What fumigation is and what it treats
The EPA describes sulfuryl fluoride as a colorless, odorless structural fumigant used against termites, powder post beetles, bed bugs, cockroaches, rats and mice, a restricted use pesticide, and the only structural fumigant with residential uses. Because the gas has no odor, residential structural fumigations use chloropicrin as a warning agent. MDARD describes its FUM standard as covering the application of a fumigant for structural, soil-borne, stored commodity and greenhouse pests.
Fumigation is one of several termite options the EPA lists, alongside soil termiticides, baits, treated building materials and wood treatments, and the termite page describes the others. We do not say house fumigation is rare or routine here.
Fumigation pricing: what we can show
Our estimate for fumigation in Michigan is $1,675 to $9,050 per home, about 2,000 square feet, or $1 to $5 per square foot. It is a model, not a quote: one published national range, widened 15 percent each side because there is only one, and adjusted for what Michigan pest control workers are paid. Fumigation is billed by building and by what is in it, so your price can sit well outside it. The only business-side figure in the table is the higher insurance floor.
Ask what the price includes: sealing, the gas, the aeration and clearance, and any follow-up inspection.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated range, not a quote | $1,675 to $9,050 per home, about 2,000 square feet | Built from one national published range, adjusted by the Michigan pest control worker median wage ratio (0.98). No Michigan pest control company price is shown, because none of the companies we looked at published a regular price. |
| Estimated range per square foot, not a quote | $1 to $5 per square foot | Built from one national published range, adjusted by the Michigan pest control worker median wage ratio (0.98). No Michigan pest control company price is shown, because none of the companies we looked at published a regular price. |
| Pest control worker wage, Michigan median | $21.38 an hour | What pest control workers are paid (O*NET republishing BLS, May 2025), not what you are charged. Percentile data, not re-checked against the BLS table. |
| State fee, certified commercial applicator | $75 | Paid by the person, not added to your bill as a line. Michigan statute and MDARD agree. |
| Insurance floor for a fumigation business | $300,000 combined single limit, on top of the usual per-occurrence limits | MDARD's financial responsibility rule; most categories carry $100,000 bodily injury and $25,000 property damage per occurrence. |
| State fee, pesticide application business license | $100 a year, expires every December 31 | Every company that applies pesticides for hire needs one, in addition to its applicators' credentials. |
How we estimate costs: the Estimated range row is a model, not a quote. It takes one published national range for this job (a cost guide from a third-party site that we have not verified and do not cite) and multiplies it by Michigan's pest control worker median wage ratio to the US (0.98, BLS May 2025 data read through O*NET OnLine). The wage and state fee rows in the table are what pest control workers are paid and what the state charges to license them, and neither is a price. We have not collected quotes, and we found no Michigan pest control company that publishes a regular price. Full method. Prices as of Oct 19, 2026.
Who is allowed to fumigate in Michigan
Michigan law lets nobody use a restricted use pesticide without meeting certification requirements, and a registered applicator, the technician credential, cannot apply restricted use products at all. Fumigation is a standard of application: an applicator using a fumigant passes an additional standard exam on top of the commercial core exam and a category exam, and MDARD proctors that exam on paper. A fumigation business carries a higher insurance floor, with a $300,000 combined single limit added to the usual $100,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage. Ask for the company's business license number and the applicator's FUM credential.
What the EPA changed, and what it does not say
After a 2016 report from the EPA's Office of Inspector General, the EPA issued revised risk mitigation in June 2023: warning signs designed to prevent entry to tents, application stewardship training, clearance devices listed on its website, and longer aeration times. Amended residential labels were approved on July 11, 2024, and existing stock could be sold for 12 months. Re-entry hours are on the product label and depend on clearance, not on the EPA's page. Any company that gives you a fixed number without pointing to the label is telling you something we cannot confirm.
Ask who clears the building, with what device, and who will be on site when you re-enter. Ask for the label and the notice you will be given. The paperwork guide lists what Michigan requires at an application.
Claims to question
Sales pitches for fumigation promise that one treatment eliminates everything. The EPA says even for bed bugs that pesticide applications alone will not easily eliminate an infestation, and neither it nor Michigan makes the one-treatment promise. MCL 324.8313(11) bars misrepresenting a treatment's characteristics, uses or benefits, which is the footing for asking a company to put its claim in writing. If a company wants to fumigate for a pest that is not present, ask why, since subsection (12) bars calling a treatment necessary for a pest that is neither present nor likely.
Fumigation: urgent or not
- If you are told to re-enter before a clearance is shown to you, stop and ask for it. Fumigation itself is never an emergency purchase.
- A decision between fumigation and other treatments after an inspection.
Before the fumigation
- Ask for the label, the clearance procedure and who signs off.
- Ask what must be removed, bagged or sealed before the day.
- Ask what notice the company will give you and in what form.
- Ask for the applicator's FUM credential and the business license number.
- Ask why fumigation rather than another method, and what the inspection found.
License and rules for fumigation
Ask for a business license, a certified applicator with the FUM standard, proof of the insurance and the product label. MDARD takes complaints at 800-292-3939. The EPA says termite service firms must be licensed by the state, and to ask to see the license.
Ask for the company's state pesticide business license number and the applicator's name, and look both up with your state's pesticide regulator before any work starts.
- MDARD: Pesticide Applicator Certification Read Oct 19, 2026.
A tool for this job
Pest identification guide
Pick what you noticed and what you have checked. The guide names what that most likely is, using only the distinguishing features a government or university source gives, and says whether the sources point to a professional. It cannot identify a pest from a description with certainty, so treat the answer as where to look next. It runs in your browser and asks for nothing.
Open the toolQuestions people ask
How long should you stay out of a house after fumigation?
Until it is cleared under the product label and clearance requirements. Neither the EPA's page nor any Michigan source we can cite gives hours, so we print none.
Is fumigation safe for humans?
It is a restricted use pesticide, and the EPA tightened residential mitigation in 2023 and approved amended labels in 2024. Safety depends on the label being followed, so ask who clears the building.
What is fumigation used for?
The EPA says sulfuryl fluoride is used against termites, powder post beetles, bed bugs, cockroaches, rats and mice in structures. MDARD's FUM standard also covers soil-borne, stored commodity and greenhouse pests.
Who can fumigate a home in Michigan?
A certified applicator with the fumigation standard, working for a licensed business that carries the higher insurance. A registered technician cannot apply restricted use products.
Does fumigation get rid of every pest in one treatment?
We found no source that says so, and the EPA says pesticide alone will not easily eliminate bed bugs. Treat that promise as one to ask about in writing.
- O*NET OnLine: Michigan Wages 37-2021.00 Pest Control Workers (BLS 2025 data) Read Oct 19, 2026. Confirm with the source before you rely on it.
- PestControlMatch: how we estimate costs (editorial policy) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- MCL 324.8317 (Michigan Legislature) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- MDARD: Pesticide Applicator Business License (PABL) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- MDARD: Pesticide Applicator Certification/Registration Details & FAQ Read Oct 19, 2026.
- MDARD: Pesticide Certification-Registration Categories (revised 08/2011) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- EPA: Sulfuryl Fluoride Read Oct 19, 2026.
- MCL 324.8311 (Michigan Legislature) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- EPA: Termites: How to Identify and Control Them Read Oct 19, 2026.
- EPA: Bed Bug Myths Read Oct 19, 2026.
- MCL 324.8313 (Michigan Legislature) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- MDARD: Pesticide Regulations for New Commercial Pesticide Applicator Businesses Read Oct 19, 2026.