You’ve tried everything: traps, deterrents and repellents. But nothing has gotten rid of your mice infestation. It’s time to get serious about your mouse problem, and the one expert who can come to the rescue is a mouse exterminator.
These are professionals that deal with a variety of pests in most cases, including ants, mice, rats, roaches and numerous other rodents and insects.
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How Do Exterminators Get Rid of Mice?
An exterminator for mice won’t follow just one method to kill mice. These are professionals that have a skillset that they’ve developed to not only overcome mice problems, but to also remedy the mess left behind and stop future infestations.
When asking how these professionals get rid of mice, it’s sort of a trick question because there are a number of methods that can be followed.
An exterminator will take a multi-pronged approach to the problem:
Trapping and Baiting
Trapping and baiting are always part of the extermination process. This is a delicate process because there can be multiple methods used for each.
An analysis of the situation will be taken first, so the exterminator can understand where the infestation is stemming from and how severe the problem is at the current point in time. You may be dealing with a lone mouse, or you may have an entire family of mice breeding inside of your walls.
Trapping
The trapping process will be unique to your situation. An exterminator may choose:
- Snap traps
- Glue traps
- Electric traps
Or they may choose more humane traps that capture the mice alive. In this case, the mice will be released somewhere far away from the home.
Trapping is done strategically, and the type of trap will also depend on if you have kids or other animals in the home, which may become injured due to the traps, too.
Baiting
The way in which mice are lured out of hiding and into a trap is the best way to describe baiting. A few lures may be used, but an exterminator will likely use commercial baits that may or may not be poisonous.
Poisons may be used to some extent, but they won’t be the only method employed. The issue with poisons is that they kill mice on a one-off basis, meaning the mice that eats the poison will die and not cause other mice to die unless they ingest the poison, too.
What exterminators will do better than most homeowners is look for tracks or trails where mice are traveling. These trails are key to mouse extermination because mice leave a scent behind on trails for others to follow.
If this sounds all too easy, it’s much harder than it seems.
You may have a mouse infestation in the walls of the home. In this case, technology is used to find the rodents in the wall and further measures are taken. Holes may be drilled in the wall and sheetrock may be removed for removal purposes.
Note: In many cases, the traps will be set, and the homeowner will have to remove the dead mice as needed.
Interior and Exterior Treatments
Treatments can be done on the interior or exterior of the home. A good example of this may be placing traps in the home and poisons along entryways into the home from the outside. The issue with exterior methods is that other wildlife may be caught or killed, too.
Depending on the exterminator, he or she may also help you determine where the mice are entering the home.
This is a vital portion of the service provided because if you leave the entryway intact, you’ll have more mice in the future. You need to be able to locate and close all of these entryways so that you don’t need to spend money on extermination.
Don’t expect an exterminator to do the hole plugging for you for free– they will charge extra.
If there are other issues in the home or exterior that are causing the mice invasion, this will also be discussed. A pile of garbage may be pointed out, or there may be entryways from pipes that will need to be fixed by a plumber.
Removal
If mice are stuck in a trap, you’ll likely be the person to remove them unless you pay an additional fee. But there are times when the exterminator will do all of the removal for you, too.
An example of this will be if there are dead mice in your walls.
Mice are disease and bacteria carriers, and rotting, dead mice in the walls will be a major issue if left untreated. An exterminator will remove all of these dead bodies and sanitize the area so that you can safely reside in the home.
The key thing to remember is that mice are resilient and will be able to fit through even the tiniest of holes. This leads to mice being dead in walls, baseboards, under cabinets and even underneath flooring in some extreme cases. If you hire an exterminator to do the job, it’s up to the professional to be able to remedy the problem and not you.
Remember, small mice problems can often be handled by a homeowner, but when you pay a professional, it’s their job to fix the problem for you.
How Much Does a Mouse Exterminator Cost in the US?
The cost of extermination depends on the severity of the problem. If the problem is only a small-to-moderate issue, you can expect to spend $300 – $500. And for this price, you’ll receive the following service:
- Removal of all mice
- Filling of entry holes
In some cases, prices may be as cheap as $40 -$300, but don’t expect all of the extras to be included. For $40, traps will be placed, and that is likely the end of the service. The more you pay, the more you’ll get in most circumstances.
A good breakdown is:
- $90 – $250 for an inspection
- $200 – $1,000+ for removal
Again, most services range from $300 – $500, but the price can get much higher, depending on the size of the home and the problem.
