OT Termites
 

Termites were discovered in the mulch in our landscaping. So far one company has quoted a very scarry price to kill the little boogers, using bait traps. I know this is going to cut into the boating budget (as I've decided all household income is now budgeted for boating:D , until the Mrs's finds out anyway).

Any OSOers termite experts? Are the bait traps worth doing, or stick with liquids? What's a good price per foot to do this? Etc.

Anyone??????

I've had both done over the years.
When we had Sears Termite and Pest Control they came once a year and punped the ground around the house. Now that Sears doesn't do it, Terminix took over and they installed the bait traps. It took them about 5 months to kill the termites.
Which is better?
Don't really know. The liquid is faster, but with the traps the technician won't be drilling holes in your foundation. And if they do find termites with the traps they can target the specific area where they're at.
Unfortunately you'll have to bite the bullett and pay the price. Just keep up with the yearly renewal, mine costs 350.00 a year to renew. I think I paid something like 1200.00 the first time. And find a policy that will repair any damage after the initial treatment. Sears found damage one time and they damn near remodeled our master bath.

You can buy the same poison/bait traps at Home Depot for about $75 and put them in yourself. Just be sure you know "exactly" where you put them so you can pull them to inspect. I have several that "I know are here someplace".

-Greg

Whenit comes to termites, DON'T mess around!
 

The stuff mentioned above sold by Home Depot is pretty much a JOKE! I have heard several horror stories using that stuff. When it comes to protecting your home from termites---leave it to the professionals who have plenty of resources.
Terminix uses a product called "Sentricon" it is produced by Dow Chemical Corp. Terminix usually has one of the best if not THE best termite guarantees out there among pest management companies. I would not entrust termite work to a small company. Terminix is a nation wide company and has the longevity and resources to make things right if things don't go well if their is a problem. Sentricon is a bait (used in cylindrical stations) placed around the peremiter of the building structure for subterrainian termites. Even Orkin does NOT have Sentricon! It is a colony elimination system and is the best treatment you can have done. A conventional treatment using a liquid pesticide is much more of a pain in the arse and requires moving stuff out and away from the peremiter in your basement, garage and other places within your home. Then if you have carpeting or tile it's even more of a pain! The treatment process is very intrusive for the home owner. Whereas, Sentricon is place in the soil around the peremiter of the structure/home is non-intrusive, odorless and is usually VERY successful! The White House uses Sentricon! Pricing is usually figured by liniar footage of a stucture or home.

I have been in the professional pest management business for 14 years, but we do not provide service for termites. I always refer my customers to Terminix. They are the best when it comes to termites in my opinion. When it comes to your home, don't mess around with do-it-yourself products when dealing with termites! Depending on the size of the colony, termites can eat up to about one board foot per month once they get started and usually eat from the inside of the wood first---so you don't always notice them until it's too late or they have done extensive damage. Call 1-800-Terminix and ask for an inspection/quote.

BTW, Senticon is used as a "bait" or "bait station"---not a "trap" or "bait trap"

Best Wishes,
Mark/KAAMA

Thanks for the info on Terminix. This is the second year we've had their service. So far I'm very happy.
Sorry about the mistake. You're right they are "bait stations" and not "traps".

Last year my Boss found he had termites and his entire workshop, a 14x20' house addition, had to torn down and rebuilt.

As always, I'm sure some termite companies are better than others, but here is the experience I had.

We had a "termite service" on our house when we bought it, so we renewed it each year. Each year them came and "inspected and treated" ... now THAT was a joke. The "treatment" was some powder spread on the ground, nothing underground where it could possible actually do something, and their inspection found nothing. "I" found the termites and had to call and show them where they were. They only did a REAL treatment to eliminate them when I threatened to call the state ag department and request they investigate their license (after their first "treatment" did not work and I found the termites back again the next year).

Further, on investigating their liability for the damages, I found they pay NOTHING for any damage to the house, they just cover "re-treatment" for termite removal. The guy I talked to at the state said that it is a very lucrative $$ business, as the contractors have NO liability for poor treatment or missed inspections (read their contract, they only say they will look where they can see, so they only are liable if the termite tube crosses your kitchen floor and they trip over it).

To top things off, once they actually had to DO something (ie the second successfull, so far at least, treatment) they CANCELED our contract. They came up with a new song and dance that the house was built incorrectly, should never have been agreed to for coverage, and would not ever cover it for any kind of guarantee. Of course, about a month later they sent a letter asking if we would like a new coverage with guarantees ... if we paid a $2500 "initial inspection and treatement" fee.

I should add that they did the initial "termite inspection" when we bought the house. That report says the house was "well constructed" for termite resistance. Even with their prior "guarantee" that is was "well built" and their new line that is was "poorly built" my lawyer said it just wasn't worth trying to do anything since the termite companies have a long history of wiggling through the loopholes and avaoiding any payments.

Bunch of snakes in the grass ... but your experience may differ <LOL>.

I'd suggest you have a lawyer read your contract and tell you if you are really covered for anything at all.

-Greg

KAAMA IS the MAN!!!!
 

I just love the term "colony elimination system" A stroke of marketing genius. BTW- KAAMA once related to me that he just doesn't see the need to put those giant metal bugs on top of his trucks to advertise.....a man with alot of vision.:cool:

GregP,

Yes, I have heard stuff like that too. Please understand I am only offering an "FYI" type of posting here based on my experience and what I know, and am not trying to be argumentive nor am I trying to defend poor service----just trying to be informative, offer good advice, and try to educate a little. I am somewhat biased when it comes to Terminix handling termites, of course they are certainly capable of making mistakes too! They DO have one of the best termite guarantees out there. In any case, when it comes to referals, it's still a direct reflection on me in my customer's view. What termite company a person chooses is entirely up to them. Just make sure they have been in business a long time, have a good reputation in the area and have the resources to back up a legitimate claim.

