How Much Does a Roach Exterminator Cost?

Cost Range for a Roach Exterminator

Many factors can affect the cost of exterminating roaches from your building: size of  building, extent of infestation, method used, and even the type of roach. The cost of a roach treatment will usually range from $200 to $750 for one or two treatments with the average being around $385. If you have an extreme infestation, if you have a large house, or if enclosing the entire building in a tent is required, this number can run much higher.

Average Cost

$385 is the average price estimate that is given to homeowners who are hiring roach exterminator experts to treat their home for an infestation of roaches. This includes labor and treatment products. For a DIY treatment, the cost will only be for the products used to rid the home of these nasty pests.

When multiple treatments are required to rid a home of a major infestation of roaches, the total cost can exceed $1,500 based on the location and size of the problem.

Overview of Roach Exterminating

Once roaches get into your home, they require removal as soon as possible. Often seen as a sign of a dirty home, this is not necessarily the case. Roaches look for warmth, food, and water, all of which can be found in every home. But they can also ruin furniture, clothing, and just about anything that is in a closet or storage room. Just like ants, mosquitos and bed bugs, having them eliminated as quickly as possible, can help you sleep much better at night. Explore all pest control and exterminator costs.

Though studies show that they do not produce diseases, there are several types of bacteria, funguses, molds and viruses that cockroaches can carry from place to place. Since roaches will multiply quickly, getting them completely out of your home should be seen as a priority.

What are your options for removing roaches? Either hire a professional, or attempt to do it yourself. Here is how the problem is usually attacked by either pro or DIY:

1. Find areas of infestation: The first roach sighting may often be in the kitchen area where food is readily available. But since they can and will eat almost anything, they will quickly spread throughout the building.
2. Determine the type of roach: According to one of the leading pest control experts, there are more than 4,500 different types of cockroaches in the world, but only 69 species are found in the U.S. But the good news is that there are only about 5 that normally get into homes.
3. Apply the roach killing substance: Depending on the type of roaches that have invaded your home, the appropriate spray, dust, bait, or trap that will effectively bring your roach problem to an end will be applied.Often multiple methods are used by pros to eradicate roaches.
4. Cleanup: Unfortunately, once the roaches are gone, signs of their passing will still be around. In addition to their droppings, which look very similar to coffee grounds, roaches can leave smear marks on any surface they have crawled on as well as an unpleasant musty odor behind. Eggs, shed skins, and, of course, dead roaches will all need to be cleaned up after the extermination process.

If this sounds like a daunting situation – it is. Unless you only have a few roaches in your home and have discovered them before they have begun to multiply, DIY methods can be relatively ineffective and take many weeks simply because most homeowners aren’t used to dealing with such an insidious pest.

Cockroach Exterminating Cost Factors

Here is what is involved in determining the cost of a roach infestation:

• The Severity of the Infestation – This is listed as number one because it can vary from a few roaches under the kitchen sink to thousands of roaches in every part of the house.
• The Total Square Footage to be Treated –Costs reflected in this article are based on a 2,000 square foot home or building. Larger buildings will cost more to treat.
• Extermination Method – Closely related to the number of roaches in the building is the way that they must be dealt with in order to ensure complete eradication. The various methods will be discussed next.

Exterminator and Application Cost Details

Cost of Services

The most effective method of getting rid of roaches in your home is the one that fits the situation – mainly the extent of the infestation. Here are the most common methods and what they typically cost:

DIY Methods

• $5 – $25 per application | Spray
• $5 – $10 for 4 stations | Bait Stations
• $5 – $10 for pack of 2 to 4 traps | Glue Traps
• $15 – $20 for 16 oz. | Dust Cannisters (150 square foot coverage)
• $9 – $35 per pack | Foggers

Professional Methods (per treatment)

• $60 – $150 | Spraying
• $100 – $600 | Bait Stations
• $100 – $600 | Glue Traps
• $1,000 – $2,500 | Fumigation
• $2,500 – $7,500 | Tenting

After looking at the comparison of the costs for professional roach treatment and those for DIY treatment above, one may question the large differences. In addition to what we’ll explain below, remember that when you hire a professional, you are not only paying for the labor and equipment costs, but also the expertise that has come from perhaps decades of successfully exterminating roaches.

Spraying for Roaches

Spray treatments typically involve the use of chemicals that are not available to the homeowner. More efficient and longer lasting are the two main differences. In an average size home, spraying for roaches will usually cost between $60 and $150 per treatment. Professional sprays are usually very effective at killing roaches quickly, and the pro will know how to apply the spray to reach into areas where the roaches like to hide.

Glue Traps for Roaches

If a professional exterminator recommends using glue traps, the typical cost will be between $100 and $600 per treatment, depending on how many traps are used. Glue traps are often employed to determine the extent of your infestation as the roaches will be captured for counting during a follow-up visit.

Bait Stations for Roaches

Bait stations usually have either a poisonous gel or a soft substance that will kill roaches after they eat it. Professional exterminators know that after the roaches feed on the bait they will return to their nest to die. When the other roaches eat the dead, infected roaches (remember – roaches will eat almost anything), they will then also get infected and die. It typically costs from $100 to $600 to have a professional treat a roach infestation with bait stations.

Fumigation for Roaches

If you have a severe infestation of roaches, the exterminator may recommend treating it by fumigation. This involves completely filling the house with a poisonous gas that will kill every living thing (pests, plants, animals, and people) in your home. The cost for this type of treatment will run between $1,200 and $2,500 per treatment, depending on the size of your home. Normally not used except in large infestations, the home must have anything living removed before the treatment. Obviously, this means no one can live there until the exterminator clears it for occupancy.

Tenting for Roaches

In the most extreme cases, and severe infestations, a professional exterminator may require that the home be tented for roach treatment. This method is similar to fumigation, but the entire house will have a large tent placed over it to contain the gas inside more completely and for a longer period. This method represents the highest cost of all types of roach treatment – typically between $1,200 and $7,500 for one treatment. Again, the cost will depend on the square footage of your home. Because this treatment method will kill every living thing inside the tent, all plants, animals and people will need to be absent from the house for up to 72 hours.

Permits, Inspection, and Labor Costs

Permits and/or Inspection Cost

• $0 | Roach control does not require a permit, though the exterminator should be licensed and insured.

Exterminator Labor Cost

Labor costs are not itemized in most exterminator estimates. If costs were broken down by the hour, it would come to $50-$80 per hour for labor.

Many of the extermination companies will come out for an initial inspection on request. Some may charge a fee of $50 to $75. If you decide to have them treat your home, this fee may be waived.

Treatment Time

An inspection takes 1-3 hours depending on your home’s size and the suspected area infested. If the roach exterminator believes the problem can be solved without fumigation or tenting, then the affected areas may be sprayed or dusted, and/or bait stations and traps might be placed.

Here’s what you can expect in terms of time:

• Up to 3 Hours | Inspection
• 15 Minutes to 2 Hours | Spraying, Dusting, Setting Traps or Bait Stations
• 15 – 30 Minutes | Additional spraying or dusting applications if needed
• 15 – 45 Minutes | Removing Bait Stations and Traps when treatment is complete

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DIY or Hire a Pro

Unless you only have just a few roaches (and that can be difficult to know), DIY methods are relatively ineffective and very frustrating. Roaches are so invasive that “spot” treatments often employed by homeowners will fail to affect other roaches and their nests. Plus, since it can take weeks for eggs to hatch, you may be reinfested after you thought that you had the problem solved.

The pros have the know-how and tools to best treat the infestation and also apply certain chemicals that will attract and kill any newly hatched roaches or others that escaped the initial treatment.