Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Tales of Bed Bug Woe
Exorbanant Costs of Extermination
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redwelts
newbite
Joined: Jan '09
Posts: 9
Posted 10 months ago
Fri Jan 23 2009 1:13:05
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My girlfriend is a Med student at the University of Vermont and she has the wonderful problem of bedbugs. She lives in a 2 bedroom condo with a couple who know about the problem, and we are petrified that they will soon start to have the bugs on the floor below. We think we got infested after visiting a friend of hers and spending the night on a futon. I was an itchy mess all night, but since I had eaten sushi that day I chalked it up to a reaction to less than fresh fish... I guess I was wrong. So now we have known about the bugs since around November and have tried many ways of 'managing' the bugs with some success. I've told her that this will just drive the bugs elsewhere, but she doesn't give them that much credit. She seems to not have any sort of reaction to the bites, but I on the other hand am extremely allergic to the bites, as my username denotes. Hence, I will no longer spend the night at her place, and when she comes to mine it's a serious preventative process of washing, drying and showering.
So, as any responsible person would, she got a quote from a local exterminator which cost her $50 just to get the person in the apartment. After the 'professional' looked around he said, "I don't think you have them too bad..." and then quoted her a price of $1000 to eradicate the bugs...$1000!!!!!!! She doesn't have them to bad and you still want to charge $1000?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?... What?!?!?!?!?!?!? She may be a med student, but she's not well off yet, and neither am I or her parents.
I can't imagine what on earth could cause the cost of getting rid of these bugs to be so high. I do understand that they are harder to get rid of than most pests, but for goodness sake... $1000. We have gotten different answers from different companies regarding why they are so expensive to get rid of. Reasons from, "we have to move and spray all your stuff" to "they are very resistant" to "we'll have to spray more than once". One company even quoted her a minimum price of $750/room! I could accept it if the chemicals were very expensive, but I know that's not the case. So, I'm starting to think that they know that they have you over a barrel, so they're going to squeeze every penny out of you. I guess I am looking for some sort of explanation as to why in heavens name they think they can charge so much for their 'service', and I want it from someone who isn't trying to pull the wool over my eyes. Any insight would be greatly appreciated...thanks. *scratch, scratch, scratch*
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spideyjg
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Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,405
Posted 10 months ago
Fri Jan 23 2009 1:36:50
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We paid about $600.00 for spraying a 2 bedroom apartment 3 times, about $400 for fumigation chamber trips.
All the follow up work I did with dusting and sealing the labor costs would have been obscene.
$1000 to "eradicate the bugs" isn't bad if they eradicate them.
Jim
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 5,547
Posted 10 months ago
Fri Jan 23 2009 1:44:59
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Are you SURE they did not come from neighbors (a common scenario)? If so, treating on your own will not eliminate the problem. It's not unheard of for neighbors to have them and have no idea since many people don't react to bites.
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nightmare
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Joined: Dec '08
Posts: 37
Posted 10 months ago
Fri Jan 23 2009 11:38:48
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I am in Maine, not so far away from Vermont. When looking for a PCO, i did many calls to the largest companies. The complete treatment price would vary between 800$ and 1200$ for our 2 bedrooms semi attached house, which i thought was prohibitive, even if my landlord offered to pay half of the costs. My LL called his insurance company, and was refered to a smaller company who supposely had great successes. They charged us 350 $ for two rooms and the living room with a garantee that they would come back as long as the bugs were not gone. We had two treatments, after the 1st one, no bite for 1 month but now they are back and we had a second treatment. The PCO came 2 days after we called, which is pretty good. They will probably will have to come back a third time, but well... I hope it will work! It seems like they know what they are doing, and they are friendly, but I would not recommend them until the bugs are gone.
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senior member
Joined: Mar '08
Posts: 596
Posted 10 months ago
Fri Jan 23 2009 12:32:09
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The short answer is you have no idea what it cost to run a business ….
And if you have a professional in and not a baseboard jockey.. You will pay for that service.
Only now are tenants starting to see the cost associated with pest control.
I could spend an hour at a private residence and make $3000.00 doing a termite treatment and not worry about getting the job done right. Trust me .. Most of the pest control industry would rather be doing things of old and not have to deal with the inside space of cluttered apartments, touching everything a person owns, dealing with tenants that don’t follow preparation lists, or dealing with call backs for failed treatments because of such an elusive and complex pest.
But again.. There is a long list of expenses of running a business that I don’t think you want me to get into.
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buggyinsocal
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Posted 10 months ago
Fri Jan 23 2009 13:12:57
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I can't speak to the specific costs in your part of the country, but I can tell you this.
Bed bugs, no matter what treatment approach you take, are a very labor intensive pest to get rid of.
