Termite monthly payment /annual inspection questions

[niccig]

We had an inspection today, and yes we have termites. Dry Wood termites in the detached garage that needs to be tented and then subterranean that can be sprayed. Most worrying is that under the house a floor joist was damaged and the inspector suggests removal. It looks like previous owner had it repaired by attaching a new piece of wood, and it's damaged again. The inspector said it's never a good idea to put new wood on old damaged wood.

We do live in a termite area. Is it worth having a monthly plan - the pest company I called out today do offer a plan, as I've received mailings from them. The inspector did NOT mention it today. We just talked about treatment options. I am getting other quotes too for the treatment. Then I have to get quotes about repairing the damage.

I'm just wondering what I can do going forward to keep an eye out for termites, so we catch them before we get any more damage.

Thanks

[Zansu]

The monthly plans with which I'm familiar are monitoring/baiting plans, not treatment plans.

We have a termite policy, so they come out once a year, find termites and treat them (they're a fact of life here) by drilling into the foundation and inserting a long-acting pesticide.

My parents have the monitoring plan, where the bug guy comes every month, checks the traps and installs more bait/pesticide.

I haven't heard that one is better than the other. Ours is about $300 per year. HTH.

[Melbel]

Unfortunately, I have a great deal of knowledge regarding subterranean termite issues, but not drywood. As such, the following advice relates to subterranean termites:

If you have a new house or a house that has never had termites, I would strongly recommend purchasing a retreatment and repair bond with a reputable company (not the big name companies, but rather a more local established company with a good record). With a retreatment bond, if the company finds termites, then they are only obligated to retreat to kill the termites. With a repair bond, the company will also be required to repair damage by termites up to a set $ amount, subject to certain exclusions (common ones include not facing sprinklers on the house or putting mulch right up to the house because this creates a "conducive" condition). By far, the best product on the market to kill termites is Termidor. Ask for it by name. Seriously. Applied per the label specifications, it is very effective. So many of the other chemicals out there are at best a band aid fix with repeat infestations.

For a home that has had a history of termite damage, a repair bond may not be as helpful because in all likelihood, the company would simply claim any damage predated the contract date. Because extensive termite damage may be hidden in the walls, it would be extremely difficult to tell when damage occurred. HTH and good luck!

[bnme]

We purchased a house that a retreatment contract only and we did not realize how extensive the damage was (or that a repair contract even existed). It seemed to us the company just kept coming back to retreat the same area but never really getting rid of the problem.

We now have a contract with Terminex that is super expensive, but the termites are GONE. Not sure what we will do going forward, meaning if we will continue with Terminex. But I worry about how it will effect the resale of the house down the road.

FWIW, there are certain areas of damage that preexisted that the Terminex contract did not cover, but any new damage is fully covered. I would get a few companies in so you can compare their service/cost. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

[becca_g]

I would recommend purchasing a protection plan/guarantee for post-treatment (similar to a warranty) that covers retreatment if necessary as well as any new damage.

We used to live in Florida, and our house had been tented for drywall termites just before we bought it. The previous owners transferred the protection plan to us, but we did not keep it up. Several years later, we had drywall termites again and had to pay full price to have the house tented. It would have been much cheaper to pay the yearly protection plan fee.

Since termites are so common in Florida, we asked friends and neighbors for termite company recommendations and went with a smaller, more reasonably priced company with a solid reputation.

I am not familiar with the monthly plans.