eliminating them will not suffice. You also have to clean up the bodies of the dead rodents that are still in your home. Animal control experts will handle that job for you at an average cost of $450.

More often than not, homeowners don’t have to pay extra for the cleanup service. It’s already included in the extermination services if you paid for them. Paying for cleanup separately mostly becomes necessary if you opted to trap the rodents yourself.

It’s also important to note that cleanup may take more than one day. If your household was suffering through a particularly intense infestation, multiple cleaning sessions may be required. You will have to pay extra for those additional cleaning sessions so get ready for a big expense.

The accessibility of your home will also influence how much the animal control experts will charge. That makes sense since the accessibility of your home can make their job easier or harder.

The professionals will ask for a smaller fee if you have a standalone home and plenty of space around it. If your home is designed that way, the exterminators can seal off entry points and reach the rodents faster.

Folks who live in condominium units or homes connected to other structures will have to pay more for rodent control. Those homes are harder to access so the professionals will ask for more money to render the services you need.

You should not ignore the emergence of a rodent issue inside your home. If you do, the professionals may need to conduct multiple exterminations to eliminate all the unwanted pests. Those additional visits will cost you an average of $180 each.

An additional visit may be necessary so the exterminators can finish cleaning up inside your home. You need them to come back or else your home could end up filled with dead rodents.

We do want to point out here that some exterminators will already include a follow-up visit in your bill. They do that to ensure that the rodent control measures they employed are working as intended. You don’t have to pay extra, but the subsequent visit is still outlined in your bill as an additional $50 charge.

The exterminators may also have to come back because one session was not enough to get rid of all the rodents. That’s the case with severe infestations.

If your house is plagued by a severe infestation, the exterminators will charge a similar amount for the first and second visits. They will do so because they have to put in the same amount of work both times.

The signs of a rodent infestation are not always easy to detect. It may take time for the infestation to intensify so you may not notice the signs right away. Paying for a rodent inspection is an option if you’re wary of a potential infestation. The average cost of a rodent inspection is $150.

Before you pay that $150, you should get in touch with the different exterminators in your area. You may find some businesses that offer free rodent inspections. Take them up on their generous offer and finally find out if you have a rodent problem or not.

You can still get a good deal even if no businesses in your area offer free rodent inspections. Some exterminators still perform that service for the lower cost of $100.

Other exterminators may also charge a premium even for just a rodent inspection. They may charge you $250. Look for alternatives before paying that much.

Not all rodents have to get inside your home to do damage. They can still be bothersome critters as they go through your yard and ruin your garden. To get rid of those burrowing rodents, you will have to spend an average of $200.

Examples of rodents that can do damage outside your home include chipmunks, gophers, groundhogs, mice, prairie dogs, and rats. You have a lot of rodents to watch out for so you should consider enlisting the help of professionals.

Calling the professionals may even be necessary because it’s tough to spot where the burrowing rodents are located. You may spend hours looking for them and come up with nothing. The professionals have a better idea of where to look so the burrowing rodents will not escape them.

After the rodents are found, the exterminators can lay down the traps. Once the burrowing rodents are caught, the exterminators will return to your property and remove the rodents.

Paying for professional rodent control is not always necessary. You can do things by yourself that will keep your home safe from a potential infestation.

If you have a free weekend, use that to repair your home. Patching up holes and repairing gutters will make it difficult for any rodents to enter your property. Clearing your yard so the rodents have nothing to feed on and nowhere to hide is also recommended.

Getting rid of the rodents yourself remains an option even if they have entered your property. You can use traps to kill the rodents. Just be careful about the trap placement because they could harm your kids or pets.

Where things get tricky is removal. You cannot just release the captured rodents anywhere. They have to be released at least one mile away from the closest home.

Rodent removal is even harder if you used a live trap. The rodents are going to fight for their lives and they may attack you if you get too close.

Don’t hesitate to call the professionals if you need help with rodent removal. Allowing the professionals to deal with a severe infestation is also a good idea.

Related Questions

How Do Exterminators Get Rid of Mice?

Professional exterminators are flexible when it comes to dealing with rodent infestations. They don’t follow a set plan for all households. Instead, they will inspect your property and come up with a plan that they believe will be most effective.The exterminators will also take your preferences into account. If you want them to use or not use certain traps, they will heed your instructions and adjust their approach.

How Long Does Rodent Control Take?

A single rodent control session will likely take about six hours. That includes the inspection, laying down the traps, and exclusion.However, the professionals may not be done after that one day. They may still have to return the day after for cleanup.When dealing with severe infestations, the exterminators may have to work for several days. Subsequent visits may also be required to ensure that the rodents have not returned.

What Attracts Rats?

Rats are drawn to different kinds of stimuli. They are attracted to plants that sprout food, leftover pet food, and even waste your pet leaves behind. Rats will also visit your home frequently if they have access to water there and places to hide.