What Affects the Cost of Rodent Control in Pittsburgh

Nobody can give you an honest number without seeing the house. We don't set prices. The company that comes out does, usually after a look around. What we can tell you is what makes one job bigger than another, so the quote makes sense when you get it.

It mostly comes down to five things: rats or mice, how old the house is, how much sealing it needs, how many visits it takes, and whether cleanup is part of it.

Rats cost differently than mice

Mouse jobs are mostly trapping inside and sealing a lot of small gaps. That's the work on the mouse page. Rat jobs usually add locked stations outside, burrow treatment and a look at drains and sewer lines. A rat problem tied to a broken sewer lateral can mean a plumber on top of the exterminator, which is common with sewer and yard rats.

How long it's gone on matters too. A mouse or two caught early is a smaller job than a family that's been in the walls for three winters. Longer problems mean more to trap, more nesting and usually more gaps, because rodents chew and widen openings as they go. Calling early is one of the few things you control.

A 1910 stone foundation versus poured concrete

This one's big in Pittsburgh. A newer house on a poured foundation with tight siding doesn't have many gaps. A 1910 house on rubble stone, with a coal chute, a basement toilet and a porch over open dirt, has a lot more to check and close. Exclusion is often the biggest piece of the bill. Mortar on a stone wall takes longer than a door sweep. Roofline work needs a tall ladder and more time. The proofing page explains the materials.

Row houses on the South Side Flats add shared walls. The big places in Squirrel Hill add a lot of roofline and attic. Access counts too: a house up a long run of city steps, a crawl space with a tight opening, or a third-floor attic without a pull-down ladder all take longer. Steep lots on Mount Washington can mean extra work under decks and along exposed foundations.

• Stone or block foundation versus poured concrete
• How many utility lines come through the walls
• Attached garages, enclosed porches and back additions
• Shared walls in row houses and twins
• Hillside lots with exposed foundation walls

Follow-ups and cleanup

Rodent jobs are rarely one visit. The tech comes back to check traps and stations and confirm the activity has stopped. Some companies price by the visit, some price a package. Restaurants and landlords usually go on a recurring plan, which is covered on the commercial page.

If they've been in the attic or crawl space a long time, cleanup can be part of it. Droppings, nests and soiled insulation coming out is separate work, priced on how big the area is and how much has to go.

Keeping the bill smaller

You can't change the age of your house. You can call before the mice settle in for the winter. Clear stuff off the basement walls so the tech can work fast. Fix the leaks that keep the basement damp. Between visits, lids on the trash, pet food and seed in metal cans, bird feeder down for a while. Less food usually means fewer rodents, and fewer rodents usually means fewer visits.

When you get the quote, ask these:

• What's included, and what's extra?
• How many follow-up visits are part of it?
• What are you sealing with?
• Is there a warranty on the sealing?
• What should I be doing between visits?

See also: Rodent Proofing, Rat Control, Mouse Control