Termite/Pest Control Question

[brandon327]

I am beginning the think the Yearly Inspection and renewal is crock of crap. I don't think they even spray on the yearly inspection. I think that if you could get some of the spray and spray yourself once a year around your house you would be money ahead. I am considering doing away with the contract on mine. At $200 a year you would have to get termites every 5 years to make the contract pay for itself. I bet that contract don't cover the damage the termite causes.

[farmerc83]

At $200 a year you would have to get termites every 5 years to make the contract pay for itself. I bet that contract don't cover the damage the termite causes.

Could be true, but how often am I gonna crawl under my entire house doing a thorough inspetion? Not something I can get fired up about doing so if my house is ever infested it may be two or three years before I know it. This is my fear that caused me to ask the question in the first place.

It's not like I'm in the country with woods all around, but I live in an older house on a conventional foundation in NE Jackson with cedar shake siding. Our neighborhood has huge trees and old hedges/bushes in every yard, mine alone has 3 big oaks and the entire back yard is surrounded by 4-5ft tall azaleas. I keep the bushes trimmed back and spray Hi-Yield Insecticide from the garden store 3-4 times from spring to fall every year, making sure to spray the outside of the foundation the entire way around and spraying a lot thru every foundation vent. Active ingredient in the stuff is Premetherin (sp?) and it's somewhere around 10%. I also spray all the eaves, around every door/window, and in the attic. Ends up being 5-6 gallons, mixed strong with water of course, sprayed each time.

So am I being paranoid or is it a good idea to get the treatment/inspection just for the warranty?

[edub20]

I am beginning the think the Yearly Inspection and renewal is crock of crap. I don't think they even spray on the yearly inspection. I think that if you could get some of the spray and spray yourself once a year around your house you would be money ahead. I am considering doing away with the contract on mine. At $200 a year you would have to get termites every 5 years to make the contract pay for itself. I bet that contract don't cover the damage the termite causes.

My contract states that Havard will pay the cost of the repairs if termites damage anything. That's why i have it, otherwise it would be useless and i would just dig a trench, drill holes and treat myself...

[Bonecollecter1111]

Well fella's, unfortunatley this is a topic that i know a great deal about.

1.) best stuff to treat your house with is termidor (can be found on ebay)
- (you are supposed to have a pest control liscence to purchase and apply to a residence, but ebay doesn't ask for it)
- dig a trench 6" wide all the way around home, and spray 4 gal of 6% liquid every 10 ft, you will need to drill your concrete that buts up to the house @ a 12-14" spacing (patios, garages etc that are less than 4' deep) and flood the holes.
2.) the two best companies as far as service and warranties for termite treatments are north ms pest control, and terminix
- all others have getcha clauses in them that are copouts if you get termites, most will retreat but these are the only two that give little or no fuss about paying for the damage done.
3.) the annual renewal doesn't include an annual termite retreatment of your home (its against the law to retreat a home unless 1.) you have a new contract or 2.) you have termites)
4.) don't use bait
5.)you can count on it costing between 800-2000 for most homes
6.)are they worth the renewals?? i dunno, are you gonna check for termites? are you worried about them, thats a personal question.
I found most folks will pay'm for a few years then say to he!! with it, cheaper to foot the bill and get'm treated in 10 years again

feel free to ask me questions on this, i'll answer if i can.