How Much Does a Rat Exterminator Cost? (2024 Guide)
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You can expect to pay between $250 and $290 for a one-time rat treatment from two of the top-ranked pest control companies on our list, Terminix and Orkin. Rats inside your home are more than a nuisance. These large rodents are more likely to cause significant damage than mice, tunneling through floorboards and drywall and potentially gnawing through electrical wiring. Rats can also keep you up at night, scurrying around your living space and scratching at walls. Professional extermination is often the best solution for combatting a rat infestation.
Our team researched and ranked the best pest control companies in the country. Our process included reviewing the costs of various pest control services, such as rat extermination. We’ve detailed key cost factors and other important information about rat extermination below.
Cost of a Rat Exterminator
We collected quotes from Terminix and Orkin for one-time pest control services with targeted rodent control treatments. Our team also gathered quotes for annual pest control plans that include treatment for rats and many other common pests.
Sample Quotes*
| Plan Type | Terminix | Orkin | Hawx | Bulwark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Annual plan** |
$633 |
$810 |
$674 |
$680 |
|
One-time pest control |
$250 |
$290 |
– |
– |
*Sample quotes are for a four-bedroom home in Nashville.
**Annual plans include an initial treatment and several follow-up visits throughout the year to prevent future infestations.
Pest Control Cost
A general pest control plan costs from $400 to $950 per year, on average.
Pest Inspection
Some companies, including Terminix, offer free inspections.
Extermination
Professional pest control services, on average, cost between $150 and $450.
Factors Affecting Rat Exterminator Cost
The following factors affect the cost of hiring a professional rat exterminator:
- Location: The area of the country where you reside may impact rat extermination pricing. It may cost more to control pests that are uncommon in the area, and you may have to pay a travel fee, depending on the company.
- Infestation severity: The number of rats present will determine the type of rodent removal treatment needed. You can expect a severe rodent infestation requiring fumigation to cost significantly more than a minor infestation that only requires traps.
- Home size: A larger home has more space for rats to infest and hoard food sources and may require more extensive treatment.
- Inspection: Some pest control companies offer free rat inspections, but many require a fee for the initial visit.
- Rodent exclusion: Rodent exclusion involves caulking and otherwise sealing rat entry points to keep them from inhabiting your home. Pest control companies often include rodent exclusion as part of their rat treatment plans, but it may cost extra.
Types of Rats
Several types of rats are responsible for residential infestations, including the following:
- Norway rat: Norway rats are large rodents that can grow to be more than a foot long. They tend to burrow and build nests underground. Norway rats commonly infest basements but can live anywhere in a home.
- Roof rat: These rats are smaller than Norway rats and tend to live in higher places, such as your home’s roofing system—hence the name. Roof rats hoard any food they find and breed quickly. They are also known as black rats.
- Cotton rat: Cotton rats are likelier to inhabit farms and gardens than living spaces. They feed mostly on plants and breed especially quickly, posing a risk to crop health.
Contact your pest control provider and schedule an inspection to identify the type of rat infesting your home and determine the best treatment option.
Professional Exterminators vs. DIY Products
Homeowners can use DIY products to control minor rat problems. These products include rodenticides—commonly known as rat poison—and traps. You can purchase glue traps and snap traps from many retailers. While traps are effective at exterminating rats, the process is often slow and involves a messy cleanup.
For large infestations, the best solution is to bring in a professional exterminator. These pest control technicians are trained to recognize and remedy rat infestations quickly, blocking entry holes and using appropriate treatments for lasting rat control. Rats are destructive and can pose health risks, so it’s important to get fast results.
Our Recommendation
Rats can damage your home’s structure and create an unsanitary living space, depositing body oils, droppings, and pilfered food particles throughout your residence. We recommend scheduling extermination services through a professional pest control company. Terminix and Orkin topped our list of the best pest control companies, and both providers offer targeted rat removal services and general pest control.
Terminix
- Pricing: $250 for a one-time treatment; $633 for an annual plan
- State availability: 45 (all but Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont)
Terminix provides services to remediate many types of residential pest problems. It offers free inspections for its rat exclusion service and includes rat extermination in its general pest control plans. Depending on the infestation severity, Terminix may use rodenticides, bait stations, or live traps to treat your rodent problem.
All Terminix pest control services include a reservice guarantee for annual plans. If pests reemerge between scheduled visits, the company will provide free additional treatments.
Orkin
- Pricing: $290 for a one-time treatment; $810 for an annual plan
- State availability: 49 (all but Alaska)
Orkin offers targeted and preventive pest control treatments to most of the United States. Its plans cover approximately 20 pests, including termites, bed bugs, and rats. Orkin will tailor its plan to your home and the severity of the infestation. Its technicians may use rodenticides, rat traps, and natural repellents for your rat infestation.
Orkin does not provide free inspections, but it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. It also offers free off-schedule return visits for recurring pest infestations if you purchase an annual pest control plan.
Rat Exterminator Cost FAQ
What is the cheapest way to get rid of rats?
Setting glue traps or snap traps is the cheapest way to get rid of rats. These products are available from many common retailers.
Can you get rid of rats permanently?
Through professional extermination and rodent exclusion, it’s possible to get rid of rats permanently. A rodent exclusion service involves sealing potential entry ways to help prevent rats from nesting inside or near the home.
Will cleaning my house get rid of rats?
Cleaning your house won’t get rid of rats, but it can help deter them from remaining in your living space. A cleaner home means fewer food options for rats to hoard.
Do rats carry diseases?
Rats carry diseases that sometimes spread to humans, including Lyme disease from ticks feeding on the rats. Rat droppings in your food products can also cause sanitation and health concerns.
How We Chose the Top Pest Control Companies
Our pest control research process starts with analyzing customer reviews on third-party websites such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Trustpilot, and Google Reviews. We then do a deep dive into each company’s website, service plans, and available cost information. We also secret shop the companies we review, reach out to representatives, and request quotes.
From there, we compile the information we’ve gathered and compare each company using our in-depth pest control methodology and review criteria. This process uses a series of factors that are important to our readers, and we score each company depending on how well they perform in each factor. For instance, companies that offer more guarantees for their service earned more points than others, and pest control plans with a larger range of covered pests earned more points than ones with fewer.
After analyzing dozens of residential and commercial pest control businesses through this process, we were able to determine the best pest control companies on the market.