Whether you're talking about tenting a building and using Vikane, bringing a crew and heaters in and using thermal, or the careful inspection and treatment that comes with using chemical pesticides, any treatment for bed bugs is much more labor intensive.
The property I live on, like most in So Cal, has a chronic problem with the Argentine ant, a non-native species. We have a company come out and spray the exteriors once a month. They probably aren't here for more than 30 minutes per visit, and it's a single PCO.
When I had thermal treatment, the crew of three PCOs arrived at 8 am and weren't done on the site until 4 pm or so. They first had to set up the duct work, fire up the heaters, monitor the temperature the whole time they were heating, then breakdown the equipment afterward. The chemical PCO wasn't here that whole time, but still--if you add up the labor costs alone for that amount of time, you begin to see how the costs add up.
With chemical treatment, you're talking about a minimum of two visits. The application of the chemicals, when done right, is a lot more labor intensive than it would be for treating something like roaches or ants. Remember, if you're treating those other pests, there's no need to say, flip mattresses over.
You're right. It's an awful lot of money. It's one of the things that those of us who've been through have been railing about for a long time now. Having been through an infestation, we know how expensive treating one is.
I'm sure, like any other industry, there are unscrupulous PCOs who will take advantage of sufferers. But having been through a treatment from start to end to six months bug free, I also understand better now why the costs are legitimately higher for bed bugs than for other pests. They are a very very difficult to eradicate pest. It sucks, but that's why we need a society-wide solution that combines more research and education across the board.
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What killer queen said.
The overhead in our business is insane.
Tony Canevaro -
redwelts
newbite
Joined: Jan '09
Posts: 9
Posted 10 months ago
Fri Jan 23 2009 18:30:09
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Thank you buggyinsocial for an answer that answered my question.
Kllerqueen, I do have an idea of what it costs to run a business thank you, just not necessarily a PC business. And since you offered, I'd definitely love to see a list of the expenses that go into a bedbug eradication. I'm sure it would ease my skepticism. I studied business in school and actually find such things interesting... yep I'm a geek. I was merely speaking about someone coming in and saying that it "didn't look too bad at all" and then giving a quote on the absolute high end of the 'ballpark estimate' that was discussed over the phone. On top of this, as I mentioned in the first post each company we talked to had a different reason for why it was so expensive. Something wasn't adding up and we both felt like we were being had, and it was very frustrating. Not to mention the fact that neither of us had that type of cash at our disposal.
When I was in school I ripped up carpet for a summer, and believe me I understand how nasty peoples 'residences' can be. And I know it's not fun to dive head first into them. I'm just very frustrated as many of the users on this forum evidently are. But, thank you for the answer with what I interpreted as an implied 'you dumbass' throughout. :-P
BTW I'm actually a very nice person as I'm sure you are. I understand there are some issues of frustration on your end... I'm just hoping that you can understand mine, as this is obviously my first encounter with the flat bugs from hell.
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redwelts
newbite
Joined: Jan '09
Posts: 9
Posted 10 months ago
Fri Jan 23 2009 19:14:53
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No nobugsonme, I'm not sure they didn't come form a neighbor. My girlfriend is hesitant to call her friend who we suspect was the source, because she doesn't want to sound accusatory. I'm not sure which scenario would be better. If she doesn't call and ask her soon, I'm going to haha.
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 5,547
Posted 10 months ago
Sat Jan 24 2009 3:53:38
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redwelts,
She may have had them and have no idea. Sadly, it happens all the time. But she needs to look into it for her sake.
About the costs: they can be high, and it is frustrating but as buggyinsocal clarifies, they are very tricky to get rid of.
There are pests which are easier to treat, but this is one of the toughest. (I am not in the PCO business, nor is buggyinsocal to my knowledge.)
Treatments which almost always work in one shot (done properly, etc.) are often more costly than those which require retreatment.
On the other hand, many lousy service providers charge the same or more as the better ones, and so price does not always correlate with results.
In some locations there are few options.
Even detection can be expensive and time consuming, for those who have not seen a bed bug and had the infestation confirmed.
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senior member
Joined: Mar '08
Posts: 596
Posted 10 months ago
Sat Jan 24 2009 9:17:57
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Sorry if my post came off offensive that was not my intentions.
It would take too long to go through the list of costs.
I’m just saying.. It’s not just the time and amount of chemical you see a tech using that interprets the cost. The short answer… dependent on size of company, each tech working has to make between $800.00 to $1,500.00 per day for a business to be profitable.
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BrooklynNurse
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Joined: Dec '08
Posts: 82
Posted 10 months ago
Sat Jan 24 2009 12:19:42
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Damn I paid about $5,000 to get rid of mine, and I only had a mild case cause I acquired them from a friend's house!!! Trust me when I say that you'll pay anything to get rid of them.
