How Much Does a Flea Exterminator Cost? Flea Removal Avg Price (Factors)

How much does a flea exterminator cost?

If you’re asking yourself that question, likely you’re dealing with pesky pests that seem to be invincible.

Fortunately, they’re not, but the price of flea exterminator can vary based on a number of factors, including how severe the problem has become.

This guide explains how much does a flea exterminator cost, and what you can expect to pay for getting rid of fleas by outlining the considerations that will impact the cost.

How Much Does a Flea Exterminator Cost? (Flea Removal Average Prices)

There are three main criteria that influence how much it will cost to hire a flea exterminator: the kind of treatment required, the location or locations of the fleas, and the sheer severity of the infestation.

A professional ESA-accredited exterminator no matter which state they are in, will evaluate your circumstances to have an idea of which approach is best to make your home bug-free again, and then explain what your pest control price options are.

The chart below outlines some of the most common:

These average prices are based on individual rooms of a certain size. It stands to reason that for some of the treatments, a tiny cupboard is going to cost a lot less than an enormous living room.

This is one of the reasons why when homeowners want to know how much does a flea exterminator cost, they soon discover that there are a lot of variables that can affect the quote.

The price for eliminating fleas from a kitchen for example on average in states across the U.S. is in the region of $175, while for a bedroom the statewide average cost is about $150.

To exterminate fleas in the entire house can be as high as $1,056 with complete fumigation, but that, too, can vary with the level of infestation and the methods employed. A typical property owner could expect to pay anywhere from $100 for a minor infestation or up to $550 extra for a major problem.

Fortunately, flea infestations are not typically spread throughout the entire house but sometimes just a couple of rooms. In those cases, the expense may be reduced since the treatment will be more focused, concentrated, and easier to accomplish.

The price may end up being anything from $75 to $400, but you should expect to pay an average price in most states of about $270.

Occasionally, follow-up treatments are necessary and for that service, there may be an extra fee of $75-$200 for each session.

Flea Treatment for Houses

The best course of action to stop these pests from bugging your pets is to maintain their health and cleanliness and pre-treat them with preventative flea products.

Prescription and over-the-counter options are readily available and can be administered on a monthly or quarterly basis.

There are flea shampoos that you can use on your pets, to clean where they sleep or rest, to clean the carpets and your upholstered furniture in your home, both places where fleas like to snuggle into.

These measures minimize the risk of any infestation in your home, but your pets are typically the cause of fleas in your home as they tend to roam regularly in unfamiliar places.⁷

Whatever the source of the infestation, once they are in your home, what treatments are available to you to solve the problem yourself?

• Vacuuming

Vacuuming is a simple yet effective method of elimination. To start, take everything off the floor and put away pet supplies, including food and water bowls.

Sprinkle some baking soda into all the surfaces you wish to clean and rub it in thoroughly, then vacuum everywhere deeply, including the pet’s bedding, carpets, and your sofa.

Multiple insect eggs, larvae, and pupae may be gotten rid of by simply vacuuming and it helps pesticides reach the growing fleas at the base of the carpet fibers by elevating the nap.

Afterward, put the vacuum bag in a trash bag and take it outside to the trash to prevent the bugs from crawling out and returning to their hiding places.

• Salt, Baking Soda, or Lemon Spray

Salt is as effective as baking soda and as is spraying with a lemon solution before vacuuming and either will make it easier to eliminate the fleas from your house.

• Homemade Rosemary Spray

A simple repellant that fleas hate is rosemary. A homemade concoction can be made by boiling rosemary and letting it cool overnight. Pour into a spray bottle and spritz on all the surfaces where you suspect the fleas may be hiding.

They won’t like the pungent odor and will quickly find somewhere else to be.

• Steam Cleaning

Some homeowners swear by steam cleaners as a quick method of elimination thanks to the heat, which the fleas don’t like, and the soap, which the fleas will hate.

There are many products that you can purchase from home stores that prevent the development of flea eggs and larvae and that will kill the biting adults quickly and safely.

Aerosols that do not affect greenhouse gas emissions in America or elsewhere are preferred over liquids because of how much easier they are to utilize around the home.

All of these OTC treatment methods are worth trying and work to varying degrees of success depending on the level of infestation.