When a premises or structure is inspected for sub-terranean termites it can be very difficult to see or find activity, damage or where the activity is. An inspector can only see what is exposed or find damage with a probe in certain likely areas.

I don't even like dealing with termites because of the liability involved. Therefore we don't offer a service for termites. We handle almost everything else BUT termites.

Anyway, here's some info you might find interesting. Sub-terranean termites can sense objects in the ground and temperature changes from a small distance (in footage) away. They will scout out those objects to see if it is wood or not. A colony of termites will have several tubes going out trying to discover food sources. The older, repellent type liquid termitecide chemical treatments are very difficult to control termites with. It will only kill termites that come in contact with the soil that has been around your house. What happens is the termites have a defensive mechanism and can sense the chemical barriar and will stop entering the structure in that area so what they do is try to work themselves around it by trying to find a break in the chemical barriar in another spot. They do have some new liquid termitecides that do not have a repellent like the older termitecides do. This will allow the termites to penetrate the barrier without detecting the toxicity of the treatment and will kill them vs with an older termitecide that DOES have a repellent that repells the termites away without killing them because they avoid it, therefore what happens is they are still alive and will seek out a break with exploritory mud tubes.

Sentricon is a non-liquid solid bait and it works very well and is much easier to service. It's what I would use on my own house---but that's just me.

Check them all out---you are free to choose as you wish. :)

Mark/KAAMA

KAAMA,

No argument taken. Just passing my experience (and dismay) with what I found out after I had a problem and they wouldn't due what I had "thought" their service provided. Since they never sent me a "real" contract, just a "renewal notice/continuation offer" I had no way to read what they would, or in this case wouldn't actually do until it was too late. The other services I talked with here all sounded to be the same.

-Greg

I like the commercials where the people build their houses out of concrete or ice to prevent termite issues.

I've got a few old 454's that could make good furniture.

I would also like to take a minute to post my .02 on this subject. Up here in my neck of the woods we don't have the sub termite, atleast on my side of the water. Weird, but you go to one of the islands or East of the mountains and you will find them. Anyhow, I used to work for Orkin, but don't have experience with the subs so can't shed light on that part of the subject, but want to point out something else.

First off at Orkin I found that inspectors can and will write contracts to fit the customers (supposedly) and so may vary form one customer to another, even though the jobs may be similar. You can have to identical jobs with 2 different inspectors and may still end up with different contracts. Another point of contention is the technician. Bare in mind this isn't a highly paid job and so your at the mercy of the individual doing your job. Some truly care about the job they do and some just want a check. Unfortunatly this job requires you to take the work serious, because it is technical and does require you to stay on top of things. If you have a problem with an inspector or don't feel he's doing a good job, get another, same for technicians. Ann Wilson of the group Heart, had a contract with us and went through 3 techs before I got the account. Took me all of 2 visits to resolve the issue she had. Again it's just because I care. Whatever you do check the BBB and see how the company you choose is doing, I guarantee those doing a poor job are getting complaints against them, this is one area where people definetly complain. Shop around, but don't rule out the small guy with a good track record, often times these folks take far more pride in what they do than the big companies that have those employees looking for that paycheck.

The man who gave us the original bid used to work for terminex, and agreed they do use the best product, which his new company does also. The Sentricon system. While the new company does not offer a warrenty, he explaned that Terminex's contract has a huge loophole that pretty much protects them from having to pay for structural repair due to termites. He did explane how termites work, and it does not sound like rocket science to intall and monitor the Sentricon tubes.

I've not checked into the Home Depot product yet, but if as the homeowner, I'm on my own to repair structural damage regardless of what professional service is hired, then why pay a king's ransom if the same product is available at a store for less? As the annual maintance contract is a few hundred dollars, It seems that that is the actuall cost of the system, and the few thousand dollar first year charge is the profit they are trying to make.

If I can't get a sentricon quality product at Home Depot, then I'll probably go ahead and pay the professional company. But it does seem like a racket.

The shade tree in my front lawn may have termites, or very active carpenter ants (I know we have those around). Can I put the traps in the ground around the tree to lure/kill them, or will they just stay with/in the tree?

Here in FL we have two types of houses. Thoses with termites and those that will have termites.

I had a tree blow down in a storm last year. Full of termites. So I go to Home Depot and buy some stuff to put on the stump, etc. Well all I did was piss them off. They were all over.

Called and had Sentricon installed. After their first inspection I had many more of the stations installed. Now after one year, back to one station every 15 feet or so and NO TERMITES.

It is worth the outlay for the Sentricon system. It works.

The stuff you can buy over the counter will never be as good as the product used by a PC company. I would have to suggest going with a proffesional company.

Just an FYI - do a web search on Sentricon and see how much information is out there saying it and/or the Sentricon contractor (usually Terminex but others also) doesn't work or doesn't do the work as promised. There are several state atorney general suits that were filed and won judgements against them as well. It appears (to me at least) to be very far from a clear conlusion.


I think a personl reference from someone who has found a GOOD contractor is the best bet. I'm still looking for one.


-Greg

the first thing you need to do is accuratly identify what you have. Pesticides and their treatment are specific to each problem. Do that first and then go about finding what is best to resolve your problem. Cuz like Gearhead99 said, sometimes all you do with the DIY stuff is alter their habitat and behavior and cause them to hide. I have seen numerous people do this only to find out a year later they still had the problem, but now it is 5 times as large.