Looking for the best rat exterminator quotes? Here are some factors that affect the treatment price experts charge you.
In view of the many health risks posed by rat presence, it’s very important to seek urgent solutions. The services of rat exterminators provide effective remedies for such problems.
This article will focus on discussing the cost implications for rat extermination.
Can I Save Cost by Adopting DIY Extermination Strategies?
There are several cost-effective ways of managing a rat problem. This includes the adoption of effective DIY strategies. While these may give you the result you seek, they aren’t as effective against difficult or severe rat infestations.
In most cases, it’s best to hand the job over to experienced professionals or exterminators. It ends up becoming cheaper as the experience and expertise of such exterminators go a long way in tackling the problem.
What more? Such services come with a guarantee.
Cost of Hiring a Rat Exterminator
You should expect an average cost of $300 to hire an experienced rat exterminator.
However, this amount can vary greatly due to multiple factors. Hence, there’s a low of $100 to $500. This doesn’t cover the entire cost for rat extermination as there are additional circumstances such as resulting damage from rat activity.
This and more will be covered shortly.
Factors Affecting Rat Exterminator Cost
As stated earlier, there is no static cost for hiring a rat exterminator.
There are underlying factors that influence such costs. These include the amount of trapping and type of traps required, repairs to be carried out after killing such rats, and the number of rats to be caught and removed.
Additional factors include the degree of cleanup as well as nests to be cleared. There’s also the size of the target property, the severity of infestation and location or accessibility of the location.
Let’s briefly explain each of these, shall we?
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The Number of Traps and Types
The number of traps necessary will depend on the holes or routes used by these rats. It also depends on the type of traps being used.
There are different categories of rat traps that range from glue traps, cage traps as well as snap traps among others.
An exterminator won’t need a cage trap as this type is most ideal for the humane approach. These have different costs.
The number and type of traps needed for the task will determine the eventual cost of extermination.
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Post Extermination Repairs
Rats will create significant havoc on your property for as long as they last or remain. Therefore, after carrying out successful extermination, the exterminator may charge a fee for carrying out repairs of damaged parts.
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Number of Rats to be Caught and Removed
The higher the number of rats removed from your property, the more likely you are to pay more.
More rats mean more holes to be repaired, more traps to be used and more time spent getting the job done. All of these are factored into the eventual cost you’ll have to incur.
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Degree of Cleanup
Rats make a mess wherever they operate. These range from droppings to nests and debris from chewed wood or rubber among other things.
You can either perform this cleanup yourself to cut down on cost or allow the exterminator to perform the cleanup.
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Size of Property
The size of the property also relates to the severity of infestation.
The larger your property is, the longer the time taken to locate and seal entry points. It will also take more time to have these rodents exterminated. The opposite applies to a smaller property.
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Severity of Infestation
Typically the severity of infestation will go a long way in determining the cost of getting the job done. A service technician will inspect the property to determine the level of infestation or severity.
This is taken into account when giving you the price quote.
Rodent Inspection Cost
Some pest control companies offer free rodent inspection services. These come at no added cost. However, not all such companies will offer a free inspection. For those that do not, an inspection fee ranging from $100 to $250 is paid.
The cost incurred will depend on the size of the property. Larger properties will be charged higher. A written estimate is then issued for your consideration.
You may decide for the exterminator to proceed with treatment or do otherwise.
Cleanup Cost
We earlier mentioned the degree of cleanup as part of the factors influencing the overall cost for rat extermination. Having determined the degree of cleanup required, a cleanup cost will apply.
The cost for cleanup may not be given separately, but may be included or summed together with exterminator costs. This will bring the total amount to range from $200 to $600. Sometimes difficult infestations may require multiple visits.
The need for multiple cleanup sessions may also apply. You may need to hire a maid to perform such simple cleaning tasks. This will cost anywhere from $100 to $250.
DIY Rat Extermination Cost
If you wish to go the DIY way, there are several options available. These range from the use of poison to traps and baits. These methods of rat extermination may not totally get rid of rats but will go a long way in checking their activities.
You may need to change your strategies whenever you notice a strategy isn’t working as expected. There are different types of traps. They range from live traps, bait stations, jaw traps, snap traps, and glue traps.
The traps you choose to use as well as its size will determine your eventual cost. Live traps sell for between $2 to $15, bait stations (from $5 to $15), snap traps (from $1 to $2) jaw traps (from $3 to $5), and glue traps with price ranging from $3 to $10.
With DIY rat extermination, you may be lucky to keep the rats in check.
However, these aren’t guaranteed to give you lasting and reliable results. Rats are quite smart and will find a way to evade your traps. In this case, you may still need to call for an exterminator. This ends up increasing the total cost of extermination.
These are the cost implications of rat extermination. We’ve been able to discuss these in addition to factors that contribute to determining extermination costs.