Pest Control and Extermination Costs: How to Save in 2024

Written by

Household Quotes Team

Last updated

13 March 2024

There’s no way to be certain when you may need to deal with pests within your home. From minuscule insects to larger and more intrusive rodents, it’s essential you deal with any pest-related problems as quickly as possible to keep your home safe from disease and destruction.

Knowing there are pests in your home can be extremely stressful too, so it’s best to hire a professional to know that the problem has been dealt with properly. Many councils offer advice on how to get rid of pests, and some may even provide free eradication services.

Pest control prices vary depending on the problem you’ve got, as well as the infestation severity, so it’s important to act quickly.

In this article, we’ll be covering how much pest control costs, what affects the cost of pest control, how to save money on pest control, how to save money on pest control treatments, how to know if you need a pest control service and how to find and hire a pest control company.

If you want to evict your unwanted house guests once and for all, then calling in a pest control service is the way to go. Keep reading to find out the most cost-effective methods of achieving a pest-free home.

How Much Does Pest Control Cost?

Depending on the severity of your infestation, your prices will rise or fall, with companies commonly adding surcharges on top of their standard fee for heavy infestations. As a rule of thumb, most pest control specialists charge between £150 and £200 per day.

To get started, here are some of the most common problems and their associated estimated costs.

• For the removal of bees, wasps and hornets, you’ll be looking at a fee of between £50 to £120, and an estimated time of one to two hours.
• Removing birds from your home can take between two to eight hours, and cost between £70 to £200.
• Ants in your home can be a nuisance, costing between £70 to £100 to remove, and between one and two hours.
• Flea removal comes in at between £80 to £350 depending on the severity, taking between three to five hours.
• For the removal of mice and rats, it’ll commonly take between two to four hours, and cost between £90 to £240.
• Looking next to squirrel and mole removal, it’ll again take between two to four hours but cost between £90 to £300.
• Bedbugs can be treated and removed in four to eight hours, costing between £100 to £280.
• Cockroaches are fairly swiftly dealt with, taking between one to two hours, and costing between £120 to £260.
• Finally, we’ll look at removing woodworm, which will come in at between £150 to £350, taking between four to eight hours.

It’s good to note that these are basic rates that may increase depending on your circumstances. For example, the scale of an infestation will affect how many treatments are required, whilst there are regional differences, with prices higher in London.

If you’re not using your local council, you should get at least three quotes from contractors before giving the green light to ensure you’re pest-free – and financially happy.

Comparing Quotes Could Save You Up To 40%:

What Affects the Cost of Pest Control?

One element impacting the cost of pest control is simply the type of pest you have. Let’s go through the types you can encounter, and what the ramifications might be if they’re not dealt with.

Mice and Rats

Mice and rats are very common pests in the UK. Brown rats carry disease and parasites, and these rodents can cause significant damage to the interior of your home due to chewing or gnawing.

Luckily, rodents are easily dealt with. If you’re not unnerved by the potential of dealing with dead rats and mice yourself, you can buy rat poison for a cheaper solution.

Bees, Wasps, and Hornets

Wasp and hornet nests can be dangerous around the home, with risks of being stung. Though bees are less aggressive, you certainly don’t want a swarm invading your home.

If you’re in any doubt about which of these stinging insects you’ve got, it’s best to call in the professionals. Get in touch with the British Beekeeper’s Association (BBA) to find local keepers who will be able to relocate any hive within your home without damaging the hive or distressing the bees.

Ants

Ants might not seem like a major problem, but when an infestation occurs and you start to get them marching around your house, it’s time to get rid of them.

Many products to get rid of ants can be found in your local garden centre, so there’s no need to immediately call in the professionals if you’ve found you’ve got a problem in your home. However, if these products don’t seem to be having an impact and the infestation doesn’t reduce, you may need to call in pest control.

It can be difficult to entirely remove ants from your home once they’ve found their way in, so keeping on top of the problem with DIY methods is essential.

Bedbugs

Heat treatments can be especially effective for the removal of bedbugs but are the most expensive.

Bedbugs are extremely hard to eliminate entirely because they’re so tiny and when you’re asleep they’re coaxed out of hiding by body heat and CO2 from breathing.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches are fairly common, especially in urban areas. Cockroaches do carry diseases so getting rid of them is very important.

Unfortunately, these insects make life difficult because they hide in small places such as your walls, rubbish, furniture and ceiling voids. For this reason, it’s a good idea to have the problem dealt with professionally.

Birds

It’s important to note that it’s against the law to disturb birds, their nests, and their eggs. In rare cases, it may be possible to move a bird’s nest but you’ll most likely need a specially licensed professional to do it.

To find out more information about bird removal from your home, take a look at the government’s page on wild bird protection.

Squirrels and Moles

Squirrels are common in the UK’s towns and cities, and have for some homeowners have caused just as many problems as rats or mice. Squirrels are known for chewing on parts of your home such as the guttering and can get into attic and loft spaces and cause damage.

Like rats, they also carry parasites and illnesses, but they can be a lot more aggressive to try and handle. This means you should hire a professional pest controller to deal with them.

Moles might not be common in urban areas, but in rural locations, they can destroy gardens and areas such as parks. Be aware that if you suspect you have a mole problem in your garden, they will have created large numbers of dens and connecting tunnels underneath your grass which will need to be handled professionally.

