Costs
Cockroach exterminator cost 2026
A kitchen visit for cockroaches typically costs $150–$400. A German cockroach bait program is usually $150–$600, because they put gel in the cracks and come back. A whole-building or heavy job is $400–$1,200 or more.
If the specks are pepper in the cabinet tracks, you are shopping the program, not a $99 baseboard spray. Typical US ranges, not a bid.
Pepper specks in the cabinet tracks are a German job: gel in the cracks, monitors, a return date. One large adult by the water heater after rain is often a wanderer from the yard or a drain. Those are two invoices.
Confirm the specks on roach droppings. Run a written bid through the quote checker.
Two invoices
| Job | Typical US range | What you are buying |
|---|---|---|
| One kitchen or bath visit | $150–$400 | Someone looks, baits or treats the rooms you named, and leaves |
| German cockroach bait program | $150–$600 | Gel in the cracks, monitors, and at least one return visit |
| Building-wide or heavy infestation | $400–$1,200+ | More units or a whole house, more labor, more product |
A 900 sq ft apartment with Germans in every cabinet can cost more than a clean 2,000 sq ft house with one large roach by the water heater. Count rooms with specks, not the listing square footage.
Pepper specks vs the one by the water heater
NC State puts German cockroaches in the dishwasher, the fridge, and the cabinets. An adult is about 5/8 inch, with two dark stripes on the shield behind the head. It lives indoors. It rides in on cardboard. The female carries the egg case until it is ready to hatch, so a spray that kills what you see misses the next wave.
UF/IFAS puts the large ones people call palmetto bugs or water bugs at 1¼ to 2 inches. They wander in after rain or from a drain. Outdoor species often fail to set up indoors. Picking that one up and treating the sill can be the whole job.
| What you saw | Usual job | Typical US range |
|---|---|---|
| Pepper specks in cabinet tracks, small ones at night | German bait program with a return visit | $150–$600 |
| One large adult at the sill after rain | Short visit | $150–$400 |
| Specks in more than one unit, or a trash room next door | Building-wide or unit-plus-neighbors | $400–$1,200+ |
Store bait on the hinge if you can reach one cabinet. Germans in more than one room need the program. Indoor foggers scatter the insects and leave the cracks. A scented spray along the toe-kick smells like work. It does not reach the egg cases behind the dishwasher.
Ask which insect they think it is before you compare two numbers.
Gel in the crack, then a return date
Species, not “roaches.” Gel in the crack, not a fogger. Rooms with activity. A return window in weeks. Who pays if the small ones remain. The cheap special often charges the second trip again.
Ask whether they will move the fridge and the dishwasher, or treat around them. A kitchen where the fridge cannot be pulled is a guess. You can bait your unit and still get traffic from the one next door.
Germans still in the kitchen are a poor fit for a quarterly house plan. Short return first. Then you can drop to a plan.
Log dates and rooms in the sighting log so the next person is not working from a story. Photograph the hinge gap before you scrub it. Contact for a referral path.