But if they don’t sufficiently eradicate the fleas completely from your premises, or if they keep returning on the sly, then it may be time to call in a pest control company.³

Flea Removal for Pets: How Much Does a Flea Exterminator Cost?

Before bundling your pet into a blanket and rushing off to the vet, there are a couple of remedies you can try at home that may quickly give them some relief.

A good wash in warm, soapy water will wash the bugs out of their fur, but won’t keep them out. As soon as they get back to their usual lounging area, there’ll be a gang of fleas waiting to leap back on board again.⁵

(Image: Lance Hartung¹²)

Some pet owners swear by rosemary dip where they boil enough of it with water, wait for it to cool down, and playfully dip their pet repeatedly. Dogs will love the fun game, cats probably not so much.

Pet stores have flea collars that you can try, flea sprays and powders, aromatherapy and neem oil sprays as well as products to take orally.

Their level of effectiveness and the speed at which they work will vary and may or may not give your pet permanent or immediate relief.

If you want to be sure, then your best bet is to grab your checkbook, bundle your pet in a blanket, and head down to the vet.

After a brief inspection, a veterinarian will be able to advise you on the best course of therapy for your pet for immediate and permanent relief. The treatment would have to coincide with the exterminator clearing them out of your house so your pets will be able to return to a sterile environment.

In addition, veterinarians often have a good idea of which products are doing well in your local area for the specific outbreak of fleas that frequently return at the same time every year.

The most common flea treatments are oral, topical, or ornamental such as collars which are used to repel fleas from adhering to your pet in the first place. Other topical or oral medications are designed to eradicate the fleas that are hiding in your pet’s fur either quickly or slowly.

Some of them take 24 hours to work while others, because of the risk of Lyme disease being transferred from the flea to your pet, work within 30 minutes.

Chewable alternatives of oral pills are available that are effective after a few hours of ingestion, while the benefit of topical solutions is that they work much faster by spreading flea-fighting liquid throughout the pet’s skin. They are the most common forms of today’s effective flea medicines, are easy to apply, and provide virtually instant relief to your pet.

When deciding which product is best for your pet, a collar, oral or topical treatments, consistency should be a guiding factor. Treatment for fleas is not a one-off pill or a single session but a monthly regime that your pet has to become accustomed to keeping those blood-sucking fleas at bay.

From a financial standpoint, in regards to how much is pest control for your cat or dog, you can expect to pay from $20 up to $150 for six months’ worth of medications to keep your pets flea-free. Fortunately, as long as your pets continue to be treated, the infestation will be eradicated and continue to be eradicated if any future pests try to re-infect your pets.⁴

Eradication may take several weeks in the case of serious infestations, but that can be accelerated if your home is treated at the same time.

At the end of the day, the optimal preventive course of action for you and your pets will be guided by advice from your veterinarian so that you can treat your cat or dog consistently without worrying about any side effects.

When To Call Exterminator for Fleas

There may come a time when, even after you’ve tried all the home remedies that you can find, you have to look into some flea fumigation costs from an expert.

Part of the problem may arise from how many fleas are actually in your house that you cannot reach and the rate at which the female can lay eggs.

The problem is that female fleas can lay as many as 5,000 eggs throughout their short 30 to 90-day lifespan, and they can do that in all four corners of your house. That’s a lot of eggs for just one flea.

The odds of you being able to capture, kill, or eliminate every single one of them is slim unless you manage to get to the female on day zero before any eggs have hatched.

If you notice even the slightest sign that they are still roaming around freely after all your efforts, don’t wait. The infestation will only get worse, so don’t be concerned about how much does a flea exterminator cost and make that call.

Flea Infestations

It’s always a mystery to owners how their pets get fleas.

You have kept the cat or dog clean yet they have somehow managed to attract fleas that are making their lives, and yours, a misery. So, how did it happen?

The best way to explain it is the way humans catch a cold. By inadvertently coming into contact with someone who is carrying the cold virus.

The same method of infection occurs with cats and dogs as they like to investigate and crawl through and beneath shrubs in the yard or rest in nice warm and humid places in the shade.

Unfortunately, these places are also where fleas and their larva like to call home. They are opportunists and as soon as they sense the presence of a host, they quickly hop on board and make themselves comfortable, and your pet’s life miserable.

