Termites

[Henry]

Ok, so my wife found this tarantula-sized spider in our house the other day, which totally freaked her out. Of course we called an exterminator to see why such large creatures were living in our house, and then kill them. He said in addition to a rather sizable spider infestation, we've got termites. They haven't gotten into the house yet, he says, but if they do they will eat it. He then tells me that the termite-service will run me about $2,000, and then $375 per year after that.. At this point I feel like I just took my car in for an oil change only to be told I need a new transmission.

Have any of you had termite problems? If so, how much should one expect to pay to rid his home of this scourge? I would appreciate any insight you all could share on this matter.

[Om]

Henry, that sounds WAY high to me. For $2000 and then $375/year, I would expect the termite people to interview and profile each termite individually, find their motivation, then torture each and every one of them to death slowly, using the most insidious interrogative techniques known to man.

We had a termite problem a couple years back – which like you we caught before any real damage was done – and had it successfully treated for several hundred. I'll check old receipts for ya if you'd like, but I don't believe it was more than $700 or so – and that was for inside treatment (spray to kill existing critters) AND out (bait traps). Worked just fine. Haven't seen a critter since, and we discontinued the quarterly visits this past winter.

As I recall, we interviewed 2 or 3 exterminators, and all had basically the same prices ... the difference was in just how "thorough" a service they tried to sell us. We decided to start on the cheap and see if that worked, before going for the overkill mode a couple of them tried to sell us.

[Kilmer17]

There are 2 types of termite protection so be careful.

1st is called a "Repair and Retreat" bond. This essentially says that after they treat the initial problem, they will retreat any future infestations AS WELL AS repair any damages caused.

the second is a Retreatment bond. It will only pay for the retreatment NOT the repairs.

Obviously the 2nd is worthless.

You should pay between 800-1000 for the 1st treatment of a repair bond, and expect to pay 200-300 a year subsequently.

[Terry]

Henry,

check around and get some different estimates, that number sounds way too high.

It's usually more expensive when they have to come into the house to get rid of them, but even that shouldn't cost thousands. In your case, it sounds as though they only have to apply the external treatments in the ground.

A lot of those exterminators will try to scam you, so make sure you talk to more than one. Hell, you may not even have termites, did he show you the evidence?

[Park City Skins]

Here ya go Henry. This is an FAQ from Texas, but it should answer some questions for you and maybe assist in knowing what questions to ask. Terry has a good point or 2 as well.

http://www.spcbtx.org/termite/TermiteQA.htm

[Henry]

Thanks guys. I thought that sounded high. I just didn't have any frame of reference on this.

Actually Terry, the guy did pick up a handful of dirt in front of my house and pointed out the little white bugs. They sure looked like termites to me. But for all I know, they've been living peacefully in my front lawn for years.