Nobody wants to share their home with unwanted furry guests. Mice can carry diseases, damage your property, and multiply faster than you can imagine. If you’ve spotted droppings, heard scratching sounds in the walls, or actually seen a mouse scurrying across your floor, you’re probably wondering how much it’s going to cost to get rid of them.
The good news? Professional mice extermination is more affordable than most people think. The bad news? Costs can vary quite a bit depending on your situation. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about mice extermination costs so you can budget properly and make smart decisions about protecting your home.
The Average Cost of Professional Mice Extermination
Let’s start with the numbers everyone wants to know. Most homeowners pay between $150 and $600 for professional mice extermination, with the average falling around $300 to $400. The mouse exterminator cost can be as low as $130 for a very small problem or climb above $800 if you’re dealing with a serious infestation.
In big cities like New York, you can expect to pay $150 to $250 for a one-time treatment. Meanwhile, some pest control companies charge between $500 and $1,200 per year for ongoing protection that includes mice prevention.
Here’s what typically affects where you fall in that price range:
Small infestations (just a few mice): Usually $150 to $300. These are quick to handle with basic trapping and sealing a few entry points.
Medium infestations (a family of mice or small colony): Expect $300 to $500. You’ll need more traps, multiple visits, and more extensive sealing work.
Large infestations (major colony in walls or attic): Can reach $600 to $1,200 or more. These require intensive treatment, extensive exclusion work, and potentially damage repairs.
What does your money buy? Most professional services include an initial inspection, trap placement, removal of dead mice, sealing entry points, and at least one follow-up visit to make sure the problem is solved.
DIY Mice Removal Costs vs Professional Services
Thinking about tackling the problem yourself to save some cash? Let’s look at what that actually costs.
Basic snap traps run about $1.50 to $3.00 each, and you’ll probably need at least six to ten traps for even a small infestation. Electronic traps that zap mice instantly cost $30 to $75 each. If you want to try poison, bait stations will set you back $7 to $35 per station.
So for a DIY approach, you’re looking at spending around $50 to $150 on supplies. Sounds cheaper than hiring a pro, right?
Here’s the catch: DIY methods often don’t address the full problem and could lead to mice coming back. You might catch the mice you can see, but miss the entry points they’re using. Or worse, you might not find all the mice nesting in your walls or attic.
The cost of a mouse exterminator includes knowledge about where mice hide, how they get in, and how to prevent them from returning. Professionals know the common entry points that homeowners miss, like tiny gaps around pipes, loose siding, and foundation cracks mice can squeeze through.
When DIY makes sense:
- You’ve only seen one or two mice
- The mice are in easy-to-reach areas like your kitchen or garage
- You’re confident you can find and seal all entry points
- You’re comfortable handling dead mice
When to call a professional:
- You’re seeing mice daily or finding lots of droppings
- You hear scratching in walls or ceilings
- You’ve tried DIY traps but mice keep coming back
- You have young kids or pets and worry about trap safety
- The infestation is in hard-to-reach spaces
Most people who try the DIY route first end up calling a professional anyway after a few frustrating weeks. Starting with a pro can actually save money in the long run.
Factors That Affect Extermination Costs
Why does your neighbor pay $200 while your quote is $500? Several factors can push the cost of a mouse exterminator up or down.
Inspection Fees
Most exterminators charge $75 to $125 for an initial inspection, though many companies waive this fee if you hire them for the full service. The inspector looks for entry points, checks for nesting sites, and figures out how serious your problem is.
How Bad Is It?
The severity of your infestation makes a huge difference. A couple of mice in your garage? Quick fix. An entire colony living in your walls? That’s a whole different story requiring more time, materials, and follow-up visits.
Where Are They Hiding?
Mice in hard-to-reach spots like inside walls, vents, or crawl spaces cost more to remove than mice in accessible areas. Your exterminator might need special equipment to reach attic spaces or need to create small access points in walls to set traps.
Removing mice from an attic is usually cheaper because it’s easy to access. Getting them out of wall voids or under foundation slabs? Much trickier and more expensive.
