Rodents can wreak havoc through your home, gnawing on electrical wiring, walls, and furniture. So, you need to get rid of them fast. A professional rodent exterminator costs about $245 to $430 to hire. This covers full-service treatment, including inspection, pest removal, and sealing entry points.
Rats and mice hide and nest in kitchen cabinets, attics, ceilings, wall cavities, crawlspaces, and basements. Sometimes you’ll see them scurrying along the walls. Most often, you’ll only see the signs of their presence:
- Chewed food packages
- Small, brown droppings, like tiny grains of rice
- Holes chewed in your walls, floors, or furniture
Rodents are very prolific. Two rats can become about 1,250 in a year, so there’s no time to waste. Take care of the pest problem DIY, or hire a pest control pro to eliminate your rat or mouse infestation. We talk about both options in-depth in this article.
In this guide:
- Average Costs
- Cost Estimator by Infestation Size
- Other Factors That Affect Cost
- Related Services
- Pro Cost vs. DIY Cost
- Cost by Location
- FAQ About Rodent Extermination
Average Rodent Exterminator Costs
| National Average Cost | $340 |
| Typical Price Range | $245 – $430 |
| Extreme Low-End Cost | $125 |
| Extreme High-End Cost | $1,000 |
These costs cover pest control services for the average mouse or rat infestation that can be removed with traps or bait. Fees can roll toward the lower end of the price range if:
- There’s a small infestation with just a couple of nuisance animals.
- The rat exterminator works with a few entry points in easy-to-access areas.
- You set traps, seal entry points DIY, and hire a pro to dispose of the dead rodents or relocate the live ones.
On the other hand, the pest exterminator price can climb fast toward the higher end for:
- A big house where the technician spends more time finding all the entry points and burrows.
- Larger infestations with multiple nests.
Rodent Extermination Cost Estimator by Infestation Size
The more rodents infesting your home, the more traps and time the exterminators will require to get rid of them. Hiring a pro to remove one or two rodent nests costs $225 to $415. Larger infestations can cost up to $590.
| Project Size | Average Overall Cost |
| Small infestation | $225 – $415 |
| Medium infestation | $250 – $500 |
| Large infestation | $325 – $590 |
| Severe infestation | $500 – $5,000 |
Occasionally, the rodent colony is so well-established that it can be exterminated only by exposing the entire house to fumigation. In such a case, rodent exterminator costs can go up to $5,000.
Other Factors That Affect Cost
Infestation size is the most important factor to influence rodent control costs. But the price can also vary with:
- Home Size
- Rodent Extermination Method
- Home Inspection
- Follow-Up Visits
- Recurring Service Plans
- Emergency Visits
- Rodent Exclusion
- Cleanup
- Dead Rodent Removal Service
Home Size
The bigger the house, the higher the rat removal cost. When living in a spacious home, rodents have more options to hide and create nests. It takes longer for the exterminator to find all the entry points and hiding spots, and more rat traps are necessary to cover all the locations.
Rodent Extermination Method
Live trapping adds $50 or more to the total cost compared to traditional traps. It’s pricier because the exterminator must take the animals at least 1 mile from your home and release them.
Still, the most costly method remains fumigation, with a price of $550 to $5,000. Used when a mouse or rat infestation is too severe for traps or poisoned baits, fumigation keeps you out of your home for 24 to 72 hours.
Like fumigating your house for termites, pest control experts start by tenting your house to seal it. Then they pump a chemical fumigant inside that shuts down the nervous system and kills the critters fast and typically without pain.
Home Inspection
If it’s not included as a free inspection, checking your house for rodent infestation costs $100 to $215. It’s the first step professionals take in solving a rodent problem. An expert exterminator inspects your home thoroughly, looking for the following:
- Rat droppings or mouse fecal pellets in the attic, under sinks, in drawers, and near food packages
- Footprints and tail drags
- Gnawing signs on the corners of the doors and furniture
- Holes chewed in your floors and walls
- Rodent nests in wall cavities, cabinets, false ceilings, or under the garage foundation.
Follow-Up Visits
Rodent control services start with an initial visit typically priced at $145 to $320 and continue with follow-ups costing $55 to $115 per visit.
The first time mouse exterminators come to your property, they will:
- Inspect it and evaluate the infestation
- Lay out the best removal methods
- Start sealing entry points
- Set traps and baits
After a few days, they check the rat traps and remove any rodents that have been captured. Small infestations can end here, but large ones require resetting the traps and replacing the baits. More follow-up visits are needed, adding to the total rat or mouse removal cost.
To prevent future infestations, besides proofing the home against rodents, mouse removal experts might also recommend monthly or quarterly inspections.
