Ask three companies to quote the same problem and you can get three noticeably different numbers. That is not necessarily anyone being dishonest — it usually means they are quoting different work. Understanding what drives the price makes quotes comparable, which is the only way to judge whether one is good.
We are deliberately not publishing a price list here. Rates vary by company, by neighbourhood, by property and over time, and a number on a web page is a poor substitute for a quote on your actual house. What is useful is knowing what the quote is made of.
The factors that genuinely move the price
1. Which pest
This is the biggest single factor by a wide margin. General pest work — ants, roaches, spiders — sits at one end. Termite treatment and rodent exclusion sit far higher, because both involve substantially more labour and materials. Bed bug work is also considerably more involved than general pest control, because treatment has to be thorough to succeed at all.
2. One treatment or an ongoing plan
A single treatment and a quarterly agreement are different products. Single treatments cost less up front and address what is there now. Ongoing plans cost more across a year but include repeat visits and usually re-treatment if something returns between visits. Comparing the up-front number of one against the other is the most common mistake people make.
3. Property size and construction
Linear footage of the foundation is what drives termite pricing, not square footage of living space, because treatment follows the perimeter. For rodent exclusion, the number of stories, the complexity of the roofline and how accessible the attic is matter more than floor area.
4. Severity and how long it has been going on
An established population takes more work than an early one. This is the part homeowners have the most control over — problems get more expensive the longer they run, and that is true across every pest type.
5. Access
A tight crawlspace, a low attic, a slab with no access point, dense landscaping against the foundation, or a second storey all add labour. Clearing access before the visit can genuinely reduce what you are quoted.
6. What is included afterwards
Warranty and re-treatment terms are a real part of the price. A termite treatment with a renewable warranty and annual inspection is a different product from one without, and it should cost more.
Check for an existing termite warranty before you do anything else. Termite treatments are commonly sold with renewable warranties that transfer or persist for years. If the previous owner had the house treated and the warranty is live, the original company may be obliged to re-treat at no cost. People pay for work they were already entitled to more often than you would expect.
How to compare quotes properly
Ask each company for the same six things, and the numbers become comparable:
- What exactly is being treated, and by what method
- How many visits are included, and over what period
- Whether it is a one-off or an agreement, and the cancellation terms
- What the re-treatment policy is if the problem returns
- Whether any warranty is included, and for how long
- What is explicitly not included
That last one is worth asking directly. Exclusion work, for example, is sometimes quoted separately from rodent trapping — and exclusion is the part that actually stops it recurring.
Where paying more is usually justified
Rodent exclusion. Trapping is cheap and temporary. Sealing entry points is the expensive part and the only part that produces a permanent result. A quote that includes proper exclusion should be higher than one that does not, and it is usually the better value.
Termite work done to specification. A full soil treatment or a monitored bait system is labour-intensive, and doing it partially tends to mean doing it again.
Thorough bed bug treatment. Partial treatment reliably fails, and failure means paying twice.
Where to be careful
Be wary of a quote given without an inspection, a price that drops sharply when you hesitate, or an annual agreement presented as the only option for a problem that could be handled once. Also be careful comparing an up-front single-treatment price against the first payment of an ongoing plan — they are not the same thing.
Get an actual number
The only quote that means anything is one for your property. A free inspection costs nothing and produces a real figure rather than a range. Going in with documentation — what you have seen, where, and for how long — tends to produce a more accurate quote, because the technician is diagnosing from evidence rather than guessing.
Our free PestCheck tool produces that documentation in about two minutes.
Document it before you call anyone
Two minutes, no signup. You get a Pest Evidence Report with photos, a timeline and the details a professional actually needs — yours to keep either way.
Start free PestCheck