Your Home’s Size and Age
Older and bigger homes have more potential entry points, which means more extensive sealing work. A 1,200 square foot bungalow is simpler to mouse-proof than a 3,000 square foot two-story house with multiple roof lines and lots of nooks and crannies.
Older homes often have gaps in the foundation, loose siding, and spaces around old pipes that mice love. Newer homes usually have fewer problems, but they’re not immune.
Where You Live
Rural areas might charge more for travel time, while urban areas often have higher prices due to increased demand and higher cost of living. The local mouse population matters too. Areas with lots of mice have more exterminators competing for business, which can drive prices down.
Property Type
Houses typically cost the most because mice can spread throughout the entire structure. Apartments are usually cheaper since the space is smaller. Commercial properties like restaurants or warehouses might pay premium prices because of health code requirements and business disruption concerns.
Emergency Service
Need someone right now because you have guests coming or you just found a mouse in your baby’s room? Emergency, weekend, or after-hours service adds $100 to $200 to your bill.
Cost by Extermination Method
Not all mice removal methods cost the same. Here’s what you can expect for each approach.
Snap Traps
Professional setup with traditional snap traps runs $150 to $475. These are the classic wooden or plastic traps with a metal bar. They kill instantly when triggered and are still one of the most effective methods. Your exterminator places them in strategic locations based on mouse activity patterns.
Pros: Affordable, effective, no poison risk for pets Cons: Need to be checked and reset, can catch fingers if you’re not careful
Electronic Traps
Electric traps that kill mice with a quick shock cost up to $700 to install for an average job. These enclosed boxes deliver a lethal electric charge when a mouse enters. They’re more humane than snap traps because death is nearly instant.
Pros: Quick kill, enclosed design is safer for kids and pets, can be reused Cons: Higher upfront cost, need batteries or power source
Poison Bait Stations
Professional poison bait station installation and monitoring costs $300 to $550. The exterminator places tamper-resistant boxes containing poison in areas mice frequent. Mice eat the poison and die within a few days.
Pros: Good for reaching mice in tight spaces, can eliminate whole colonies Cons: Poisoned mice die slowly and wander around, so finding dead mice for disposal can be difficult, not safe for homes with curious pets or small children
Live Traps (Humane Removal)
Live trapping costs $50 to $80 per mouse for professional services including sealing entry points. A minor job using live traps averages $300 to $600. These cage traps catch mice alive so they can be relocated far from your home.
Pros: Humane option, no dead mice in your house Cons: More expensive, requires daily checking, some areas legally require lethal extermination for mice inside homes
Fumigation (Last Resort)
Fumigation costs $1.00 to $2.50 per square foot. For a typical 2,000 square foot home, that’s $2,000 to $5,000. This involves sealing your entire house and filling it with toxic gas that kills all mice.
Pros: Extremely effective for severe infestations Cons: Very expensive, you must leave your home for several days, only used in extreme cases
Most mouse exterminator cost estimates are based on traps or bait stations. Fumigation is rarely necessary unless you have an absolutely massive infestation that other methods can’t touch.
Rodent Exclusion and Prevention Costs
Getting rid of the mice you have is only half the battle. Keeping new ones from moving in is just as important. That’s where rodent exclusion comes in.
Permanent mouse exclusion for an average home costs around $400 to $500. More extensive exclusion work ranges from $190 to $570 or more for larger homes with lots of entry points.
What is exclusion exactly? It’s sealing up every possible way mice can get into your house. Mice can squeeze through openings as small as a dime, so this requires careful inspection and detailed work.
Common exclusion tasks include:
- Sealing foundation cracks with concrete or caulk
- Stuffing gaps around pipes with steel wool (mice can’t chew through it)
- Installing door sweeps on exterior doors
- Screening over attic vents and roof openings
- Repairing loose siding or damaged soffit
- Installing specialized rodent-exclusion doors that cost $200 to $400 each
Here’s why exclusion matters: Over five years, you could spend $2,700 on repeated extermination visits at $50 per month. Compare that to spending $500 once for proper exclusion work, and the math is clear. Sealing your home properly saves money over time.
