Service: Mostly Separate, More Involved

More than three quarters (79 percent) of pest control companies provided flea control as a separate service, found the 2022 PCT State of the Flea Control Market survey. Only 13 percent included flea control in general pest control service, and 8 percent provided it as part of a bundled service targeting other yard pests, such as mosquitoes and ticks.

At Bug Out Pest Solutions, flea control is a separate charge because of the time required to do the service and the cost of materials needed to perform an outdoor treatment. In southwest Arkansas, the average size of a yard is one acre. “This is rural America,” explained Trey Howard, who discounts the price of flea service for existing quarterly service customers.

The average price charged for a residential flea control job was $233. Successful control usually required two or more flea treatments, said PMPs in follow-up interviews.

“Flea treatments are costly because you need to do the two treatments. There’s normally going to be some kind of callback or retreatment in there that you’re going to have to cover yourself for. They’re a little more difficult to kill than ants or some other kind of pest. You have to be really on top of it and really thorough,” said Greg Schoch, Anytime Pest Elimination.

Solving a flea problem also may incur the cost of other services. “There are several different service types that you end up engaging just to solve the main complaint,” explained Chad Highley, Environmental Pest Control. For instance, if wildlife or rodents are causing the problem, additional costs may be incurred for trapping, removal and exclusion, which in his market can add $400 to $600 to the job, he said.

According to the PCT survey, a typical residential flea job took 1.1 hours on average to complete, and 75 percent of pest control company locations guaranteed their flea control service.

PMPs said they encouraged customers with recurring flea problems to sign up for quarterly pest control service. “It’s going to be cheaper for them, and we can control more than fleas at that point,” said Trent Johnson, Ja-Roy Pest Control.