You found droppings in the silverware drawer. A mouse ran across the kitchen floor at 11 p.m. while you were watching TV. You want a professional to handle it.
A mouse exterminator in the U.S. costs between $175 and $550 for a standard one-time treatment. Monthly maintenance plans run $40 to $70. The final number depends on your home size, how bad the infestation is, and which company you hire.
But the price tag is only half the story. The real question is whether you’re hiring someone who will solve the problem or someone who will charge you $400 to spray baseboards and leave before the mice come back next week. Here is how to tell the difference.
What You Actually Pay, Service by Service
Inspection and Assessment: $100 to $250
Every legitimate exterminator starts with an inspection. A technician walks your property and checks the foundation, attic, crawl space, garage, and interior baseboards.
They are looking for entry points, droppings, rub marks, nesting material, and signs of how long the infestation has been active. A thorough inspection takes 45 minutes to an hour. If someone walks through in 15 minutes and hands you a quote, get a second opinion.
Many companies credit the inspection fee toward treatment. Ask this on the phone before they schedule the visit. If they refuse to credit it, that is not a dealbreaker, but it is a data point when comparing quotes.
One-Time Extermination: $175 to $550
A standard single-visit extermination includes bait station installation around the perimeter, snap traps or glue boards in active areas inside, and spot treatment of entry points. Most companies warranty the work for 30 to 90 days.
The size of your home drives the price more than anything else. Under 1,500 square feet, expect $175 to $300. Between 1,500 and 3,000 square feet, plan on $300 to $450. Over 3,000 square feet or multiple structures, $450 to $550 is typical.
Geography matters too. Exterminators in New York City, San Francisco, and Boston charge 30 to 50 percent more than the national average. A $350 job in Dallas is a $500 job in Brooklyn. This is labor cost, not greed. The technician’s time simply costs more in high-rent cities.
Monthly or Quarterly Plans: $40 to $70 per Month
Recurring plans are the industry’s preferred model. Most companies will steer you toward a quarterly or monthly contract after the initial treatment.
Monthly plans typically start with a heavier first visit at $200 to $350, then drop to $40 to $55 per month. Quarterly plans run $110 to $170 per quarter. What you get: exterior bait station refills, perimeter inspections, and free service calls if mice reappear between visits.
Monthly plans make sense in two situations. You live in an older home that cannot be fully sealed, or your property borders woods, fields, or water where rodent pressure is constant. In a modern, well-sealed home with a one-time mouse problem, a recurring plan is overkill.
Exclusion and Sealing: $300 to $1,500
Exclusion means physically blocking every opening a mouse could use. This is the most important part of extermination and the part most companies underinvest in.
Basic exclusion runs $300 to $600. This covers sealing foundation cracks with steel wool and silicone, installing door sweeps, and screening accessible vents. Full exclusion, which adds chimney caps, roof vent screens, crawl space wire mesh, and full perimeter sealing, runs $800 to $1,500.
A mouse fits through a hole the diameter of a dime. The average home has dozens of these openings. An exterminator who treats the mice but skips the exclusion is selling you a subscription, not a solution.
How to Pick an Exterminator Who Actually Fixes the Problem
Three Questions to Ask Before You Sign Anything
“Which entry points did you find, and how are you sealing them?” A real exterminator names specific locations: the gap where the AC line enters the foundation, the unsealed plumbing penetration under the kitchen sink, the soffit vent with no screen. Someone who says “we treat the perimeter” without naming entry points is doing suppression, not elimination.
“What products are you using, and why those?” For mice, the standard toolkit is tamper-resistant bait stations placed outside, snap traps inside, and rodenticide in wall voids if accessible. Ask if they use anticoagulant or non-anticoagulant rodenticide and why. A technician who can explain their product choices understands rodent behavior. One who can’t is following a checklist.
“Does the price include follow-up visits if mice return?” Most warranties cover 30 to 90 days. Get this in writing. A verbal promise disappears the moment you call back about new droppings in week five.
Red Flags That Signal a Bad Hire
The exterminator quotes a price over the phone without seeing the property. Rodent problems vary too much for accurate phone quotes. A legitimate company gives a range and insists on an inspection before quoting a firm number.
The exterminator pushes an annual contract before inspecting. This is a sales organization that happens to do pest control, not a pest control company. A real operator treats the problem, then offers maintenance if the situation warrants it.
The exterminator won’t go into the attic or crawl space. These are where mice live and where entry points hide. A technician who stays at ground level is missing 70 percent of the relevant evidence.
