Depends on extent of contamination; biohazard removal
$500–$3,000
Full attic
Wildlife Exclusion (squirrels/raccoons)
Varies by species, access, and entry point count
$400–$2,000
Full job
💡 These are 2026 national averages. Get local estimates with our free AI cost estimator.
❓ Cost FAQs
How much does it cost to get rid of mice?
A basic mouse control service ($100-$200 per visit) addresses existing mice. Complete exclusion ($200-$500) seals entry points to prevent reinfestation — always more cost-effective long-term than repeated trap-only service calls.
Will homeowners insurance cover rodent damage?
Standard homeowners policies typically don't cover pest damage. Rodent-caused fire damage (from chewed wiring) may sometimes be covered depending on policy language. Document the damage and contact your insurer directly.
📊 What Drives Rodent Control Pricing
Rodent control pricing varies primarily by species (mouse vs rat), entry point sealing requirements, and ongoing monitoring needs. A typical mouse problem in a single-family home runs $200-$500 for initial treatment plus a monthly or quarterly maintenance plan. A rat infestation requiring exclusion work can exceed $2,000-$5,000 in total project cost.
Species: House mice are the easiest and cheapest to treat — they have small territories, breed continuously indoors, and respond well to bait + trap programs. Norway rats and roof rats require larger investments because they have bigger territories, more complex entry behaviors (rats can climb walls and enter at roof level), and bait shyness in established populations.
Entry point sealing (exclusion): This is where rodent costs diverge most. A modest exclusion job (steel wool in obvious gaps, foundation crack sealing) takes 1-2 hours and runs $150-$400. A comprehensive exclusion (replacing chewed door sweeps, sealing utility penetrations, installing chimney caps, screening foundation vents) runs $800-$2,500. For old homes with many gaps, exclusion can exceed the chemical/trapping costs by 3-5×.
Infestation severity: Light infestations (occasional sightings, droppings in one area) typically resolve in 2-4 weeks with $200-$400 in service. Heavy infestations (active populations in multiple areas, persistent food contamination, attic damage) require 6-12 weeks and $600-$1,800 in service before exclusion.
Trap and bait choice: Snap traps and glue boards are inexpensive but require frequent technician visits to reset. Rodenticide baits in tamper-resistant stations are mid-cost. Tamper-resistant bait stations with monthly monitoring are the highest-cost approach but the most consistent for chronic problems.
💸 DIY vs Professional Rodent Treatment
DIY rodent control costs $50-$150 in materials for a typical mouse problem in a single-family home: 6-12 snap traps, peanut butter or commercial bait, steel wool and caulk for entry sealing, gloves, and disinfectant for cleaning droppings. Professional treatment runs $200-$500 for the same problem.
DIY is highly effective for mice when done correctly. The components are simple: identify entry points and seal them, place 6-12 snap traps perpendicular to walls in active areas, bait with peanut butter or a small piece of chocolate, check daily, and continue for 2-3 weeks after the last catch. Total cost is under $100 and success rates are high.
DIY is less reliable for rats because:
Bait shyness: Rats taste-test new food and avoid traps where another rat died — this learned avoidance makes single-rat DIY a slow process
Entry points are harder: Roof rats enter at the roofline (where DIY repair is difficult and dangerous), through chimney gaps, or through plumbing/electrical penetrations that DIY rarely addresses
Population scale: Visible rat activity often indicates an established colony in attic/wall voids that requires sustained pressure
For house mice, DIY is consistently cost-effective. For rats, especially in older homes or commercial buildings, professional service is typically more reliable.
🌎 Regional Pricing & Why It Varies
Rodent control pricing varies by region driven by labor and the prevalence of rats vs mice:
NYC, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, DC: $300-$700 initial mouse treatment, $600-$1,500 rat — high rat populations in older urban housing; specialized urban rat work is common
Other major metros: $250-$550 mouse, $500-$1,200 rat
Mid-size cities: $200-$450 mouse, $400-$1,000 rat
Rural / small town: $180-$400 mouse — rural mouse problems are common during cool weather; rats less so unless near agriculture
Coastal Pacific (LA, SF, Seattle): $300-$650 initial — roof rats are common and require exclusion work at roof level
Annual monitoring contracts (quarterly visits, bait station inspections) typically run $200-$600/year. For homes with chronic rodent pressure (agricultural areas, hillsides, restaurants nearby), these contracts are often cost-effective compared to repeated single-event treatments.
❓ Additional Rodent Cost Questions
Does pest control include cleaning up droppings or dead rodents?
Standard contracts typically include disposal of rodents trapped in stations but not deep cleaning of contaminated areas. Attic decontamination (insulation removal and replacement after heavy infestation, biohazard cleaning of droppings concentrations) is a separate service running $1,000-$5,000+ depending on scope. Get a separate quote if your situation involves heavy contamination.
Is rodent damage covered by homeowners insurance?
Generally no. Most homeowners policies exclude rodent damage as a maintenance issue rather than a covered peril. Some policies cover the resulting damage (e.g., a rodent-caused electrical fire) but not the original rodent damage or treatment. Read your policy or call your insurer before assuming coverage.