Do what you have to do to get rid of them don't let this situation get out of control. You don't want to be infested. -
buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,130
Posted 10 months ago
Sat Jan 24 2009 12:41:05
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Nope. Definitely not a PCO. Last experience I had with chemistry was in the 10th grade, which was a loooooong time ago, and sadly, I never took a physics class, both of which, I've learned while hanging out here, would be helpful if you were going to treat pests for a living.
My treatment ran about $850 for a thermal treatment for one apartment with a six month warranty.
That sounded like a hell of a lot of money at the time, but after I realized how much people spent on chemical treatment and the associated costs (to say nothing of the money I'd already shelled out for the steamer, the laundry, the ziplocks, etc., and the cost of my labor, if I'd been billing myself), it seemed a very cheap fix.
And after I saw first hand the labor involved and the length of time it took, to say nothing of the initial investment in the thermal equipment (Which, admittedly, many pest control firms out here has already put in)--dude, my apartment looked like that scene in E.T. where the scientists come in in haz mat suits and put giant ducts everywhere!--I didn't complain at all.
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eatingmealive
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Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 106
Posted 10 months ago
Sat Jan 24 2009 14:12:28
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Big ditto to what buggyinsocal said. Our thermal treatment was very expensive, but it was extraordinarily labor intensive and a long day for three PCO's to be out here. You also need to consider the cost of the energy to run the heaters.
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BugBoy911
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Joined: Jan '09
Posts: 185
Posted 10 months ago
Sun Jan 25 2009 3:07:30
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BakedBedBugs - 1 day ago »
What killer queen said.
The overhead in our business is insane.
Tony CanevaroAlthough I hear this over and over again yet I disagree. You have a large overhead when you start hireing more technicians, investing in more trucks, gas, chemical, insurances for each employee, office. LOL!! I guess if you wana go for all the headaches to try and make it rich, or you can stay small, develop a long lasting relationship with your customers and give them the service that only you can offer them while making a good living. Personally I hope all these large companies continue to try and pozzi scam the people of NY with these prices there askin. Then they send over joe shmo who sprays around looks around a little, you pay and leaves. Stay small keep your costs low and keep the quality of service over quantity.
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killthesebugs
newbite
Joined: Jan '09
Posts: 9
Posted 10 months ago
Sun Jan 25 2009 17:17:52
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to tell the truth at this point price doesnt matter as much as my sanity and my childs health if i could find someone to get rid of these bugs fast i would gladly hand them every penny i have!!!!!!!!!!!
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Adele
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Joined: May '08
Posts: 556
Posted 9 months ago
Sun Jan 25 2009 23:27:45
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Hi BugBoy911
WElcome
I think you meant to say Ponzi scheme when you wrote pozzi scam - but regardless it is something entirely different.
I know you are new to the forums and we welcome everyone here who wants to valuably contribute but I need to point out to you that KillerQueen has a very small part-time PCO bed bug business and he does all of his jobs himself
From what I've seen, I believe he runs it by the book and in doing so if he says that there is high-overhead - then I believe him
Just so you know I suffered a lengthy and horrible battle with these with bedbugs for nearly a year - unknowingly and unintentially infested 2 business offices, my car, 2 apartments and my father's nursing home.
I had vikane fumigation done unsucessfully on 3 separate occasions and dragged them with me when I moved (had them in 2 apartments). I had hair extensions that became infested and they were in most of my clothes and coats (all from a storage locker)
Until Killerqueen helped me to finally get rid of them - as far as I'm concerned that man is a godsend!! the Packtite unti and a steamer also helped and I must have thrown out an entire apartment of furniture in the battle
anyway - my point is that even small scale PCO company basically run by individuals are saying there is high overheard - then I beleive there is probably very high overhead to this business
I wish you the best of luck in your business
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spideyjg
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Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,405
Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jan 26 2009 0:17:01
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BugBoy911 - 21 hours ago »
BakedBedBugs - 1 day ago »
you can stay small, develop a long lasting relationship with your customers and give them the service that only you can offer them while making a good living.
Stay small keep your costs low and keep the quality of service over quantity.Welcome BB911. We have heard and some seen by example of KillerQueen what a specialist can do. Hopefully you have a similar approach and efficacy as he does. Lord knows the BB victims need expertise and not a baseboard jockey.
Many sufferers are in more remote areas and have to educate themselves to do proper follow up and rely on the expertise found here. Certainly folks would rather hire an expert but they are few and far between.
