How Much Does It Cost to Remove Mice From an Attic? (2024 Price Guide)
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Codee Chessher
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Mice may be cute up close, but they can be pernicious little pests. They are small and nimble, and that makes it easy for them to infest virtually any area of your home. They’re also great climbers, which is why attics are a hotspot for mouse infestations. If you need to rid your attic of some mice, it is crucial to know how much you can expect to pay. Let’s check out how much it costs to remove mice from an attic.
Why Do Mice Infest Attics?
Mice are attracted to food, water, and comfortable spaces they can nest. Attics are usually isolated from the inhabited areas of the house, so that makes them a great den for mice. A big bonus for the mice is if the homeowners store a lot of soft items, they can chew up to make nests.
Another big reason is the insulation, which they carve tunnels into to traverse your home in search of food. Most people don’t store food in their attic, but mice aren’t picky—they’ll eat just about anything as long as it’s technically edible. This means fibers, items made from organic material, paper, and much more. They’ll chew up any type of fiber to create a nest, so that puts your old clothes and valuable papers at risk.
How Much Does It Cost to Remove Mice From an Attic?
On average, you can expect to pay between $300–$500 to have mice removed from your attic. For heavy infestations or large attics, you may pay up to $800 or so. Services typically include an inspection, entryway sealing, the actual removal/extermination, and dead mouse removal (if necessary) in your price estimate and final bill.
You can save money per month by setting up an annual contract, where you pay a lump sum up front. The professionals will make a treatment plan and execute it on a monthly basis, or whatever frequency works best for you. Many people don’t need regular treatment for mice, but this can be very useful for, say, farms or other places where mice are a big problem.
Additional Costs to Anticipate
Unfortunately, it’s hard to give concrete estimates because there are so many variables that can affect how much you pay to rid your attic of mice. Some of these include size, location, clutter level, removal method, and more. Let’s delve into those a bit more below.
- Size. More square footage means more possible entry points, larger mice populations, and overall, more work for your pest control pros.
- Fumigation. If you have a very severe mouse problem, fumigation may be the only viable option. This includes tenting and fumigation, which will run you between $3,000 to $6,000, depending on how large your home is.
- Removal method. Basic snap traps are the most common and cheap method, costing about $250–$300. Live traps hover around $300, while glue, electric, and jaw traps cost between $300–$600.
- Severity. Depending on the number of mice, pest control companies may deem your infestation light, average, or severe. More mice and entryways mean more work, which naturally translates into more money. Companies have widely varying prices, so make sure to shop around.
- Clutter level. If you have a lot of clutter in your attic, pest control pros will need to clean the area in order to gauge and treat the area. This typically translates to an hourly labor fee in the range of $20–$60 per hour.
- Separate services. If you need to have dead mice removed from your home, want a standalone inspection, or other separate pest control services, you’ll pay a premium. Each service costs about $100, but it depends on the job.
How to Deter Mice After They’re Removed
Whether you opt for cheap snap traps, humane live traps, or expensive electric traps, keeping mice away afterward should be your top priority. Without proper precautions, you may find yourself with more mice in the attic weeks or months later. Let’s see how you can keep mice away once you’ve had them removed.
- Seal the exterior of your home. Mice can fit into very small cracks and even tunnel their way into homes, but sealing the foundation and outside of your home will prevent mice from ever entering your home.
- Keep food neatly sealed. Mice have an excellent sense of smell, and large amounts of unsealed food in your house can attract them.
- Get a cat. While not possible for everyone, having a cat in your house is a great way to deter mice. They’ll chase away mice and their urine will serve as a deterrent as well.
- Use smells they don’t like. Mice dislike certain strong odors, and strategically using them can keep mice from entering your home. These scents include cayenne pepper, ammonia, peppermint, and cloves.
Conclusion
Mice are a serious problem in any home, posing a threat to wires, insulation, food supplies, and various other parts of your house. Though you can have mice removed for as little as $300–$500, taking measures to deter them afterward is also essential to helping your home stay mouse-free.
Featured Image Credit: Pixabay
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