Are anticoagulant rodenticides being phased out?
California has phased out most second-generation anticoagulants (brodifacoum, difethialone) for residential use, with restrictions in other states under consideration. This affects which products are available; first-generation anticoagulants and non-anticoagulant alternatives (bromethalin, zinc phosphide, cholecalciferol) remain available with varying use restrictions. Pricing for residential rodent control has been minimally affected by these changes — alternatives exist at similar cost.
Snap traps work well for indoor mouse problems where the population is small to moderate and locations are known. They provide visible kill confirmation, no toxic exposure to children or pets in homes where bait can't be safely deployed, and no risk of rodents dying in walls. The main DIY mistake: too few traps, poorly placed. Place a dozen or more for a mouse problem, perpendicular to walls (mice run along edges), in pairs at high-activity areas, with peanut butter or commercial paste baits. Bait stations are more appropriate for exterior rodent control and for situations where the rodent population is unknown or larger than snap traps can handle. Tamper-resistant stations are required for use where children or pets could access — these are easy to find at hardware stores. Modern second-generation anticoagulants in tamper-resistant stations are the most common professional approach and homeowners can use similar products legally with proper stations.
How professional pest control programs differ from one-off treatments
A single treatment — DIY or professional — addresses what's visible today, but most pest pressure is cyclical. Professional pest control programs that work long-term are structured around inspection, monitoring, treatment, and follow-up as a recurring cycle rather than discrete events. The inspection phase identifies conducive conditions (moisture, harborage, food access, exclusion gaps) that one-time treatments don't address. The monitoring phase uses sticky traps, bait stations, or visual sweeps to catch population rebounds early, before they become visible infestations again. The treatment phase targets the specific life stages active during that visit — different than blanket spraying everything. The follow-up phase verifies treatment efficacy and adjusts. Homeowners can replicate this structure on a quarterly or seasonal schedule without buying expensive equipment, and the underlying logic — track, treat targeted, verify — produces consistently better results than reactive treatment after problems become obvious.
Rodent-borne disease and sanitary handling
Rodents in the household are a health concern beyond property damage. Hantavirus is rare but serious and is transmitted via aerosolized contamination of dried droppings and urine — disturbing nests in enclosed spaces (cleaning out an attic, garage, or shed where rodents have been active) is the higher-risk activity. Leptospirosis, salmonellosis, and lymphocytic choriomeningitis are other potential rodent-borne diseases. CDC guidance on cleanup: ventilate the area before entering, wear gloves and an N95 mask, wet contaminated materials with disinfectant before disturbing (don't sweep dry — wetting prevents aerosolization), double-bag waste, and wash exposed clothing in hot water. After cleanup, sealing entry points prevents recurrence and the associated cleanup repeating.
What to do when rodents die inside walls
Rodenticide use occasionally results in rodents dying inside wall voids before they can be removed, producing an odor that lasts days to weeks. The remediation options: locate the carcass if possible (odor concentration helps narrow location, sometimes a flashlight inspection through outlets and switch boxes), remove if accessible, and use enzyme-based odor neutralizers (not air fresheners, which mask) for the duration. For inaccessible carcasses, the odor dissipates as the carcass dries — typically two to four weeks in dry conditions, longer in humid conditions. Activated charcoal bags in the affected room reduce perceptible odor during this period. The takeaway for future treatment: snap traps and bait stations placed in accessible locations (not blind voids) avoid this problem entirely, which is part of why interior treatment usually favors snap traps over bait.
When to escalate from DIY to professional
DIY pest control is appropriate for most common household pests when caught early and treated correctly. Escalation to a licensed professional makes sense in specific situations, not just when frustration builds. Wall-void and structural infestations — termites, carpenter ants, rodents nesting inside walls — usually require equipment and access homeowners don't have. Bedbugs at moderate-to-heavy infestation levels almost always require professional treatment; DIY rarely succeeds past the first few isolated bugs. Multi-unit dwellings (apartments, condos) need building-wide coordination that individual unit treatments can't replicate. Health-sensitive households — anaphylaxis risk to stings, immunocompromised individuals, pregnancy, infants — should default to professional because professionals can use the lowest-toxicity option that solves the problem rather than what's available at retail. The financial break-point is roughly when DIY material costs approach one professional visit; below that, DIY is usually fine.
Rodent exclusion: the specific gaps that matter most
Rodent exclusion produces the longest-lasting rodent control because it addresses access rather than just existing population, and the specific gaps that matter follow a predictable pattern. Mice can squeeze through openings as small as a quarter-inch (a hole the diameter of a pencil); rats need about a half-inch (the diameter of a thumb). The high-yield inspection targets: garage door bottom seals (where most house mice originally enter), foundation cracks particularly where utilities penetrate (gas lines, water service, electrical service mast, AC line set penetrations), gaps where siding meets foundation, dryer vents and exhaust vents (where deteriorated flaps allow entry), gaps around exterior faucets and hose bibs, weep holes in brick construction (which should be screened against rodents while still venting), and gaps around eaves and roofline penetrations including roof vents and chimney flashings. Repair materials matter: copper mesh stuffed into openings then sealed with appropriate sealant works far better than steel wool (which degrades) or expanding foam alone (which rodents chew through). Hardware cloth (1/4-inch) is appropriate for larger openings and vent screens.
