You heard scratching in the wall at 2 a.m. Then you found droppings in the pantry. Now you’re staring at a list of pest control companies and wondering if you’re about to get ripped off.
Mouse pest control in the U.S. costs between $150 and $600 for a typical one-time treatment. Monthly service plans run $40 to $75. Full exclusion work — sealing every entry point — can push the total to $1,000 or more. The range is wide because the job changes completely depending on whether you have one mouse or a colony that’s been breeding in your attic for six months.
What follows is a breakdown of what each price tier actually buys you, which add-ons are worth paying for, and the two questions that separate a fair quote from an upsell.
What Each Pricing Tier Actually Buys You
Initial Inspection: $100 to $250
Almost every company charges for the first visit. A technician walks your property, identifies entry points, assesses the infestation level, and gives you a treatment plan with a firm quote.
Some companies credit the inspection fee toward treatment if you sign up on the spot. Others don’t. Ask before they show up.
What a good inspection includes: checking the foundation perimeter, attic, crawl space, garage, interior baseboards, utility penetrations, and roof line. A technician who spends less than 30 minutes and never goes into the attic is not doing the job.
One-Time Treatment: $150 to $600
A single-visit treatment typically covers bait station placement, snap traps in active areas, and spot treatment of entry points with rodenticide or repellent. This is the right choice if you’ve seen one or two mice and caught them quickly.
Most one-time treatments come with a 30-day warranty. If mice reappear within that window, the company returns at no charge. After 30 days, you pay again.
The price varies primarily by home size. A 1,200-square-foot apartment or condo runs $150 to $250. A 2,500-square-foot single-family home is $300 to $450. Anything over 3,500 square feet or with multiple structures typically crosses $500.
Monthly or Quarterly Plans: $40 to $75 per Month
Recurring plans are the industry default. Companies prefer them because they create predictable revenue. Whether you need one depends on your situation.
Monthly plans usually start with a heavier initial treatment at $200 to $400, then drop to $40 to $55 per month for maintenance. Quarterly plans run $100 to $175 per visit, which works out to roughly the same monthly cost.
What the monthly fee covers: exterior bait station refills, perimeter checks, and interior spot treatments as needed. If new mice appear between visits, the service call is included.
Monthly plans make sense if you live in an area with heavy rodent pressure, near fields or woods, or in an older home that can’t be fully sealed. In a modern sealed condo on the 10th floor, a one-time treatment is almost always the better financial choice.
Exclusion and Sealing: $300 to $2,000
Exclusion is the part most people skip and the part that actually solves the problem long-term. It means sealing every opening a mouse could use to get inside.
A mouse can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime. In the average home, there are dozens of these openings: around plumbing penetrations, where the siding meets the foundation, around the AC line, under the garage door seal, at roof vents and soffit gaps.
Basic exclusion runs $300 to $800. This covers sealing visible foundation gaps with steel wool and caulk, installing door sweeps, and screening accessible vents. Comprehensive exclusion, which includes chimney caps, roof vent screens, crawl space encapsulation, and full perimeter sealing, runs $800 to $2,000.
The return on exclusion is straightforward. A $500 sealing job that prevents a recurring $50 monthly plan pays for itself in 10 months. After that, you’re ahead.
Severe Infestation and Cleanup: $500 to $1,500
If you’ve had mice for months without knowing it, the job gets bigger. Droppings accumulate in insulation. Nests get built in wall voids. Dead mice decompose in inaccessible spaces.
A severe infestation requires trapping and removal, contaminated insulation replacement, droppings vacuuming with HEPA equipment, and enzymatic sanitization of affected surfaces. This is not a one-day job and the price reflects that.
Some companies also charge for dead animal removal from walls, which runs $150 to $400 per animal depending on how much drywall they need to cut.
Five Factors That Change the Price
Home size. More square footage means more perimeter to inspect, more entry points to seal, and more potential nesting sites. This is the single biggest variable.
Infestation severity. A few mice in the kitchen is a $200 job. A colony in the attic with contaminated insulation is a $1,000 job. The technician determines this during inspection.
Access difficulty. Crawl spaces, steep roofs, and finished attics with limited access points add labor hours. Some companies charge a flat premium for crawl space work.
Location. Major metros with high costs of living — New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston — regularly see prices 30 to 50 percent higher than the national average. A $400 treatment in Dallas might cost $600 in Manhattan.
