Pest Control Cost Calculator

Home size
1,800 sq ft
What you are dealing with
How often
How bad it is
Your ZIP code

Showing the national average. Enter your ZIP code for local cost estimates.

Low $95
Typical $115
High $145

National average

Where these figures come from
  • Exterminating and pest control services, United States: $28.90/hour, August 2026 (BLS CES CES6056171003)
  • Perimeter spray, gel bait and dust: $22.00 per 1,000 sq ft treated (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)

Pest Control costs $95 to $145 for a typical 1,800 sq ft job in 2026, against a national benchmark of $115. Labor runs 1 crew hours at $28.90 an hour. Enter a ZIP code to apply that area's measured wages for this work and its regional price level.

What makes up the price

Labor $39 1 hours at $28.90/hour, 40% burden, 1.00x regional
Perimeter spray, gel bait and dust $40 1.8 1,000 sq ft treated at $22.00 each
The visit $35
Frequency: quarterly $0 0.75x on the work above
Contractor overhead and profit $30 35% applied to the work above
Typical total $115 $95 to $145 depending on contractor

Cost by size

National averages, before any local adjustment. Computed from the same model as the calculator above, so the two always agree.

Home size Sq ft treated Typical Range
1,000 sq ft 1,000 $95 $75 to $115
1,400 sq ft 1,400 $105 $85 to $130
1,800 sq ft 1,800 $115 $95 to $145
2,400 sq ft 2,400 $130 $110 to $165
3,100 sq ft 3,100 $150 $125 to $185

Compare plans on the year, not the visit

This is the thing that makes pest control quotes confusing. It is sold per visit and bought by the year, and the two numbers move in opposite directions.

Per visit Visits Per year
One-time $155 1 $155
Quarterly $115 4 $460
Monthly $60 12 $720

A monthly plan is less than half the per-visit price of a one-time call and half again more per year than quarterly. Both facts are true and companies quote whichever one helps.

The per-visit discount is genuine rather than a trick — a route visit is scheduled, short and predictable, where a one-time call is a sale, a first inspection and a thorough treatment. But the only number that tells you what you are spending is the annual one.

Quarterly suits most houses. Monthly is for a genuine ongoing problem, or for a warm climate where pressure never lets up. If a company only offers monthly, ask what quarterly would cost.

Three different jobs under one heading

General service

Ants, spiders, occasional invaders, the odd wasp. A perimeter band at the foundation, the eaves, entry points, and interior work only where something has been seen.

$115 a visit on a quarterly plan, $155 one-time. This is what most people mean by pest control and it is mostly preventive.

Rodents

$280 for a first visit. And here is the thing worth knowing: the chemistry is not the job.

Mice get in through a gap the width of a pencil and rats through one the size of a quarter. If those gaps are still there, poison kills the current occupants and next fall brings new ones. A rodent service that does not include finding and sealing entry points is selling you an annuity.

So the question to ask is: what exclusion work is included? The answer should involve looking at the foundation, the sill plate, the dryer vent, the gaps around pipe penetrations and the garage door seal — and then sealing them with copper mesh, hardware cloth and sealant rather than expanding foam alone, which rodents chew through.

Also: tamper-resistant bait stations exist for a reason. Loose bait blocks in a garage are a hazard to pets and children, and a dead mouse in a wall cavity is a smell you cannot do anything about for a month.

German roaches

$235 for a first visit, more if they are established, and this is the genuinely difficult one.

Two things matter:

German roaches are also the one pest where cleaning genuinely changes the outcome. They need water more than food — a dripping trap or a damp cabinet floor keeps a population alive through any amount of bait.

What you can do first, free

For general pests, most of what a quarterly plan achieves is mechanical, and you can do a lot of it:

If you have done all of that and still have ants in the kitchen every spring, a quarterly plan is a reasonable purchase. If you have not, start there.

What the contract actually says

Worth reading, because the useful parts and the traps are both in there.

Questions worth asking

Common questions

How much does pest control cost?

About $115 a visit on a quarterly plan for an 1,800 sq ft house, which is $460 a year. A one-time visit is around $155. A monthly plan is $60 a visit but $720 a year, because there are twelve of them. Rodent work is about $280 for a first visit and German roaches around $235, more if either is well established.

Is monthly or quarterly pest control better value?