The cost of doing nothing: implicit pest tolerance and its hidden expenses
Pest control discussions usually frame the costs of treatment without quantifying the costs of non-treatment, but the latter are often larger and almost always less visible. Cockroach allergens add measurable healthcare costs in homes with asthma. Rodent activity in attics damages insulation (reducing R-value and adding seasonal heating and cooling costs) and creates fire risk through wire chewing that doesn't show up until something fails. Termite damage in unmonitored properties produces structural repair bills in the five-figure range, often discovered during unrelated renovation. Stored-product pests destroy food inventory at rates that aren't tracked because items are discarded individually rather than tallied. The cumulative cost of doing nothing isn't a single line item but a sum of small chronic losses across years. The framing that helps: pest control isn't a luxury expense layered onto a working baseline; it's a maintenance expense that competes with the slow accumulating cost of allowing a problem to continue. Households running the comparison honestly almost always find that modest preventive spending is the cheaper path.
Snap traps vs. glue boards vs. electronic traps: practical comparison
The three main consumer rodent traps each have practical use cases, and the choice depends more on the situation than on which is 'best.' Snap traps remain the most reliable for active mouse populations: cheap, effective, fast-killing, and easy to set in numbers. The key is using enough traps (six to twelve in a typical mouse infestation, not one or two) and placing them perpendicular to walls with the trigger toward the wall along observed runways. Glue boards have a specific niche — narrow corridors, behind appliances, voids — where snap traps don't fit, but they're inhumane (animals die slowly), they catch non-targets including snakes and small birds in some settings, and they aren't effective against rats, which generally pull free. Electronic traps (battery-powered devices that deliver a lethal shock) work well, are reusable, and present the kill conveniently, but the per-unit cost limits how many can be deployed. The practical recommendation: snap traps as the primary tool, glue boards for spots snap traps can't reach, electronic traps as a quality-of-life upgrade for ongoing monitoring rather than a primary tool.
Utility penetrations as the single most important exclusion target
Across residential rodent control, the single most consistent finding during exclusion work is that the gaps around utility penetrations — where pipes, conduits, cables, and vents enter the structure — are the primary entry routes that rodents are using. These gaps exist on essentially every residential structure, they're often hidden behind siding or in mechanical closets where homeowners don't routinely look, and the construction techniques used in original installation rarely include rodent-proof sealing. A new utility installation by a plumber, electrician, or HVAC technician almost always leaves a gap, because their work is focused on the utility function rather than on the building envelope. The implication for rodent exclusion is that any thorough inspection has to include a systematic check of every penetration, including the ones in basements, crawlspaces, attic plates, and inside cabinets where supply lines enter walls. Sealing these gaps with appropriate materials — copper mesh, steel wool, urethane foam over a metal substrate, or commercial rodent exclusion sealant — typically eliminates the majority of entry routes and produces dramatic improvements in long-term rodent activity.
Pesticide residual life and reapplication intervals
The residual life of a pesticide is one of the most misunderstood properties in household pest management. Active ingredients vary widely in how long they remain bioavailable on a treated surface, and the same active can behave very differently depending on substrate, exposure to sunlight and rain, temperature, and the formulation it's carried in. A pyrethroid applied to a porous masonry surface in full sun will degrade in days; the same active in a microencapsulated formulation on a protected interior surface may remain effective for months. Understanding this is the difference between an evidence-based treatment schedule and one driven by superstition. Reapplying too soon wastes product and increases selection pressure for resistant individuals; reapplying too late creates gaps in coverage during which pest populations rebound. The right answer depends on specific conditions and is not the same number printed on the bottle in all circumstances. Field experience and willingness to monitor for early signs of pest return are what calibrate the schedule. The label is a guide, but conditions in front of you are the real input.
Food source elimination as the primary control lever
Rodent infestation is, more than anything else, a function of available food, and trying to control rodent populations without addressing food sources is consistently less effective than addressing food sources and then dealing with what remains. The food sources homeowners commonly miss include bird seed in feeders and on the ground beneath them, pet food left in bowls overnight, compost without rodent-proof containment, fruit that drops from trees, and stored grain or feed in garages and outbuildings. Indoor food sources include pantry foods in non-rodent-proof packaging, grease accumulated behind stoves, food debris in cabinets and on counters overnight, and trash that's not in a sealed container. The behavioral shift required for rodent control is more demanding than for most pest categories — it requires consistent practice rather than periodic action — but it's the only approach that addresses the root condition rather than just the symptom. A property with consistent food source management supports a much smaller rodent population, and the trapping and exclusion that handle the remainder become tractable rather than overwhelming.