In this article: Roach Exterminator Cost | Cost Factors | DIY vs. Professional Roach Removal | The Bottom Line | Frequently Asked Questions | Methodology

Roaches can damage your furniture and packaged goods, spread disease and cause allergic reactions. Unfortunately, simple cleaning is usually not enough to get rid of them. Roaches enter your home in search of food and shelter; your home’s cleanliness often has nothing to do with a cockroach infestation.

To help you find an exterminator, we’ve researched and ranked them best pest control companies in the United States. This guide covers average cockroach extermination costs, plus each provider’s cockroach treatment plans and prices.

Roach Exterminator Cost

The average cost for a cockroach is $113 to $411.* A single treatment usually costs $196. However, homeowners can pay more than $1,000 to treat a severe infestation.

You may be able to save money by enrolling in a pest treatment plan. Many pest control companies offer monthly or bi-monthly additional treatment options for cockroaches. For example, signing up for an annual treatment plan might cost you as little as $75 a month.

*This figure is based on averages from several 2021 reports.

Factors Affecting Roach Exterminator Cost

Here are some of the key factors that affect the cost of exterminating cockroaches.

Cost per House Size

The size of your home determines some of the extermination prices. Namely, the more square footage an exterminator treats, the more they will charge. Below are rough estimates for cockroach extermination costs based on square footage.

• 1,000 square feet: $100-$150
• 2,000 square feet: $250-$350
• 2,500 square feet: $350-$500
• 3,000 square feet: $500–$650
• 3,500+ square feet: $650-$800

Costs by infestation level

The severity of the infestation also affects the total cost of cockroach treatment. If you only have a few cockroaches, you’ll probably have to pay for a simple, one-time treatment. You will need a more extensive treatment plan with multiple visits if cockroaches are infesting your home.

• Small: $100-$200
• Medium: $150-$300
• Big: $250-$400
• Serious: $450+

Cost per treatment

Your exterminator will determine the type of treatment you need based on your specific infestation. Below is a breakdown of different cockroach treatments and their average cost per square foot.

• Fumigation ($1,000–$3,000 per square foot): Fumigation, sometimes called tents, is typically used for severe infestations. It uses chemical gases to fill your entire house. The downside is that you cannot return home until all the gas is gone. You may have to stay away for up to 60 hours, depending on you level of contamination.
• Gel Bait ($100–$600 per square foot): This treatment involves putting poisonous bait around your house that will bring cockroaches back to their nest, where other cockroaches eat it and die.
• Glue trap ($100–$600 per square foot): Glue traps get rid of cockroaches without harmful chemicals. Instead, cockroaches stick to the traps and die. Unfortunately, this treatment often requires a second round to work effectively.
• Roach dust ($100-$600 per square foot): Boric acid can be placed throughout your home to eliminate cockroaches as they crawl through and ingest it.
• Spray ($40–$100 per square foot): A pest control technician can spray insecticide around your home’s interior and exterior entry points to quickly eliminate cockroaches. This treatment is ideal for minor infestations, but can harm children and pets.

DIY vs. Professional Roach Removal

Some do-it-yourself (DIY) methods can effectively remove cockroaches. However, there are times when a professional exterminator is best.

DIY Roach Removal

You can buy cockroach bait stations or liquid gel bait at most home improvement stores for $10 to $20. Another affordable DIY treatment is a chemical spray, which kills cockroaches on contact and costs $5 to $15.

DIY cockroach treatment is suitable for a few cockroaches, but a more extensive infestation is difficult to eliminate on your own. Large infestations also require the elimination of cockroach nests, which many DIY products cannot do.

Professional Roach Removal

Hiring a professional pest control company is best for most cockroach infestations. You can expect the following benefits from this service:

• Whole house inspection
• Customized treatment plan
• Safe handling of chemicals and pesticides
• Easy point of contact
• Follow-up visits for additional treatments, as needed

The Bottom Line: Do You Need Professional Roach Extermination?

Professional cockroach extermination is often the best route. This ensures that you will find all the points of infestation and receive a customized treatment plan that addresses your home’s layout and needs. Even if you only see a few cockroaches, this is often a sign of many more.

Below are some top pest control services with cockroach treatment options.

Orkin

• Price: $550-$860 annually
• State availability: 47 (excludes Alaska, South Dakota and Wyoming)

Orkin has over a century of pest inspection experience and an award-winning certification program. All Orkin technicians are trained at a 30,000-square-foot facility in Georgia, which includes a full-size model home to practice German and American cockroach treatments and other pest services. In addition, Orkin Pros receive over 160 hours of training in their first year to ensure the quality of service.

Get a quote: Fill out Orkin’s online form or call 877-868-1416.

Terminix

• Price: $455-$750 per year
• State availability: 45 (excludes Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Vermont)

Terminix has 95 years of experience in the pest control business and a widespread network of licensed pest experts. A Terminix technician will visit your home to perform a thorough pest and cockroach inspection. They will then draw up a treatment plan and provide an estimate. Terminix can add cockroach treatment, including German cockroaches, to any of its annual pest control plans.

Get a quote: Fill out Terminix’s online form or call 866-569-4035.

Methodology: Our system for ranking the best pest control companies

The Home Media Review Team strives to provide objective reviews by compiling relevant information and rating pest control companies on factors that matter most to consumers.

To guide our recommendations, we created a rating system on a 100-point scale based on the following factors. We then divided the points earned for each provider’s final score on a 5-point scale.

• Plan options (35 points): We awarded full marks to companies if they offered general pest control, termite treatment, bed bug removal and mosquito treatment.
• Customer service (25 points): We awarded full marks to companies that offered 24/7 customer support and provided multiple forms of communication such as online and telephone quotes and online chat options. We gave less points to companies with limited service hours and communication channels.
• Guarantees (10 points): Pest control companies that provide satisfaction and money-back guarantees to their customers received more points than companies that did not offer guarantees, as this indicates a high level of concern for customer experience.
• Better Business Bureau (BBB) ​​rating (5 points): BBB ratings are based on publicly available information that the BBB obtains from a company and the number of complaints received from the public. We gave more points to companies with high BBB ratings than companies with low BBB ratings.
• Years in business (5 points): Established companies with decades of experience received points for their expertise and widespread government availability.
• Prizes (20 points): We awarded higher points to companies whose general plans fell below $50 per month, based on our secret shopping process for homes across the country. In addition, we awarded points to suppliers with flexible payment options, such as monthly, quarterly or annual payments. Companies also received credit for discounted initial treatments, as these first visits can often be more expensive than subsequent treatments.

After researching each provider’s website, we spoke with representatives from each company to gain more insight into coverage, treatments and pricing. To get a sense of customer satisfaction, we read hundreds of third-party customer reviews across multiple sites to determine the most common concerns, benefits, and additional feedback. We also surveyed 1,000 consumers who have hired pest control companies to better understand their experiences and the services most important to them.

Through our mystery shopping process, we collected cost information for different treatment types and payment options, mimicking a real customer experience. Finally, we considered the company’s money-back and reserve guarantees for reliability.