Treatment type. Bait stations and snap traps keep costs down. Fumigation or full-home heat treatment, rarely needed for mice, adds hundreds. Exclusion work, as noted above, is its own category.
DIY vs. Professional: The Real Math
A DIY mouse control kit — snap traps, bait stations, steel wool, caulk, door sweeps — costs $50 to $100 at any hardware store. If you catch the problem early and have the time, this is a perfectly reasonable approach.
But DIY fails in two specific situations. First, when you can’t find the entry points. A professional who spends three hours a week in crawl spaces and attics spots gaps you’ll miss. Second, when the infestation is in a wall void or attic you can’t easily access.
The break-even point is roughly two failed DIY attempts. If you spend $100 on supplies, then another $50 when the first round doesn’t work, you’ve spent $150. That’s the cost of a professional one-time treatment in most markets. At that point, you’ve paid the same money for worse results and more of your time.
How to Spot a Fair Quote
Get three quotes. Never sign with the first company that knocks on your door, and never trust a quote given over the phone without an inspection.
A fair quote is itemized. It breaks out the inspection fee, treatment method, number of bait stations, exclusion work line by line, and warranty terms. A quote that says “mouse treatment: $450” with no breakdown is a red flag.
Ask two questions: “Does this price include follow-up visits if mice return within the warranty period?” and “Which specific entry points are you sealing, and with what materials?” A technician who can’t answer the second question on the spot during the walkthrough is either inexperienced or planning to do the minimum.
Be wary of companies that push annual contracts before they’ve even seen the house. A legitimate operator treats the problem, then offers maintenance. Someone selling a contract before an inspection is selling a contract, not pest control.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does homeowners insurance cover mouse damage?
Almost never. Standard homeowners policies exclude damage from rodents, insects, and vermin. The logic is that infestation is considered a maintenance issue, not a sudden accidental event. Some policies offer a rodent damage rider for an additional premium, but it’s uncommon. If mice chew through wiring and cause an electrical fire, the fire damage is typically covered, but the rodent damage itself is not.
Does my landlord have to pay for mouse pest control?
In most U.S. states, yes. Landlords are legally required to maintain habitable housing, and rodent infestation violates the implied warranty of habitability. Put the request in writing. If the landlord refuses, local code enforcement or a health department complaint is the next step. In some jurisdictions, tenants can hire pest control themselves and deduct the cost from rent, but consult a tenants’ rights organization before doing this. The rules vary by city.
What’s the cheapest time of year for pest control?
Late winter and early spring, specifically February through April. Rodent activity peaks in fall when mice seek shelter from cold weather, which means pest control companies are busiest and prices are highest from September through November. Booking treatment in the off-season can save 10 to 20 percent, and many companies run spring promotions to fill their schedule.
Is mouse control cheaper than rat control?
Yes. Mice are smaller, their entry points are easier to seal, and infestations are typically less destructive than rat infestations. Rat control runs 20 to 40 percent higher on average because rats require larger traps, heavier bait formulations, and more extensive exclusion work. A rat can chew through materials a mouse cannot, which means the sealing job is more involved.
Are there hidden costs I should watch for?
Three common ones. First, the “initial setup fee” on monthly plans, which should be disclosed upfront but sometimes isn’t. It typically adds $100 to $250. Second, dead animal removal, which many basic plans exclude and bill separately at $150 to $400. Third, insulation replacement after a severe infestation, which can add $500 to $2,000 depending on attic size. A reputable company discusses all three during the inspection. If they don’t mention them, ask directly.
What a Fair Price Looks Like
For a typical 2,000-square-foot home with a moderate mouse problem, in an average-cost U.S. city, a fair all-in price is $350 to $500. This should include a thorough inspection, bait stations and traps in active areas, sealing of visible entry points, and a 30-day warranty with free follow-up visits.
Pay less than $250 and the technician is probably doing a quick spray-and-go. Pay more than $700 without exclusion work or a severe infestation justification, and you’re likely being upsold.
The companies that earn their premium charge it because they find the gap behind the dishwasher you never noticed and the roofline penetration the last guy missed. That’s worth an extra hundred dollars. What’s not worth paying for is a branded truck and a clipboard and 20 minutes of baseboard spraying.
