Licensed pest control
Bed Bug Extermination Services
A bed bug exterminator kills the bugs and their eggs with heat, insecticide or both, and most homes pay $1,000 to $4,000 for the full job. One infested bedroom can cost as little as $300 to $650. The real catch is the eggs. Sprays don’t kill them, so chemical jobs need a second visit about two weeks later, while heat can finish in one long day. Tell us what you found and we’ll connect you with a licensed bed bug company near you for a free quote. You choose the method after seeing the price.
- Licensed & insured techs
- Free, no-pressure quotes
- Homes, apartments and businesses
What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?
Adult bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed, 3/16 to 1/4 inch long, with a flat, oval, rusty brown body and no wings. After a meal they swell up, turn redder and look longer. Young ones are pale yellow and so small that an unfed nymph is close to invisible on a white sheet.
Bat bugs and swallow bugs look almost the same, and telling them apart takes a magnifier and a trained eye. Carpet beetles and spider beetles get confused with bed bugs too, but they’re rounder and don’t bite.
Bed bugs hide close to where you sleep, mostly within 6 feet of the bed, in mattress seams, box springs, headboards and baseboard gaps. Catch one on tape and keep it for the tech.
Signs of Bed Bugs in Your Home
Dark Spots on the Mattress
Black dots like marker ink along seams, piping and the box spring corners. That’s digested blood, and it smears if you wipe it with a damp cloth.
Shed Skins and Tiny Eggs
Light brown, see-through husks left behind as nymphs grow, plus pearl-white eggs the size of a pinhead stuck in crevices.
Bites in Lines or Clusters
Itchy welts on arms, neck or legs, often in a row. Some people react within hours, others two weeks later, and some never show a mark.
Rusty Smears on Sheets
Small red or brown stains where a fed bug got crushed when you rolled over in the night.
Bed Bug Treatment Methods Compared
Bed bug companies use three main approaches, and the right one depends on the size of the problem and how much prep you can handle.
| Method | How It Works | What It Means for You |
|---|---|---|
| Heat treatment | Heaters push rooms to about 130°F to 140°F and hold it for hours, killing bugs and eggs | Often done in one day with no insecticide, but it costs more and heat-sensitive items have to come out. |
| Chemical treatment | Residual sprays, contact sprays and dusts go into cracks, seams and outlets | Cheaper up front, but it needs a follow-up visit about two weeks later to hit the eggs that hatched. |
| Heat plus residual | A heat treatment followed by a light insecticide or dust application in gaps | Kills what’s there now and leaves something behind for any stragglers. Many companies push this for bad cases. |
| Fumigation | The whole structure gets sealed and filled with gas | The priciest route at $4 to $8 per square foot. Get a written reason before you agree to it. |
How Bed Bug Extermination Works
Bed bug extermination has to reach every hiding spot, because a single pregnant female can restart the problem. UC IPM says a heat job needs to hold at least 140°F for two hours or 130°F for three hours, and pros use heaters and fans built for it. That kills eggs too, which is why heat often wraps up in a single visit.
Chemical work splits into rounds. Insecticides don’t kill eggs, and eggs take about two weeks to hatch, so Cornell’s IPM program says to plan on at least three weeks: prep, a first treatment, then a second one two weeks later. Some bed bug populations also resist pyrethroids, so pros mix product types.
What Happens on a Bed Bug Job
- Inspection
- The tech checks beds, couches, baseboards and outlets, and may use a trained dog for $300 to $600 extra to confirm hidden activity.
- Prep List
- You get written prep steps: bag and dry clothes and bedding on high heat, cut clutter, and pull items away from walls.
- Treatment
- Heat jobs take most of a day and you leave the house. Chemical visits are shorter, and you stay out until sprays dry.
- Follow-up
- Expect a return visit about two weeks after treatment, then keep checking bed legs and interceptors every week for months.
How Much Does a Bed Bug Exterminator Cost?