Jim
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parakeets
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Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 866
Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jan 26 2009 15:20:40
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What bothers me is that PCO's who come and just "spray the baseboards" often charge the exact same as PCO's who do a careful inspection. So there are PCO's out there who ARE ripping clients off about bedbugs. There should be more regulation in the industry. PCO's have to be certified for termites, why not make bedbugs a specialty? Why not have video documentation of what is done, and why not give guarantees? In my town PCOs won't even tell tenants in buildings that have bedbugs that it is bedbugs. Lying and deflecting should be illegal in the lic. pest control industry even if the landlords direct the PCOs to do it. I've lost faith in some people in the pest control industry, and I wish the good PCOs would drive the con artists and charlatans away.
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nightshirt
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Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 455
Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jan 26 2009 15:33:37
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getting the proper PCO is the first, tiny baby step in this long, long, tiring, lonely process. and the cost could be the cheapest part of the process. the laundry, product, vacuum bags, clothing baggies, etc. can really add up. i consider myself as having had a relatively minor infestation which lasted about 5 months and cost me well over $6,000. not kidding. and then forget the psychological cost. that one is priceless.
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Hi parakeets,
A few interesting and very valid points. If pushed on the subject my current thinking is that you are more likely to get high levels of standards and skills displays from an industry that is created rather than adapted.
Although not a popular concept in the pest industry for obvious reasons I put it out there as the ideal more because it is the easiest and smoothest to put in place. It takes time to shift an industry, time for people to be trained, time for standardisation to develop.
Saddly the problem is spreading and developing faster than the industry can.
I would say that on the fist day when those around me had said make a living only exterminating bed bugs you must be having a laugh I worried until the phone started to ring and emails came in. Now I still worry if the phones don't ring or the emails don't arrive. The stress is in fact greater now as I have more staff to get paid, rent to be covered, costs of development, costs of patents and am awful lot more that needs to be done before there is any food left for me to eat.
If you think this is a recipe to print money then go to the companies house website in the UK and request a copy of my accounts. They are all filed and up to date.
The best advice I can give anyone selecting a pest controller based on price is to ask what you get for your money and what steps are involved in the service. If they cant explain what is involved and know all the technical details of what needs to be done then take a note of the number and get back to them if they are no better or no worse than all the others you talk to.
I sometimes have to explain to people that if the infestation you have has been going on for months and months in order for it to spread to all of the rooms in the house waiting an extra day for the sake of getting someone who knows that they are doing to travel 200 or 300 miles to see you is not going to make that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.
I have personally found that the fairest way to charge is per room or in cases outside of my normal treatment by the hour for inspection and treatment but literally arrive and start work. If I stop for a coffee it is at the end of the treatment and only after I have inspected the seats in the kitchen (low probability location in most homes but when you deal in absolute certainty only self inspection is good enough).
Never like talking money though it's easier to explain it to people in terms of what we provide first and then what it costs later. I have published some tips on selecting pest control professionals in the newsletter section of my website.
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited
www.Bed-Bugs.co.uk -
paulaw0919
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Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 997
Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jan 26 2009 19:45:51
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Even with a small infestation, if it's not taken care of correctly and efficiently, you will end up spending much, much more. If what you have learned from the Faq's equals to a qualified PCO...then go with the $1000 to get it done correctly the first time around. Sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes you don't. But one thing is for sure, the infestation is frequently worse than a non-professional may think.
Some people don't react to bites for months...then bam.
Sorry, but when it comes to these things, $1000 can be a drop in the bucket. Due to not reacting, extent of our infestation, improper treatment follow ups, furniture and belongings gone, some sanity out he window....try $38k. No kidding.
Learn what you can from the Faq's and get the best qualified person for he job. Don't think about the $$ value if you can, but by the qualifications and answers you get from the professional you hire. -
your host
Joined: Mar '07
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jan 26 2009 19:57:12
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Sorry, scroll up to see David's post which I just rescued from spam.
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fed_up
newbite
Joined: Mar '09
Posts: 22
Posted 7 months ago
Wed Apr 15 2009 19:27:50
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Only $1000? You lucky devil.
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spideyjg
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Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,405
Posted 7 months ago
Wed Apr 15 2009 21:46:50
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Can you repost this another 7 freaking times!
*tosses spam flag*
The report post thing doesn't work.
Jim
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spideyjg - 3 hours ago »
Can you repost this another 7 freaking times!
*tosses spam flag*
The report post thing doesn't work.
JimHi Jim,
The report post thing most definitely works. Thanks again for clicking it!
It can be slow -- it does not automatically delete posts, unfortunately, a moderator has to come in and delete them. Without the REPORT THIS POST link being clicked, it might have been much longer, if I had decided to take the evening off from the blog, as I might have.
Unfortunately the spam filter did not work in this case, but that's another story.
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