Bed Bug Heat Treatment Bid Calculator — Price Per Job and Per Square Foot

1. The unit

Floor area to heat (sq ft)

Ceiling height (feet)

Clutter

Sq ft one of your heaters covers

2. Time

Prep for a light unit (hours)

Heat-up for a light 8 ft unit (hours)

Hold at lethal temperature (hours, your protocol)

Pack-out (hours)

Driving (crew hours)

3. Costs and margin

People on the crew

Labour ($/hour per person)

Fuel or power ($ per heater hour)

Heater wear ($ per heater hour)

Sensors, bags, tape ($ per job)

Follow-up inspection cost ($)

Callbacks that need a retreat (% of jobs)

Cost of one retreat ($)

Margin wanted (% of the price)

Minimum charge ($)

4. Compare with chemical (optional)

Visits in a chemical programme

Price per chemical visit ($)

Enter the unit and your costs, or load the example, then click Price this job.

Result

The same job at each clutter level

Clutter	Hours on site	Cost	Price	Per sq ft

The price as callbacks change

Callbacks	Cost	Price

The arithmetic, and what it leaves out

Heaters are floor area, scaled up for ceilings taller than 8 feet, divided by the square feet one heater covers, rounded up.
Heat-up time is your light-unit figure times a clutter factor (1.0, 1.3 or 1.7) and the ceiling height over 8 feet; prep is times 1, 1.6 or 2.4. Hold and pack-out are the hours you type.
Labour is crew hours (including the drive) times people times the rate. Fuel and heater wear are per heater for every heated hour. The warranty is the callback rate times the cost of a retreat.
Price is cost divided by one minus your margin, never below your minimum charge.
Not modelled: sales tax, licences and insurance, pre-inspection or canine inspection, encasements, travel beyond the drive time, and the temperature and time your protocol and manufacturer require. Follow your own protocol for how to treat; this only prices it.

Common questions

How do I price a bed bug heat treatment?

Add the prep, the heat-up through the clutter, the hold at lethal temperature and the pack-out, times the crew and their hourly rate, then fuel and heater wear for every heater for every heated hour, consumables, a follow-up inspection and the expected cost of warranty retreats, and divide by one minus your margin. This tool does that and shows the price per square foot.

How many heaters does a bed bug heat treatment need?

It depends on the heater output, the insulation and the ceiling height, so the tool takes the square feet one of your heaters covers as an input and scales it for ceilings taller than 8 feet. Follow your equipment maker's sizing, not this estimate.

Why does clutter change the price?

Heat has to soak into piles, mattresses and furniture before every hiding place reaches the target temperature, so a cluttered unit takes longer to heat and longer to prepare. The table shows light, moderate and heavy clutter side by side.

How should I price the warranty?

Multiply the share of jobs that come back by what a retreat costs you. At 8 percent callbacks costing 700 dollars, the warranty adds 56 dollars to every job. A table shows how the price moves from 0 to 30 percent callbacks.

Is heat more expensive than a chemical programme?

Usually, per treatment. The tool compares your heat price with a chemical programme of several visits and shows the premium you have to justify with one day instead of weeks.

What does this leave out?

Sales tax, licences, insurance, travel beyond the drive time, pre-inspection, canine inspection, mattress encasements, and the temperature your protocol requires. It is a bidding aid, not a quote, and not treatment advice.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. There are no accounts. The share link keeps your numbers in the link itself, which you choose whether to send.