Quarterly, for most houses. Monthly looks far cheaper because it is quoted per visit — $60 against $155 for a one-time call — but twelve visits come to $720 a year against $460 for four. The per-visit discount is genuine, since a route visit is short and predictable, but the only comparable number is the annual total. Monthly is worth it for a real ongoing problem or in a warm climate with year-round pressure.

Why is the first pest control visit more expensive?

Because it is a different visit. The initial treatment is a full inspection plus a thorough interior and exterior application, where a maintenance visit is a perimeter refresh and a look round. $150 to $300 for the first visit is normal and reasonable. What is not reasonable is being charged an initial fee and a full-price scheduled visit in the same month, so check how the first month is billed.

Does rodent control include sealing the entry points?

It should, and often it does not — so ask. Mice get in through a gap the width of a pencil and rats through one the size of a quarter, and if those gaps remain, poison kills the current occupants and next fall brings new ones. A service without exclusion work is an annuity rather than a solution. The answer should involve the foundation, sill plate, dryer vent, pipe penetrations and garage door seal, sealed with copper mesh and hardware cloth rather than expanding foam alone, which rodents chew straight through.

Why should roaches be baited rather than sprayed?

Because gel bait gets eaten, carried back and passed on through the population, where a repellent spray scatters them deeper into the structure and spreads them out. This is why over-the-counter aerosol reliably makes a German roach problem worse rather than better — it moves them into wall voids where nothing can reach them. Baiting in cracks and voids through kitchens and bathrooms is slower, less satisfying to watch, and the thing that works.

How many treatments does it take to get rid of roaches?

At least two, and an established infestation needs a follow-up at around two weeks as part of the job. The reason is biology: eggs sit in protected capsules that survive anything that can be applied, and they hatch after the first treatment has dissipated. If a quote for an established roach problem contains a single visit and no return, that is the thing to question before signing.

What can I do myself before calling?

Most of what a general plan achieves mechanically. Cut back anything touching the siding, because shrubs and limbs are a bridge over the perimeter treatment. Move firewood off the ground and away from the wall. Fix dripping taps and traps, since nearly everything coming indoors wants water rather than crumbs. Seal the gaps around pipes under sinks and under the garage door. Keep mulch six inches off the foundation. If you have done all that and still get ants every spring, a plan is a reasonable purchase.

Is a pest control contract worth it?

The part that makes it worth it is free re-treatment between scheduled visits — that is most of what you are buying, and not every plan includes it. Read for three other things: which pests are covered and which are excluded, since termites, bed bugs, mosquitoes, carpenter ants and wildlife are commonly sold separately; the term and whether it auto-renews; and whether there is a cancellation fee for leaving early.

Does house size change the price much?

Less than people expect. A general visit is mostly a perimeter treatment, and a perimeter grows roughly with the square root of the floor area rather than with it — so doubling the house does not double the price. On a quarterly plan, 1,200 sq ft is about $100 a visit, 1,800 about $115 and 3,000 about $150. What changes the price much more is which pest and how established it is.

Is pest control safe around pets and children?

Modern products applied correctly are, and the detail that matters is the re-entry interval — how long to stay off a treated surface, which is on the product label and is typically a few hours until dry. Ask what is being applied and where, and ask for the labels; you are entitled to them. The real hazards are usually not the spray: loose rodent bait blocks in a garage are dangerous to a dog, which is exactly why tamper-resistant stations exist.

How long does it take to see results?

A few days to two weeks for most general pests, and you may see more activity before less — a treated ant colony sends workers out as it collapses. Roaches take longer because baiting works through the population rather than on contact. Rodents depend entirely on the exclusion: once the gaps are sealed and the current occupants are gone, that is the end of it, and if sightings continue past a few weeks there is still a way in.

Is pest control covered in a general plan for termites?

Almost never. Termite work is a different inspection, different chemistry and a different price — usually sold as its own service with its own warranty and annual renewal. The same goes for bed bugs, mosquitoes and wildlife removal. If a quote implies one plan covers everything, get the exclusions as a written list, because the gap between what people assume is covered and what is covered is where the arguments happen.

Where these numbers come from

Nothing here is copied from a contractor directory. Labor is priced from what the trades are actually paid, materials from published producer prices, and both are adjusted to your area using federal cost-of-living data.