About 325 of the world’s 2,500 flea species can be found across the entire United States;⁶ the majority of them infect cats, dogs, pigs, horses, and cows, and a small percentage of just 6% infect birds.

Looking up tiny house bugs pictures and names can help you identify some of them.

The most common species is the Cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, which plagues cats but, surprisingly, is also the most common one in the U.S. that infects dogs.

Ctenocephalides canis is the flea species generally associated with dogs but it is not as widespread in the United States. They are pretty much indistinguishable from each other unless you have a microscope to spot the difference, but they are both just as irritating.

Both species are barely 1/8 of an inch in length with an oval shape and change from a translucent, sickly white color to a reddish brown color as they reach maturity. They lack wings and have such a low profile that they can easily pass through your pet’s fur or feathers at will, undetected.

If you suspect that either your dog or cat is infected, it’s better to isolate one from the other or it’s just a matter of time before the fleas, which have the ability to leap great distances of around 200 times their own body length, are tempted to jump onto another of your pets if it gets too close.

Signs of Infestations

But how can you tell if your pet has fleas or is just scratching an itch?

Excessive scratching is the obvious first symptom, especially if your pet doesn’t scratch that often or that intensely or for such a long duration of time.

Your pet may even appear slightly distressed if this situation continues for longer than is normal.

(Image: Center for Disease Control and Prevention¹⁰)

If you suspect that fleas may be present, there are a few telltale signs that you can look for.

• If you notice your pet biting or trying to bite at a hard-to-reach area in irritation it could mean that it’s trying to remove something from its skin that its paws can’t reach. Instinctively, fleas latch onto areas that a pet cannot easily reach to dislodge them in an effort to stay latched on to their hosts.⁸
• Unnatural patches of hair loss, not shedding that your pet may do regularly, is a reaction that some animals go through.
• Although not easily discernible, the saliva from flea bites causes allergic reactions that leave behind tiny welts, bumps, and red rashes.
• Your pet may have fleas or flea droppings visible in its fur and the easiest way to confirm this is by combing through their fur. If black flecks fall out and they turn red when you add a drop of water, then you know that you’re looking at flea feces mixed with your pet’s blood.
• Fleas will also reside in the soft carpeting in your home. Walk around for a few minutes with long white socks on, to prevent being bitten yourself if you disturb them, and then inspect the soles for black specks or live fleas.
• Bites on your arms, if you cuddle your pets a lot or bite around your ankles, can also be a clear indication that there are fleas strolling casually around your floor space.
• If your animal’s gums are pale it could also mean that they are becoming slightly anemic from loss of blood. This stage is a little more serious and means something has to be done sooner rather than later.

Before looking into how much does a flea exterminator cost that may set you back a few bucks, there are a few steps you can take yourself to resolve the problem with your own pest control for fleas.

How To Choose a Flea Exterminator

Just because you have an urgent pest problem in your home doesn’t mean that you should rush to contract the very first company you find or the one with the cheapest exterminator prices.

(Image: ASCOM Prefeitura de Votuporanga¹¹)

There are a number of steps you can take to ensure you get the company that’s right for you.

References

Word of mouth is always one of the most reliable forms of finding professional services. Your friends and relatives are unlikely to recommend someone or a company who they have had a bad service from.

Previous Projects

Failing that, you can ask the prospective company for previous homes they have treated and contact the owners to verify the quality of their work and their success rate.

Qualifications and Experiences

Proper accredited qualifications from recognized organizations like the ESA (Entomological Society of America) or a relevant pest control certification for your state can demonstrate the company’s professionalism and dedication to their industry,² especially if they keep abreast of the most recent techniques.

How long they have been in operation is also a clear indication that they know what they are doing, and this should be taken into account when picking your pest control agent.

Customer Service

This segment of what the company provides is important. Clearing a house from any form of flea infestation can take repeated visits so you need to have confidence that you’ll see your exterminator as many times as needed until the job gets done.

A qualified exterminator will also ensure that your home is free and clear of fleas on a permanent visit even if regular check-ups are required.

The good news is that once all the fleas are killed off, you won’t have to wonder how much does a flea exterminator cost ever again.

Frequently Asked Questions About How Much Does a Flea Exterminator Cost