What Does a Food Safety Pest Control Program Cost?

It’s not just pest control. It’s food safety.

With a recent E. coli outbreak linked to raw cheese drawing attention, it’s interesting to consider recalls and their impact on a company. Based on a review of FDA recall notices, about 16 of roughly 50 food recalls reported so far in 2026 (as of April 27) have been linked to pathogens like Listeria, E. coli, Salmonella and more — which can all be spread by flies, cockroaches, rodents and other pests.

So, what does pest control cost?

That cost will, of course, depend on the size of a facility, the type of processing it does, the types of food it has and many other factors. Some sites may need more types of monitoring equipment than others. The facility’s location impacts cost as well. At larger facilities, many decision-makers may ask, "What does pest control cost?" The monthly cost to hire a company for routine pest control can seem like an awful lot of money to be spending. Even for smaller facilities, pest control services can certainly appear to cut into monthly profits.

If a pest (or pests!) becomes an issue, that can lead to the spread of pathogens and contamination — and then the dreaded recall.

A handful of major recalls over the last few years have made national headlines. The costs associated with those can add up.

First, there is the cost of the product that has to be discarded. Potentially contaminated units of that particular product (let’s call them chocolate widgets) can’t be sold. They need to be disposed of. That’s an easy direct cost to figure out. If one chocolate widget costs $1, and 100,000 were recalled, the loss is $100,000. There may also be the cost of shipping that product back from stores and additional disposal fees.

There are some more direct costs. Extra cleaning likely needs to happen. That’s mostly labor cost, with a little bit of product cost. During that cleaning time, the entire facility may be shut down or, at a minimum, certain product lines. If 100,000 chocolate widgets are typically produced in one day, that’s another $100,000 per day being lost. Extra testing has to be performed, and sometimes outside testing labs must be employed.

Yet another direct cost that a recall will incur is extra pest control. All those cockroaches and mice that have been happily feasting on chocolate widgets need to go. More frequent service visits will be necessary to mitigate the issue.

That’s not all. Consider other products that may be produced in the facility. Although those caramel widgets aren’t infested or infected, they could be produced in the same area as the chocolate widgets. Now there are “insanitary conditions,” and any product held is considered contaminated. All that product is now lost.

Even more direct costs can pile up with lawsuits and fines. A recall due to a warehouse infestation cost one company almost $42 million in federal fines. There may be state fines, too. A recent meat recall resulted in a $3 million class action decision against the food company. Add in all the lawyer fees and time dealing with these issues, and you have another direct cost. There is even the chance of jail time. A nut company executive was sentenced to 28 years in prison for his role in a massive recall.

Finally, there is a very high indirect cost when recalls occur. That cost is the consumer confidence in the product and the company in general. People don’t want to buy chocolate widgets anymore because they associate them with disease and potential harm. By extension, they don’t want caramel widgets because they know the same company made them. The local and national news pick up on the story, and now people who were even contemplating buying a chocolate widget are going to think twice.

Customers post on social media their stories of bad chocolate widgets. The widget company now has to produce campaigns explaining the situation and trying to convince people that chocolate widgets are safe again. If sales slump, stores may stop carrying chocolate widgets, causing a further decline and the possibility of the widget company closing.

Now, return to the original question: What does pest control cost? It’s a preventive program, which is always a bit of a harder sell. Compare that to the reactive cost of a recall, though. Consider this the next time a bid goes out for pest control services or the next time an executive questions the cost of the current program. It may not be worth it to hire the lowest bidder; the more expensive program may provide a higher level of service to keep your chocolate widgets safe — and the customers coming back for more.