Think of it this way. If you don’t seal up entry points, you’re just creating a revolving door for mice. You kill the ones inside, new ones move in through the same holes, and you’re calling the exterminator again in three months.
Quality exclusion work means your home stays mouse-free long term. You won’t need monthly treatments or constant worry about mice returning.
Recurring Service Plans and Annual Contracts
Many pest control companies prefer to set up ongoing service plans rather than one-time visits. These can actually save money if you live in an area prone to mice problems.
Quarterly Plans
Quarterly pest control plans typically cost $500 to $600 per year and often include rodent protection. The exterminator visits four times per year to inspect for activity, refresh bait stations, and make sure entry points stay sealed. Many plans include treatment for other pests like ants and spiders too.
Monthly Plans
Monthly inspection visits cost $40 to $70 each. These make sense if you’ve had a severe infestation or if you live somewhere with heavy mouse populations. The frequent checkups catch any new activity before it becomes a big problem.
Annual Plans
Annual visits range from $250 to $450. This works well for homes that don’t have ongoing issues but want preventive inspection and treatment once a year. It’s basically an insurance policy against future infestations.
One-Time Treatments
Single service visits cost $150 to $350 and include inspection, treatment, and follow-up. Good for isolated problems, but you’re on your own if mice come back.
The math on service plans is pretty simple. If you sign up for an ongoing plan, recurring treatments cost around $75 per visit, which is much cheaper than paying full price for individual service calls.
Plus, most plans come with guarantees. If mice show up between scheduled visits, the company comes back for free. That peace of mind is worth something.
Should you get a plan? If you live in:
- An older home with lots of entry points
- A rural area near fields or woods
- A neighborhood where lots of people have mouse problems
- An area with harsh winters that drive mice indoors
Then a recurring plan probably makes sense. The cost of a mouse exterminator visit adds up quickly if you need them several times a year.
Additional Cleanup and Sanitization Costs
Mice are gross. They leave behind droppings, urine, and nesting materials that can make you sick. Just getting rid of the mice isn’t enough if they’ve been living in your attic or walls for a while.
Professional rodent cleanup services cost $600 to $1,000. Some companies charge hourly, at $200 to $260 per hour for removing droppings and applying disinfectant.
Why is cleanup so expensive? It’s actually hazardous work. Mouse droppings can carry hantavirus, which can be deadly if you breathe in particles from disturbed droppings. Professional cleanup crews wear protective gear, use special vacuums with HEPA filters, and apply hospital-grade disinfectants.
Basic deep cleaning services after a mice infestation cost $200 to $400 if you hire a regular cleaning company instead of specialized hazmat services.
What cleanup includes:
- Removing all visible droppings and nesting material
- Vacuuming contaminated areas with special equipment
- Disinfecting surfaces where mice traveled
- Deodorizing to eliminate the musky mouse smell
- Removing contaminated insulation in severe cases
The mouse urine smell is particularly hard to get rid of. It’s not just unpleasant. That scent actually attracts more mice. Male mice mark their territory with urine, and other mice can smell it from far away. Proper sanitization breaks that cycle.
You might be tempted to clean up yourself to save money. For a minor infestation, that’s probably fine if you wear a mask and gloves and follow CDC guidelines. But for major infestations, especially in enclosed spaces like attics, professional cleanup is worth the cost for safety reasons.
Insulation Replacement Costs After Severe Infestations
This is where costs can really add up if you’ve had mice living in your attic or walls for months or years.
Attic insulation replacement typically costs $1.50 to $5.00 per square foot, including disinfection, removal, and new pest-resistant insulation. That covers vacuuming out the old insulation, disinfecting the space, and blowing in new treated insulation that mice don’t like to nest in.
For a typical attic, you’re looking at serious money. An 850 square foot attic with complete removal and replacement using treated cellulose insulation can cost around $18,000. That seems shockingly high, but it includes extensive work.