Recurring Service Plans
Pest control services can be cheaper with a recurring service plan:
- For $40 to $70 per visit, you can get monthly inspections to prevent rodents from returning. Consider this plan if rodents thrive in your area or you just had a large infestation removed.
- Quarterly checkups cost $125 to $250 per visit and are helpful if you see rodents in your yard from time to time.
- The price of an annual visit is $250 to $450. This plan will make sure your home stays rodent-free even if you aren’t immediately concerned about an infestation.
Regular pest control plans have more effective results, protect your family from health risks, minimize property damage, and come with other important benefits. Consider having your house checked annually for rodents, wasps, bugs, fleas, and other pests, even without signs of infestation. Emergency visits and severe infestations are more costly than prevention.
Emergency Visits
You will pay $100 to $200 more if you need the exterminator to visit your home urgently. This typically means:
- After working hours
- On weekends
- Sooner than the pest control company would otherwise plan the intervention
Rodent Exclusion
The most effective way to keep rodents from your home is to seal every gap, hole, and crack they can use as entry points. This is known as rodent exclusion, typically included in the extermination price. If you have to pay extra, it will cost about $190 to $570 – or more, if it’s a large house with many holes to seal. You can also pay $67 – $190 per hour for a handyman to take care of this.
Remember that you also might need to:
- Trim trees and brush in your yard because rodents use their branches to climb. Tree trimming costs range from $315 to $700.
- Install metallic screens on your vents.
- Repair roof and attic holes that might be used as entry points. Roof repair services cost $348 to $1,186.
Cleaning Up After Rodent Extermination
It costs $190 to $450 to clean rodent urine and feces. You’ll need biohazard cleaning services because rat and mouse waste carry dangerous germs and bacteria. A team of cleaners removes the debris and bad smell and disinfects the area.
Dead Rodent Removal
Expect to pay $100 to $200 to remove the dead rodents from your home if this service is not included in the total extermination price. You can also buy and place the traps DIY and hire a pro only to pick up and dispose of the carcasses.
Related Services
Rat control is more than just the removal process. You’ll have repairs and deep cleaning to do, and you must ensure you protect your home from other pests.
Repairs
After removing the infestation, you’ll probably need to make some repairs. Here are the most common areas where you should check for rodent damage and how much the repairs cost.
| Home Repairs | Average Cost |
| Electric Wiring Repair | $3 to $5.35 per square foot |
| Insulation Replacement | $2 to $8 per square foot |
| Drywall Repairs | $325 to $640 |
| Plumbing Repair | $60 to $142 an hour |
| Carpet Repair | $100 to $2,000 |
| Attic Repair | $100 to $400 |
Deep Cleanup Services
Homeowners pay $200 to $470 to clean their houses after solving a rat or mouse problem. Deep cleaning wipes every rodent trace, making all the surfaces in your home safe to use. It also helps you feel comfortable in your home again. Find a cleaning company in your area and see how much deep cleaning would add to your costs.
Yard Cleanup
Keep your yard clean to prevent more rodents from stowing away on your property in the future. Remove fallen leaves, branches, fruits, and veggies, and cut the grass short. This way, mice and rats won’t find food, water, and shelter easily. The average cost for yard cleanup services is $170 to $375.
Taking in a Barn Cat
It costs zero to $25 to adopt a feline mouse exterminator. Also called working cats, feral cats, or outdoor cats, these furry, sweet friends can keep rodents at bay and let you know immediately when there is a squeaky intruder on your property. Make room for a feral cat in your house, or let it protect your yard, barn, or shed.
Even if your barn cat lives outdoors, keep in mind that you will have to take care of it. That means providing food, water, and shelter, along with monthly flea prevention and yearly vaccinations. It’s highly recommended that you get your barn cat spayed or neutered before setting it loose so you don’t end up with unwanted kittens.
Nuisance Wildlife Removal
Mice and rats are not the only pests that can damage your home. See below the average nuisance wildlife removal cost for the most common critters visiting American homes.
| Nuisance Wildlife Type | Average Cost to Remove |
| Raccoons | $335 to $600 |
| Squirrels | $225 to $615 |
| Skunks | $335 to $570 |
| Opossums | $185 to $465 |
| Birds | $100 to $300 |
Pest Removal
The average cockroach exterminator cost is $125 to $335 per visit, while mosquito control costs range from $175 to $380 per visit. You’ll pay about $140 to $365 to get rid of fleas and $110 to $345 as the typical cost to exterminate ants.
Why do you need these services? Insects are attracted by rodent feces and urine and dead mice decaying on your property. So, after a large infestation, you can expect to need extermination services for insect pests. A general pest control treatment to keep out most insects costs from $40 to $70 per visit for monthly service and from $250 to $475 per visit for annual service.