Maintenance plans may also be required, which can cost $30 – $85 a month. Quarterly packages are typically available, too.
Home advisor has statistics provided by nearly 5,200 members on what the average cost paid for their extermination. The national average was $327, and the typical price a person paid was $169 – $495.
Low- and high-end costs can vary greatly depending on the extent of the infestation and the city.
Prices can range from as low as $85 to as much as $1,000.
After the initial inspection, you’ll be given an estimate of the costs that you have to pay. Prices can exceed $1,000 in some cases. You should receive a written estimate for the continued treatment of the mice.
You can kill all of the mice in your home, but you won’t be able to stop new mice from entering the home. The inspector will make suggestions on what repairs or methods of treatments to follow after the initial rodent removal.
An estimate should include the following:
- Points of entry and the sealing of these pointts
- Clean-up of all dead mice and rodents
- Costs for traps or repellents
- Costs and details pertaining to the repairs that need to be made
Decontamination may also be part of the estimate. You may have to pay between $200 and $2,000 depending on the extent of the work that needs to be performed.
You know how exterminators get rid of mice, but following these recommendations in the estimate will ensure that no new mice take up residence in the home.
How Much Does a Mouse Exterminator Cost in the UK?
Less information is provided on the cost to have a mouse exterminator come to your home in the United Kingdom. We do know that the industry is thriving, and there is a massive demand for exterminators.
Rodents are an issue worldwide, and the average exterminator in the UK will charge £95 to place four poison traps in the home.
But this is just placing traps.
Full extermination, removal and any extra work that needs to be performed will cost a lot more. Basic pest treatments can cost as little as £65, but many pest control companies will offer a one-year guarantee on mice and rat removal.
We’ve found one company that is willing to perform two treatments in 7 to 10 day intervals.
The company offers a one-year guarantee, and they will also seal up all visible mouse holes included in the price. The total price for this service is £249, but the price will obviously differ from one local to the next.
The pest control industry in the UK is rapidly growing, so you may see a wide range of prices based on the level of competition in a particular area.
How Much Does a Mouse Exterminator Cost in Canada?
The neighbor to the United States, rats and mice are popular in Canada, too. Prices in major provinces and big cities are often much higher than in smaller cities.If you want to make sure that you’re not being overcharged, you need to know the average mouse exterminator cost.
Prices vary widely with extensive extermination costing C$1,000+.
I have seen prices as low as C$59 for basic mouse extermination in Winnipeg. Survey data on the average price for pest control in Canada cannot be found. Since this is the case, the best that we come find is that prices can start for as little as C$59.
But what I do want to point out is that outside of the United States, you’ll find that pest control companies offer a complete service for the price estimated. Guarantees and even the filling of known entryways are often included.
This allows homeowners to have a much better idea of their overall costs.
What Goes Into the Cost of an Exterminator?
Extermination costs have a lot of different variables to consider. A lot of companies will offer a basic price, but this price will have restrictions in place. A few of the factors that go into the cost of extermination, include:
- Inspection. An inspection may be free, or the inspection may have an additional cost. This is common in the US, but in other countries, the inspection will be part of the package that is offered to you. The inspection is vital because it will locate all of the entryways for mice to get into the home. You can place as many traps as you like, but if you never stop entry into the home, more mice will come into the home.
- Removal. The exterminator will be responsible for terminating all of the rodents. Removal costs will include any traps or bait that is placed in the home to remove the infestation. This is an important part of the process, but it’s not the only part of the process.
- Repairs. All of the repairs will be put into an estimate to better understand how much you’ll pay to fix all holes inside of the home. Repairing or sealing the entryways is vital, or you’ll need to start with a new inspection and removal.
- Treatment. The final step is to treat the home to ensure that the mice do not return. This treatment may be performed every few months, and it will be an essential cost if you live in an area where mouse infestations are commonplace.
But you also have to consider the size of the dwelling. Let’s assume that one home is 1,000 sq. ft. and another home is 2,000 sq. ft., the latter will cost more due to the size of the dwelling. A larger property will demand more supplies and traps to kill the mice.
The extent of the infestation will be another deciding factor. We have seen large-scale infestations cost $10,000 or more. The difficulty of terminating all of the mice will be determined during the inspection process.
I highly recommend that you search for an exterminator that will offer a guarantee on their service so that if the infestation returns, you have some recourse. It’s important to read reviews and testimonials for each exterminator to find one that stands behind their service.