Why would you need to replace insulation? Mice shred insulation to make nests, they urinate and defecate throughout it, and they create tunnels that reduce its effectiveness. The contamination creates health hazards, and the damage means your home doesn’t stay warm or cool efficiently.
Signs you need insulation replacement:
- Strong smell in the attic that won’t go away
- Visible tunnels or compressed areas in insulation
- Heavy contamination with droppings throughout
- Insulation that’s wet from urine
- Significant loss of heating or cooling efficiency
The good news? Pest-resistant borate-treated cellulose insulation helps prevent rodents from nesting in the material. So you’re not just cleaning up the old problem but preventing new ones.
Some insurance policies might cover insulation replacement if mice damaged electrical wiring and created a fire hazard. It’s worth checking with your insurance company, though most standard homeowners policies don’t cover general pest damage.
Before you panic about five-figure insulation bills, remember this only applies to severe, long-term infestations. If you catch the problem early and get professional help quickly, you probably won’t need this level of work.
Repair Costs for Mice Related Damage
Mice don’t just gross you out. They can seriously damage your home, and those repairs cost money.
Electrical Wiring Damage
Mice love to chew on electrical wires. They do it to keep their constantly growing teeth worn down, and unfortunately, your home’s wiring is perfect for that. Chewed wiring is a major fire hazard.
Electrician costs to repair chewed wires vary widely depending on where the damage is. Easily accessible wires in an attic might be $200 to $500 to fix. Wiring inside walls requiring drywall removal and replacement can run $1,000 to $3,000 or more.
Drywall and Wall Repairs
Dead mouse removal from inside walls costs extra due to drywall repair and odor control. Finding and removing a dead mouse from a wall cavity typically costs $200 to $400, including cutting a small access hole and patching it afterward.
If mice have created large holes or done extensive damage, you’re looking at bigger repair bills. Drywall repair runs about $50 to $100 per hole for small fixes, but major damage can cost $500 to $1,500 for a room.
Food Contamination
This one’s hard to calculate, but it’s real. If mice have gotten into your pantry, you might need to throw out hundreds of dollars worth of food. Anything in cardboard boxes, paper bags, or thin plastic is at risk. Rice, cereal, pasta, flour, pet food… it all needs to go if mice have been there.
HVAC System Contamination
If mice nest in your ductwork or near your furnace, they can contaminate your whole HVAC system. Duct cleaning runs $300 to $500, and you might need new filters and sanitization.
Hidden Long-Term Costs
The longer you wait to deal with a mouse problem, the more expensive it gets. That $300 extermination bill in month one becomes:
- $300 extermination
- $500 insulation damage
- $800 electrical repairs
- $300 food and items thrown out
- $400 drywall repairs
- = $2,300 total
Suddenly that professional mouse exterminator cost at the first sign of mice seems like a bargain, right?
Regional Price Variations Across the United States
Where you live makes a surprisingly big difference in what you’ll pay.
In Atlanta, mice exterminator services average around $765, while Pittsburgh homeowners pay an average of $192. That’s nearly four times more for the same service, just in a different city.
Why such big differences?
Urban vs Rural
Rural areas may charge more for travel time to reach your property. If the nearest pest control company is 30 miles away, you’re paying for that drive time.
Cities often have higher prices due to increased demand and higher cost of living. Everything costs more in expensive metro areas, from gas to insurance to employee wages. Those costs get passed to customers.
Competition
Areas with lots of pest control companies tend to have better prices because businesses compete for customers. Small towns with only one or two exterminators might charge whatever they want.
Local Mouse Populations
Places where mice are extremely common (near farmland, in older neighborhoods, areas with cold winters) tend to have more competitive pricing because exterminators stay busy year round. Areas where mice are rare might charge premium prices for specialized knowledge.
State Regulations
Some states have stricter licensing requirements or regulations about pest control methods. Those compliance costs can push prices higher in certain states.
To get a sense of pricing in your area, call three local companies for quotes. You’ll quickly see what the going rate is. Don’t automatically pick the cheapest option, though. Sometimes paying a bit more gets you better service, stronger guarantees, and more thorough work.
