Need Your Input Concerning Termite Protection

[Jaggator]

I have a contract with a company now that can be renewed that is for a retreat only agreement.

About every 10 years termite companies want to do a barrier treatment and most use liquid Termidor. The current company (retreat only) wants to charge me $300 for the barrier treatment to re-new with them and I would continue paying them $175 a year for 5 years until they increase the fee.

What company do you use? How much are you paying? Which system do you prefer for treatment?

Do you prefer the Sentricon system that uses bait stations that are treated once a year?

Another company I called in to get a takeover estimate said they would use Sentricon and charge me $400 upfront and $200 yearly to maintain it. That is a lifetime contract that stands as long as you pay the bill. The advantage with this particular company is they will include a repair and retreat with their agreement.

What say you? Please share any experiences good or bad that could influence my decision.

[gatorjjh]

I have used Florida Pest for Termite and household pest control for years, never had the first issue- I don't recall the annual fee but it is reduced with combined service- at one place I used Truly Nolan for pest control- the price kept going up and the service declined but I tend to think that the service is more of a local management issue ans may not be true company wide

here is a link to the Fl Pest termite service page, they use Termidor

http://www.flapest.com/termites

[pecks]

I worked part time as a pest control salesman back in 1975 while attending college. Probably cause the owner plied me with so much coffee he figured I could light a fire under the lazy bunch of older guys he had. The business, in my opinion, is shady to say the least. They believe in the product they offer the public but so do fortune tellers. I'll never forget the owner telling us to sell protection and laugh all the way to the bank. I'd suggest doing it yourself and laugh yourself to the bank. I have for the past 40 years and have had no problems at all. With what you might ask? Look around and you'd be surprised what you might find.

[rounds]

I would like a hint, please.

[Gator515151]

I see far more damage and dry rot from water leaks than from termites. Leaky roofs, leaky windows, leaky pipes account for a lot of what people think is termite damage.

[chemgator]

I use Terminix for termite control, but treat for other critters myself (using Borax and boric acid--available at Home Depot). We have seen termites in the yard several times (that is very common if the neighborhood was built above a wooded area), but only a couple times in the house (dead termites that were looking for new food). Have not had any structural damage.

We only see roaches about once every 5-10 years. Put boric acid in the edges of the room (next to the baseboard) so that roaches have to walk across them to get into the room. They usually die within 6". Use Borax if you have pets.

[phatGator]

I have the Sentricon system, which UF developed.

[northgagator]

I use Terminix for termite control and to maintain the bond. My house being in the southeast US is in Termite heaven. To make it worst my house is up against a lot of woods and wet lands.

I used the Sentracon for a couple of years to take advantage of the lower renewal cost of the Termite bond. The experience was not a positive one,

Since my house is within a short crawl to the nearest termite colony my wife and I were very observant of the maintenance plan that Terminix provided. We caught the Terminix termite inspector doing a one eight of an ass job.
Most of the time the inspector could only find half of the bait stations. When he did find them he would not check them out our put in the bait. It was basically a rip off. A good buddy of mine is a state agriculture inspector. He told me that his office gets a boat load of complaints on Sentracom. He also asked me a good question. Why do want to have bait that will draw termites closer to your house? I could not give him a decent answer. A few months later we went with Thermador and it is less of a hassle.

[rounds]

Termidor
Also invented at UF.

[phatGator]

Originally Posted by rounds

Termidor
Also invented at UF.

UF is termite hell!