A common problem faced by homeowners is pest infestations. Pests can seriously disrupt and damage our homes and/or gardens when they take over our bedrooms, destroy wooden structures, or make a home for themselves in our sheds.
Pests are not only unsightly. For business owners, property managers, and homeowners alike, these intruders represent a major risk to their health and safety. Depending on the property (whether it is a home or a business), a few pests, such as termites and rats, can cause tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of structural damage.
You can identify possible issues early on and get rid of them before they develop into full-blown infestations by collaborating with a reputable pest control company. Frequent inspections by pest control experts can help you prevent infection in the first place or protect your home from re-infestation following the removal of an infestation.
Average Cost for Pest Control
It can be difficult to estimate the average cost of pest control because the cost of pest control varies depending on a number of factors, including the type of pest, the method used to eradicate the infestation, the severity of the infestation, and more.
You might spend as little as $100 treating mosquitoes or as much as $8,000 eliminating cockroaches. For a single treatment, pest control typically costs between $250 and $675.
Most reputable pest control businesses provide an inspection before beginning work. While some offer this service for free, others charge a fee. This money is used to develop a strategy based on an evaluation of your home.
Factors That Affect the Cost of Pest Control
The price range for pest control services is broad, and there is variation in price even within the same service. This is due to the fact that many variables are taken into account when determining the cost of each treatment. When planning your budget for pest control, keep the following factors in mind:
Type of the Treatment
There are several approaches to pest control, including chemical, biological, physical, organic, and more. Though it may not be suitable for every homeowner or type of pest, chemical treatment is the most widely used because it is the most economical and time efficient.
Certain homeowners favor not using any chemicals. Any of the other pest control methods may be a better choice if you have larger pests, but they may also cost more. This is due to the fact that they frequently call for more labor, supplies, and equipment.
Physical treatments usually involve physically capturing the pests, such as removing wildlife, beehives, or wasp nests. Professionals in pest control will use safety gear to ensure their safety as they physically remove wasp nests and hives.
Using chemical treatments is the most popular way to address insect infestations. These treatments come in a variety of forms, such as foams, sprays, powders, and baits. And when the infestation has gotten out of control, fumigation is the last resort. This technique entails injecting a lethal gas into the house, which will seep into all of the spaces and render it temporarily uninhabitable.
Frequency of the Pest Control Service
Not all pest infestations can be treated the same way. Certain problems, like a wasp nest, might be solved in a single visit, but serious infestations of bed bugs or cockroaches might need several treatments to guarantee the pest problem is properly addressed. Based on how often they need to service an area, most pest control businesses will give different prices.
When there is an infestation, homeowners can choose to have pest control done once, quarterly, or annually. Because one-off treatments take more time and effort, the cost will always be higher. You should be able to avoid future infestations that are more severe or expensive if you choose quarterly or annual maintenance.
Size of the House
The total cost of pest control and extermination will depend on the square footage of your house and property. The exterminator will need more materials and labor times for larger treatment areas, which will be reflected in their cost.
You should anticipate a slight increase in your rates if your house is larger than 1,500 square feet or if you’re treating a sizable outdoor area. Larger homes will cost more to treat because many pest control and prevention techniques involve enclosing the outside of the building.
A larger home presents more challenges when it comes to pest control, so appointments for pest extermination may take longer, and additional products for treating the entire house may be needed from the exterminator. This implies that treating a modest townhouse will be less expensive than treating a large estate.
Size or Severity of the Infestation
The size and severity of the infestation have a greater impact on the overall cost of the job than the size of the home. Small infestations, like a raccoon or a solitary wasp nest, are much less expensive than large infestations, like a bed bug problem that has spread to every bedroom in the house or a large rodent infestation in the basement.
In such circumstances, whole-home fumigation services or recurrent visits may be needed. The extent of the infestation determines the amount of time, effort, and treatment product needed, which drives up the price of pest control considerably. Preventative pest control services typically cost less than major infestations that require multiple visits to address.
Costs of Treatment for the Most Common Types of Pests
The costs related to each common type of pest are the first thing that any homeowner should know about pest control.
Generally speaking, the least expensive pests to prevent and eradicate in the home are roaches, spiders, and ants. Termites, bed bugs, and rats are examples of more challenging pests that frequently call for more sophisticated products and treatment techniques.
In order to accurately estimate the cost of hiring a professional pest exterminator, homeowners should ascertain which pests have made their home their home, given the wide range of pest types.
Here are some examples of the most common types of pests and the cost of their treatment:
- Ants: There is a great diversity of ant species, and they can proliferate rapidly throughout a house. Their differences exist in their ability to contaminate food, nest in house cavities, and seriously harm a home’s structural integrity. The best methods for controlling ants are bait traps and liquid insecticides. Pest control services will probably cost at least a few hundred dollars if there is a widespread ant infestation on the property.
- Bats: Since bats are protected animals, it is usually not possible or advised to eradicate them. Instead, you need to hire a pest control company for exclusion and relocation, which entails sealing off potential entry points and removing the pests from the area. The average cost of this service will be higher than a couple hundred dollars.
- Bed Bugs: Getting rid of bed bugs can be expensive. These are tiny insects that typically reside in linens such as pillows, blankets, mattresses, furniture, and upholstery. For bed bug removal, customers usually pay several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the extent of the infestation. Pest control companies will employ different methods for removing bed bugs depending on the extent, type, and location of the infestation. These techniques include fumigation, crack or spot treatment, mattress encasements and removal, heat treatments, and powdered pesticides.
- Cockroaches: It is challenging to eradicate cockroaches using standard do-it-yourself techniques. In order to prevent further infestations, homeowners should act quickly to treat small roach infestations before they become larger and spread throughout the house. While spraying may work for minor cockroach issues, fumigation is usually required for full-blown infestations. The size and intensity of the infestation will determine how much this service will cost you. Depending on the severity of the infestation, resolving this issue could cost as little as a hundred dollars, but it could also cost thousands more.
- Termites: Because termites can burrow so deeply into your home, they are one of the hardest pests to eradicate, and termite extermination costs can be very high. These insects have a rapid spread throughout the house, building nests in the ceilings, walls, and floors. To stop termites at their source, most pest control businesses use specially made baits and sprays.
Contact Titan Pest Services for a Cost-Effective Pest Control
Titan Pest Services is a full-service pest control and extermination company that serves Northern New Jersey and the surrounding New York City area.
Titan Pest Services can assist you in eliminating any type of pest, including hornets, bed bugs, roaches, spiders, and even invasive wildlife. The professionals locate the pest and create a plan that considers the environment and the health of your family.
Contact Titan Pest Services if you have any questions or need help keeping your home pest-free!
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
