It is the first question almost everyone asks, and it is the one most pest control websites avoid answering.

We are going to avoid it slightly less. There is no single number we can honestly print — but there is a very clear list of things a technician is pricing when they walk your property, and once you know that list you can judge any quote you are given, ours or anyone else's.

Why nobody can quote you over the phone

A 1,200 square foot home on a small central Phoenix lot and a house backing onto open desert in Cave Creek are not the same job. Same square footage inside, completely different work outside.

The second property has more block wall, more landscape rock, more desert frontage pushing scorpions and rodents toward the house, and probably irrigation feeding the insect population that draws them. Treating it properly takes more time and more material.

Any company that gives you a firm price before seeing the property is either quoting a stripped-down service, or building enough padding into the number to cover the worst case. Neither is good for you.

The five things that actually set the price

1. The size of the property

Our 4D Barrier programme treats four zones: the fence line, the yard between the fence and the house, the home perimeter, and the interior. Three of those four scale with the size of the lot, not the size of the house. A big yard costs more to treat than a small one even if the houses are identical.

2. Which pest you have

General pest control, termite treatment, rodent exclusion and bird exclusion are genuinely different jobs.

Rodent work involves sealing entry points, which is labour. Bird exclusion involves physically closing off roosting spots — usually at height. Termite treatment involves establishing a treated zone the colony cannot cross. These are quoted separately after an inspection, because the scope varies enormously between properties.

3. How bad it already is

There is a real difference between preventive quarterly service and clearing an established infestation. An active problem needs a heavier initial visit to knock the population down before the property settles onto a maintenance schedule.

This is the single biggest reason to call early. A property on a maintenance schedule is cheaper to keep clear than a property that has been left alone for two years.

4. One-off versus recurring

Recurring service is generally cheaper per visit. It is priced for an ongoing relationship and keeps a treated barrier live year-round, so each visit is doing less work than a cold start.

One-off treatment costs more per visit and, in the Valley, tends not to hold. Scorpions and ants do not respect a treatment that stopped six months ago.

5. What the property is actually like

Block walls, heavy granite landscaping, mature vegetation, flood irrigation, a wash running behind the fence — all of it changes how much harbourage there is to treat. This is why two houses on the same street can quote differently, and it is a legitimate reason rather than a sales tactic.

Questions worth asking any company

Before you compare two numbers, make sure they are numbers for the same work:

  • What exactly are you treating? Perimeter only, or fence line, yard, perimeter and interior?
  • Is the interior included, and how often? With a properly treated exterior, the inside needs far less attention. Ours is typically semi-annual or annual after the initial visit.
  • What happens if pests come back between visits? Ask whether a return visit is included.
  • Is there a guarantee, and what does it actually cover? Ours is a 100% money-back guarantee.
  • Are you licensed, insured and bonded? In Arizona this is not optional, and it is reasonable to ask.
  • Is the inspection free? It should be.

What is free, wherever you go

At First Inspection the consultation, the inspection and the quote all cost nothing, and there is no obligation to book. A technician walks the property, tells you what it actually needs, and gives you a real number before any work starts.

That is the honest version of this article: we cannot tell you what your property costs from here, but we can tell you for free, and quickly.

Getting a real number

If you want an actual figure for your actual property, request a free quote or call (480) 778-1480. We have been doing this across the Valley for over 15 years, from Mesa and Chandler to Surprise and Gold Canyon.

There is more detail on what drives pricing — and what is included in a standard treatment — on our pest control cost page.