How Much Does It Cost To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs

Waking up to red itchy bumps on your legs, arms, and torso? Be alert – it could be a case of bed bug infestation. Sounds scary? Well, bed bugs are one of the toughest infestations to spot. By the time you figure out that your home is infested with bed bugs, you already have a large bedbug population troubling on a regular basis. The only solution under such a situation is hiring a professional exterminator to thoroughly inspect your home and treat it.

San Diego has been inundated by bed bugs in the last few years giving rise to the number of professional exterminators. On your hunt for the best pest control in San Diego, do make sure to know their services and charges before hiring one.

How Much Does It Cost To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs

What are bed bugs? Know your enemy better

Bed bugs are a pest reddish-brown in color, sized roughly 4 to 5 mm in length and typically congregated in groups. The bugs can’t be spotted with naked eyes, as they can easily fit on the edges of a credit card! They are small, brown, oval-shaped and are often confused with other insects such as cockroach nymphs, booklice and carpet beetles.

They are nocturnal pests and generally tend to bite before dawn, not necessarily though.

Bed bugs are attracted by the warmth of the body and the presence of carbon dioxide. They bite by piercing the skin of its host with two hollow tubes. With one tube it injects anticoagulants and anesthetics. The other tube is used to withdraw blood. The victim does not feel the bite until some time later when the injected agents start reacting.

Bed bug infestations, when low, are difficult to detect. Only when it goes out of control, we start looking for professional help in San Diego.

Why do you need to hire a professional?

Bed bugs can’t be eradicated easily. When troubled by a bed bug infestation, all you want is to throw them out fast and for good. It is not easy for you to do it on your own without the assistance of professionals.

And how much does it cost to bring back your peaceful sleep?

Typical pest control in San Diego charges the final price of a bed bug exterminator project in a few hundred dollars. A survey done in 2021 shows the average cost that homeowners paid to the best pest control in San Diego ranged between $91.00 and $900.00.

Generally, a bed bug exterminator in San Diego includes the following charges in the final rate:

  • Average labor costs.
  • Average costs for materials and equipment.
  • All project costs (surface preparation, components and machinery), and cleanup fees.

The charges do not include:

  • Any permits required for the project.
  • Inspection and/or building fees.
  • Materials and supply sales taxes.
  • Any general contractor fees, if used for the project. Such fees generally add around $50-$70 to the total.

How Is The Charge Determined?

Professional bed bug exterminators typically charge by the room, total square foot, or a flat fee. There can be a separate follow-up visit fee for a few exterminators. Others include all follow-up visits in the initial cost as part of a package treatment plan.

Bed bug treatment costs vary with the number of infested rooms. If the infestation is confined to only one room, the treatment cost will be less than if there are multiple rooms that need to be treated. An infestation of your entire house will be the most expensive.

Some of the other factors that affect the treatment cost include inspection rates, bed bug treatment types, the number of follow-up visits required, and the severity of the infestation. There are some exterminators who offer visual bed bug inspections, and then there are others that offer a thorough inspection that includes dog sniffing inspections. The charges are anyway higher for the latter for obvious reasons. Well-trained dogs can detect bed bugs with 95% accuracy, even if the infestation is mild.

Below is a rough sketch of how much the best bed bug exterminators in San Diego charge room-wise. Please note that these rates are per visit.

  • 1 Bedroom: $300 to $900
  • 2-3 Bedrooms: $500 to $1200
  • 3-4 Bedrooms or Whole House: $1000 t0 $2000

Types Of Infestations

1. For Light or Medium Infestation

The best pest control in San Diego inspects every room in your home, looking into all cracks, crevices, window sills, baseboards, shelves and dresser drawers to treat with chemicals. All infested mattresses, box springs, bed frames, couches, chairs and carpets are also treated to control bed bugs. Technicians also drill and treat the walls or cracks in your apartment.

2. Heavy Infestation

Don’t panic if your bed bug infestation has gone out of control. The bed bug exterminators in San Diego totally eliminates bed bugs through structural fumigation. The technicians fumigate your home for bed bugs and immediately after fumigation, a chemical barrier is applied to ensure that the bed bugs do not re-enter the house. The technicians treat every crack, crevices, window sills, baseboards, shelves, and dresser drawers to make your entire home bed bugs free. In case of heavy infestation, the service providers normally suggest monthly treatment to ensure your home is safe from bed bugs.

The Different Treatment And Their Cost Ranges

1. Heat Treatment

Heat Treatment is a chemical-free process in which hot air is pumped into the infested space to raise the temperature to over 120 degrees. Bed bugs can’t survive in extreme heat and that’s why this method is highly effective in killing them. Heat treatment kills bed bugs at every stage of life but it does not prevent reinfestation. Exterminators generally use their generators to avoid running up your electricity bill.

2. Fumigation

Fumigation is effective in killing bed bugs and other critters (such as termites) in the house though it can’t prevent reinfestation. It can reach bed bugs hiding in cracks and crevices.

3. Chemicals and Pesticides

This treatment involves spraying bed bug-killing chemicals and pesticides throughout your home. This method involves another treatment method combined as a third method for bed bug treatment. Bed bugs have some resistance to pesticides, so it can prevent reinfestation to some extent.

4. Steam Removal

During a steam removal treatment, exterminators use hot steam that is over 200 degrees to kill bed bugs on contact. It effectively reaches cracks and crevices and does not involve chemicals to treat. For that reason, it can be used on soft materials like mattresses and delicate furniture. However, it can cause moisture damage. Steam removal can’t stop reinfestation.

5. Freeze Treatment

Freeze treatment converts liquid carbon dioxide to a dry-ice “snow” that’s then pumped into the infested area to kill the bed bugs. This method is a great alternative to steam vapor because it does not cause any moisture damage. Freeze treatment does not involve chemical treatment and is safe for surfaces that cannot tolerate high heat but may not penetrate soft surfaces as effectively as other treatments. However, the treatment method does not ensure reinfestation.

Here is the approximate price chart of the different treatment procedures to eradicate bed bugs, as charged by some of the best pest control in San Diego.

  • Heat Treatment: $2,000 to $4,000 ($1 to $3 per square foot)
  • Fumigation: $4,500 to $50,000 ($4 to $8 per square foot)
  • Chemicals and Pesticides: $180 to $500 per room
  • Steam Removal: $250 to $1,000 per room
  • Freeze Treatment: $500 per room

While looking for the best pest control in San Diego, make sure to keep in mind the types of treatment they provide, and the charges they take according to the treatments done. It is better to discuss the pricing before the hiring process to avoid any last-minute confusion later.

If you are looking for a reliable bed bug exterminator in San Diego, you can get in touch with Tree Doctor USA. They are into offering classic solutions to maintain tree and plant health. They also offer pest control services in San Diego and several other places across the USA. Visit them on https://www.treedoctorusa.com to learn more about them.

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