Bed bug treatment costs $1,000 to $4,000 for most homes, with $2,500 as a common middle point. The bill climbs with the number of rooms, the method and how long the bugs have had to spread. A caught-early bedroom stays near the low end, and a whole house with couch infestations goes well past it.
Prices come from Angi’s bed bug treatment cost guide. Ask every bed bug company if the follow-up visit is in the price, since a $75 to $225 add-on changes which quote is cheaper.
| Job | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Bed bug inspection | $75 to $200, or $300 to $600 with a dog |
| One bedroom | $300 to $650 |
| Three bedrooms | $1,050 to $1,450 |
| Heat treatment | $1 to $3 per square foot |
| Chemical treatment | $2 to $5 per square foot, plus $75 to $225 per follow-up |
| Whole home | $1,500 to $6,200 depending on size and severity |
Can You Get Rid of Bed Bugs Yourself?
DIY bed bug work helps, but it rarely finishes the job alone. Washing bedding and running clothes in the dryer on high heat kills bugs in fabric, and sealed mattress encasements trap any bugs inside, though they need to stay on for over a year. Foggers are a waste of money: the EPA says the spray doesn’t reach the cracks where bed bugs hide.
Call a licensed bed bug company once you find bugs in more than one room, in a couch, or still biting a month after your own cleanup. Bed bugs can live for over a year without a meal, so waiting them out in an empty room won’t work.
Bottom line: one bug off a hotel suitcase, wash, dry and watch. Bites every night or bugs in the furniture, get a pro.
How to Keep Bed Bugs Out of Your Home
- Check hotel mattress seams and headboards before you unpack, and keep luggage on the rack.
- Run travel clothes through a hot dryer cycle the day you get home.
- Skip curbside mattresses and couches, and inspect used furniture seams before it comes inside.
- Put sealed encasements on mattresses and box springs so bugs have fewer places to hide.
- Set interceptor cups under bed legs to catch bed bugs climbing up early.
Bed Bug Control in Your State
Bed bugs turn up in all 10 states we cover, and local rules on rentals vary. Pick yours for city pages and local pricing.
How It Works
Tell Us The Problem
Tell us where you found the bed bugs, how many rooms, and your ZIP.
Get Matched With A Local Pro
We send your details to a licensed bed bug exterminator who covers your area.
Book Your Treatment
The company quotes heat or chemical treatment and you pick a date.
Bed Bug Extermination FAQs
Still have a bed bug question? Send it through the form, a clear photo of the bug helps a lot.
Is heat or chemical treatment better for bed bugs?
Heat kills bugs and eggs in one visit and leaves no residue, but it costs $1 to $3 per square foot and needs heavy equipment.
Chemical treatment costs $2 to $5 per square foot and needs a second visit about two weeks later. For a bad infestation, many techs pair heat with a residual product.
How many visits does bed bug treatment take?
Heat jobs often finish in one day. Chemical jobs usually take two or three visits spaced about two weeks apart, because the first round can’t kill eggs.
Either way, plan on watching for bites and bugs for months after the last visit.
Do I have to leave my home during bed bug treatment?
Yes for heat. Everyone, pets included, stays out for most of the day while rooms stay at killing temperature.
Chemical visits are shorter. Most companies ask you to stay out until sprays dry, a few hours, and to keep kids and pets off treated areas until then.
Is my landlord responsible for bed bug treatment?
Often, yes. Several cities and states require landlords to provide pest-free housing, and some also require them to disclose a unit’s bed bug history.
Rules differ by city, so check with your local health department. Report bugs to your landlord in writing right away.
Do bed bugs spread disease?
No. UC IPM and Cornell both report that bed bugs have never been shown to spread disease to people.
The bites still itch and some people get big welts that last two weeks. Scratching can lead to skin infections, and losing sleep over bed bugs is a real cost.
Get a Free Bed Bug Treatment Quote
Send us the form with what you’ve seen and your ZIP. A licensed bed bug company nearby will price the job for free, and you don’t owe anything if you say no.
Along with bed bug work, the companies we match you with handle Roach Extermination, Flea & Tick Control and Rodent Removal, plus every other pest control service we list.