Pro Cost vs. DIY Cost
It costs about $130 to exterminate rodents DIY. That’s if you don’t cringe at the sight of mice or rats and it’s only a small infestation. The most common DIY mouse or rat extermination methods are traps and poison. We list them below, starting with the most humane and ending with the least recommended.
| Type of Trap | Average Cost |
| Live Traps or Catch-and-Release Traps | $6 to $18 |
| Electronic Traps | $30 to $65 |
| Snap Traps | $1 to $5 |
| Bait Stations | $8 to $20 |
| Glue traps | $3 to $11 |
Live and electronic traps are the most humane, while snap traps can kill quickly and painlessly if you choose good-quality models. Here’s how each type works:
- Live traps use bait to attract and capture mice inside a box with breathing holes. They don’t hurt the critters but keep the rodents alive until you’re ready to relocate them.
- Reusable electronic traps generate an electric shock that kills the mice fast and without pain. They are easy to use and humane.
- A snap trap works by breaking the mouse’s neck, but it’s not always fast and painless. It’s also harder to install and needs special protection to prevent kids and pets from getting hurt.
- If possible, avoid bait stations. They use poison, cause a slow and painful death, and are among the least humane options. Some mice have time to hide. They die and decay in your walls and ceilings, spreading a fetid scent and dangerous germs.
- A glue trap keeps the mouse hostage for days and kills it by starvation and dehydration. It can rip off skin and fur, and stress makes some rodents chew their limbs, trying to escape. Glue traps have been deemed cruel and dangerous. Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, and recently England have banned them.
While traps and baits are essential, you’ll also need other materials and equipment. Here’s a list, including the average cost for each item.
| Materials and Equipment for DIY trapping | Average Cost |
| Synthetic rubber gloves | $8 |
| Reusable humane mouse traps (2 traps) | $20 |
| Protective Face Mask | $5 |
| Rodent Block Expanding Foam Barrier (2-pack) | $24 |
| Stainless Steel Wool | $17 |
| Door rodent guard | $55 |
| Total DIY Cost | $130 |
The total price of DIY rodent removal is about $130, while hiring a pro exterminator costs $225 to $415 for small infestations.
It’s essential to call for professional extermination services if you set rat traps but don’t catch anything, even if droppings keep showing up, or if you reset the traps repeatedly and catch more rodents than you expected.
A professional exterminator can:
- Track rodent activity more easily
- Place the traps in the best spots for capture
- Tell when traps are not enough and poisoned baits or fumigation is necessary
- Find and seal all the gaps and cracks in your home (you might miss some)
- Take away dead or live rodents from your property
Find a pest control company near you and check how much it costs to have a professional exterminator inspect and clear your home from rodents.
Cost to Hire a Rodent Exterminator by Location
Removing rodents from rooms and sheds costs less. These locations are easy to access and work with. If an exterminator needs to climb into the attic or get into the crawlspace, they might charge more. Houses with infestation within the walls or fake ceilings also tend to be pricier.
Where you live in the country can also affect the cost of rodent extermination. If you live in a big city, expect to pay more than the national averages given in this article. Exterminators in metropolitan areas have to charge more because of the higher cost of living and the high demand for rodent removal services.
FAQ About Rodent Extermination
Exterminating a rodent colony can take a few days to a few months. Duration depends on the size of the rodent infestation and the extermination methods used.
Professional exterminators place traps and rodenticides where mice and rats hide and feed. They also find and seal cracks and holes to make the house rodent-proof.
If you want to get rats or mice out of your home without killing them, find a pest control or wildlife removal pro who works with live catch-and-release traps and doesn’t use harmful chemicals.
A rodent exterminator costs $245 to $430 and can save you thousands of dollars in repairs. You can indeed deal with one or two mice DIY. But when a rat or mouse problem is serious, and the infestation is severe, you need an expert, and the cost is worth it to save your home’s wiring, insulation, and furniture from damage.
The most popular and largest pest control companies in the U.S. are Terminix, Orkin, Arrow, and Rentokil. There are also local exterminators that you can work with.
When to Call a Pest Control Pro
You can get rid of one or two mice DIY for about $130, but once rodents start reproducing, it’s better to call an expert. Full-service rodent extermination costs $245 to $430. Exterminators remove all the mice or rats from your home and make sure they don’t come back.
If you hear scratching noises in your attic or walls, don’t wait too long. Rodents might be chewing electrical wiring right now, exposing your home to fire. Find a professional rodent exterminator in your area and ask for an inspection ASAP.
Main Photo by: PxHere