Fleas

Fleas can be a nuisance to your pets and once the population gets out of control, they can be extremely hard to eradicate.

Unlike common belief, fleas don’t take up residence in your pets but are more likely to home in the tiny nooks and crannies of your house. One DIY method is to buy spray but this can be difficult to entirely cover your home with, so it may be worth contacting a professional.

Woodworm

Woodworm is a common problem affecting wooden aspects of many homes around the UK. Woodworms are the larvae of wood-boring beetles, and the most common species is the Common Furniture Beetle.

To read more on woodworm, take a look at our dedicated page on treating it here.

The Scale of the Infestation/Number of Treatments Required

As we’ve mentioned, the fee you’ll be expected to pay will rise depending on the severity of your infestation, with some requiring multiple visits and rounds of treatments to eradicate the pest.

This is why it’s important to act quickly at the first sighting of an issue, as you’ll usually be able to nip it in the bud before it becomes a bigger problem than it needs to be.

The Type of Pest Control Treatment

There are a few different methods for pest control removal, ranging from:

• Poisons and Traps
• Fumigation
• Habitat Removal
• Biological Control

Each method comes with its price point and depending on how the pest needs to be handled (for example, birds and their protected status), the cost for removal will be higher than something that can be eliminated (such as fleas or bedbugs).

The Size of Your Home

The bigger your square footage, the larger the area for the pests to roam freely – meaning there’s much more room that will need to be treated.

Your Location

As with most jobs involving properties, the actual geographic location of your home will impact your pest control costs, with costs being generally higher in the capitals as opposed to more rural locations.

How Can I Save Money on Pest Control?

There are several ways you can help to keep the cost of pest control lowered.

Council Assistance

In the first instance, if you live in a council home you should contact your council as they may offer pest control services free of charge. To find out more about this, take a look at the government’s page on pest control here.

Act Fast

One of the best ways to overcome high charges for pest control is to simply act quickly as soon as you notice a problem at home. This way, you’re able to prevent the infestation from growing and therefore taking away the need for extensive removal and repeat visits.

Do It Yourself

In some instances, it can be possible to complete the pest control course yourself with mouse and rat traps – but for some infestations, such as bird removal, you must get the professionals in to properly take care of things for you.

Good Housekeeping

It goes without saying, but ensuring you have a clean, tidy home will help to keep infestations at bay. Removing household rubbish regularly and ensuring areas of foliage are kept under control will help to minimise the potential of intruders inviting themselves in – which in turn will save you from needing to call out pest control at all.

Comparing Quotes Could Save You Up To 40%:

Do I Really Need a Pest Control Service?

The British Pest Control Association (BPCA) have an extensive page on why you might need pest control assistance at home or your place of work.

While you may think a few bugs or the odd mouse won’t cause much harm, you may not know the full scale of the picture and can leave yourself open to structural damage and high pest control fees if you don’t act quickly.

Further to economic impact, pests can cause diseases in humans and can spoil food, stock, or ruin furniture if not properly taken care of.

If you’re unsure if your infestation requires professional help, take a look at BPCA’s page to get a full understanding of what’s right for you – but in most instances, if you’re concerned enough to be searching for answers, you should seek the help of a professional to take care of the situation for you.

How Do I Find and Hire a Pest Control Company?

If you have some unfortunate family members or neighbours who have had to enlist the help of a pest control company recently, then asking them for a trader recommendation can save you from spending time searching for a trader yourself.

You can also use the British Pest Control Association’s website to search for a professional pest controller in your area, suitable for the type of project in hand.

Similarly, using HouseholdQuotes can help you to shave time off your online search by letting you compare traders from one website, rather than requiring you to jump between different tabs. What’s more, using HouseholdQuotes can help to save you up to 40% on your project’s fee.

Comparing Quotes Could Save You Up To 40%:

Ensuring the Professional Is the Right Fit

Especially useful for large infestations, asking for a written quote is an essential first step in any pest control project. This should help to clarify how many visits are included, and if there are any extra charges for large infestations or nest removal, if required.

Whether your trader has come via a referral from friends or family or is someone you’ve found yourself with, you’re going to want to find out the company’s experience in removing pests. If you have an extensive infestation, you’ll want to ensure the company is capable of tackling such a vast project, so it’s a good idea to ask questions upfront.

Similarly, customer reviews can help you to see if the company is a good pairing. Finally, traders should always carry insurance but it’s good practice to double-check this fact before you agree to work with them just to make sure you are covered in the event of any issues.

Final Checklist

If you want to say goodbye to your pesky home intruders once and for all, calling in pest control can be the best way to achieve that wish. Here’s our final checklist to make sure you’ve considered everything before getting started on your project.

• Are you able to determine the scope of your project – is it something you can tackle yourself, or do you need professional help?
• Seek out recommendations from friends, family and neighbours to see if anyone has had dealings with local pest control companies and if they’d be happy to recommend their services to you
• Get a written quote, and find out if there are minimum call out charges or any extra fees for nest removal
• Be prepared for a little disruption at home while the service is carried out – then get ready to enjoy your pest-free home!

Comparing Quotes Could Save You Up To 40%:

Frequently Asked Questions