Signs You Need Professional Extermination and Should Not Wait
Ignoring a mouse problem doesn’t make it go away. It makes it more expensive. Here’s when you absolutely need to call a professional right away.
You’re Seeing Droppings Daily
Mouse droppings look like dark brown grains of rice. Finding a few in your garage is one thing. Finding fresh ones every single day in your kitchen means you have an active, growing population. Time to make that call.
You Hear Scratching or Running in Walls
Mice are most active at night. If you’re hearing scratching, scurrying, or squeaking sounds in your walls or ceiling after dark, mice are living in there. They’re not going to leave on their own.
You’ve Caught Several Mice but More Keep Appearing
Caught three mice in traps but still seeing more? That means you have a breeding colony, not just a few random visitors. Mice reproduce rapidly, and one pair can become a major infestation in just weeks.
You Smell a Strong Musky Odor
Mouse urine has a distinctive ammonia-like smell. If you can smell it, the infestation is substantial. That odor won’t go away until the mice are gone and the area is cleaned.
You See Gnaw Marks
Mice chew constantly. Check for tiny teeth marks on food packages, baseboards, furniture, and even electrical cords. If you’re finding damage, mice are actively living in your space.
You’ve Found a Nest
Mouse nests look like balls of shredded paper, fabric, or insulation. Finding one means mice feel comfortable enough in your home to set up housekeeping and have babies.
Why Waiting Costs More Money
Every week you delay, the problem gets worse:
- Week 1: 2 mice
- Week 4: 8 mice (one litter)
- Week 8: 20+ mice (multiple litters)
- Week 12: 50+ mice (full infestation)
A $200 problem in week one becomes an $800 problem by week twelve. Early intervention always costs less than dealing with a major infestation.
Plus, the health risks increase over time. More mice means more droppings, more contamination, and more chance of disease transmission. For homes with kids, elderly family members, or people with respiratory issues, this isn’t just about money. It’s about safety.
How to Save Money on Mice Extermination
Nobody wants to overpay for pest control. Here are smart ways to keep the cost of a mouse exterminator reasonable without cutting corners.
Get Multiple Quotes
Call at least three companies for estimates. Prices can vary by hundreds of dollars for the exact same service. Most companies do free inspections and quotes, so this costs you nothing but time.
When comparing quotes, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. Does the price include follow-up visits? Exclusion work? A guarantee? The cheapest quote might not be the best value if it doesn’t include important services.
Choose Seasonal Timing
Mice typically invade homes in fall when temperatures drop. Pest control companies get busiest in October and November. If you can address the problem in spring or summer, you might get better rates when demand is lower.
Bundle Services
Many pest control companies provide general pest control that covers mice plus ants, spiders, roaches, and other common pests. Getting a comprehensive plan might cost less than paying separately for mouse-specific service.
Do Some Prep Work Yourself
You can save money by doing the easy parts yourself:
- Clean up clutter where mice can hide
- Move stored items away from walls for easy access
- Seal obvious gaps around doors with weatherstripping
- Remove outdoor food sources like birdseed
This won’t eliminate the mice, but it makes the exterminator’s job faster and easier, which can reduce labor costs.
Prevent Future Problems
The absolute best way to save money is to never need an exterminator again. After professional service:
- Keep a clean kitchen with no food left out
- Store pantry items in sealed glass or plastic containers
- Take out garbage regularly
- Fix any water leaks (mice need water)
- Trim trees and bushes away from your house
- Stack firewood away from the foundation
- Inspect for new gaps or holes regularly
Prevention is way cheaper than treatment.
Look for Guarantees
Companies that guarantee their work will come back for free if mice return within a certain timeframe. This basically gives you insurance against recurring problems. It might cost slightly more upfront but saves money if you need additional service.
Check Your Insurance
Most homeowners insurance doesn’t cover pest control, but it’s worth checking. If mice damaged electrical wiring and created a fire hazard, that might be covered under your policy. Same with major structural damage.
Don’t Wait
The biggest money-saver? Calling at the first sign of mice. A small problem is always cheaper to fix than a large one.