The quote is one line: “mouse treatment: $400.” No breakdown of inspection cost, treatment method, materials, exclusion work, or warranty terms. An itemized quote is the minimum standard for a professional operator.
National Chain vs. Local Exterminator
National chains like Terminix and Orkin offer consistency. Their technicians follow standardized protocols, their pricing is transparent, and their warranties are backed by large corporate infrastructure. A Terminix visit in Phoenix will look very similar to one in Philadelphia.
Local exterminators offer flexibility. They know the specific pests in your region, they can customize treatment plans, and they typically have lower overhead, which means lower prices. A local operator charging $300 often does the same work a national chain charges $450 for.
The trade-off: quality control. A national chain has systems to ensure technicians follow the protocol. A local operator’s quality depends entirely on the individual who shows up. Read reviews for the specific technician, not just the company. A five-star local company can still send a two-star employee to your house.
When DIY Makes Sense and When It Does Not
A hardware store mouse control run costs $50 to $100. Snap traps, steel wool, silicone caulk, door sweeps, and a few bait stations. If you caught the problem early and can identify the entry points yourself, this is a reasonable Saturday project that saves $200 to $400.
DIY fails in two predictable ways. First, when the infestation is in a wall void or attic you physically cannot access. You can set traps in the kitchen forever and never touch the nest. Second, when you cannot find the entry points. Mice use routes that are not obvious from ground level. An exterminator who spends 20 hours a week in attics and crawl spaces sees things you will miss.
The financial break-even is clear. Two rounds of failed DIY supplies at $75 each is $150. That is roughly the cost of a professional one-time treatment in most markets. After two attempts, you have paid the same money for worse results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get an exterminator to come same-day?
Yes, but expect to pay a premium. Same-day or emergency service calls typically add $50 to $150 to the standard price. Most companies reserve a few same-day slots and fill them on a first-call basis. Calling before 9 a.m. gives you the best chance. Weekend and after-hours calls cost more and have fewer available technicians.
What does an exterminator warranty actually cover?
A standard warranty covers mouse activity inside the home for 30 to 90 days after treatment. If you see new droppings or catch a mouse within that window, the company returns at no charge. Warranties do not cover new infestations from new entry points that appeared after treatment. If a tree branch falls on your roof and creates a new opening in week six, that is a new job.
Is there a cheaper season to hire an exterminator?
Late winter and early spring, roughly February through April, is the slow season for rodent control. Mice seek shelter in fall, so exterminators are busiest from September through November. Booking treatment between February and April can save 10 to 20 percent. Many companies also run spring promotions to fill their schedule during the slow months.
Who pays if I rent: me or the landlord?
In most U.S. states, the landlord pays. Rodent infestation breaches the implied warranty of habitability that every residential lease carries. Document the problem with dated photos, then submit a written maintenance request. If the landlord refuses to act, local code enforcement or the health department can compel action. Some jurisdictions allow tenants to hire an exterminator and deduct the cost from rent, but verify this with a local tenants’ rights group before doing it.
Should I let the exterminator use poison?
It depends on where it’s placed. Bait stations placed outside around the foundation perimeter are standard practice and effective. Poison bait inside wall voids, applied through small drilled holes, is also common and safe when done correctly. You should refuse poison placed openly inside living areas where pets or children could access it. A responsible exterminator will not suggest this in the first place. If one does, find someone else.
How many visits should I expect?
For a moderate infestation, expect an initial treatment visit plus one or two follow-ups spaced two to three weeks apart. The first follow-up checks bait station activity, refreshes traps, and confirms entry point seals are holding. The second follow-up verifies the infestation is gone. If an exterminator says it will take more than three visits for standard mice, ask for a detailed explanation of why. For a severe infestation with contaminated insulation, cleanup alone can take multiple days.
What a Fair Deal Looks Like
For a typical 2,000-square-foot home with moderate mouse activity, in an average-cost U.S. city, a fair extermination runs $325 to $475 all-in. This includes a 45-minute inspection, bait stations and traps, sealing of identified entry points, and a 60-day warranty with free follow-up.
Pay less than $200 and the technician is probably doing a drive-by. Pay more than $600 without exclusion work or a documented severe infestation, and you are paying for a brand name, not better results.
The exterminators worth their price tag charge more because they find the soffit gap the last guy ignored and the dryer vent flap that does not close all the way. That attention to detail is what separates a one-time fix from a recurring problem. Pay for it. Skip the rest.
