replying to Em, Don wrote:
nospamblam wrote:

My annual home termite inspection and "insurance" policy has been costing
$125 per year. This year, now that the house has been standing five years,
the exterminator wants to do a $445 "booster" treatment. I thought the
barrier remains intact for many years until the soil is disturbed, so I
asked why the house would need a booster, and the lady said the barrier
has
been breaking down over the five years because of "walking in the yard".
Is
the a bona-fide service they are offering?
-BAM



As with all reviews very seldom does anyone review in the positive.
Let me state some FACTS.
1/ The United States Department of Agriculture states Termites do more
damage in the United States than all natural disasters combined These
include but are not limited to, Fire, Hurricane, Tornado, (all storms)
COMBINED! Again, this is stated by the United States Dept. of Agriculture!
To verify you can call the Dept. of Agriculture in your state.
With these natural disasters you can easily see the damage with the
naked eye, with Termites usually there is no visual signs until there is
damage. A Termite inspector MAY see signs an untrained eye can not see.
That is why he is State licensed. Before he can even take the very
difficult state (FL) test he must have 3 yrs verifiable experience under
a state licensed operator.
So where are these Termites? Usually inside the walls, where NO ONE can
see them. How did they get there? About maybe 20% of the time if you're
lucky thru mud tunnels on the outside foundation, MAYBE. In 26 yrs
experience in the Termite business I've seen, MAYBE 10 mud tunnels on the
outside of concrete block homes, at tops!! I have personally inspected
thousands of homes. The remainder of times they entered' on slab homes
under the tub, shower, cracks in the floor that are invisible due to tile,
carpet, wood flooring etc. Around plumbing pipes, expansion joints where
the floor meets the walls. Do you have these joints? If block home is pre
1980 probably so. Block homes are approx. 20% block, the remainder is
wood!! I have seen at least 75% as many block homes damaged by Termites as
wood homes. If your home is built on a crawl space there are MANY more
unvisible entry points.
So for you that have no termite protection with a TERMITE REPAIR
warranty, (many companies do NOT offer the repair warranty) you're rolling
the dice, good luck!!!
The Dept. of Agriculture has been involved in this a lot longer than
you!! Shop around, and be CERTAIN the contract states you are covered by
a REPAIR warranty.

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