I live in a 45 year old house just north of Charlotte, North Carolina.
I've been in the house 3 years and have delayed getting the house
treated for termite prevention. I had the free inspection last year
(and we were termite free), but held off on the treatment because I had
other uses for the cash - - as you could imagine with an old house.

After a neighbor had major floor damage due to termites, I thought I
should bring the termite treatment company out again and actually pony
up the cash for the treatment. They came out today and the house is
still free of termites, but I'm leaning towards going ahead and having
them treat it (for peace of mind). I did have some active termites on
a small section of my detached garage.

Here are my questions:

1. Is it better to go with chemicals or the bait traps? I'm old
school (and not very "green"), so I'm leaning towards chemicals.

2. My house is 3100 square feet, brick, and on a crawl space, plus it
has a 25 by 35 detached brick garage. The estimate I got from Orkin
for treating the house (drill and fill with chemicals) was $1,700, and
I talked them into treating the garage for free. He said that it would
routinely cost $2,500-$2,700 for a house my size, so it at least
sounded like a good deal. It sounded even better when Terminex gave an
estimate of $3,230 for laying down the Sentricon traps and not using
chemicals. The $1,700 includes the warranty if there is future damage,
and the fee for yearly maintenance treatments is $241). Is the $1,700
a good deal, or is it too high?

3. Is there any other advice that you can offer me around termite
treatments? I'm a rookie at this game.

Thanks!

Go chemical The Orkin price sounds way high. Get an estimate from a
local firm with a good reputation.

Got a reputable local firm to give an estimate of $1,100 using Termidor
chemicals. They started at $1,500, and I talked them down.

Thanks for the advice!

1. Is it better to go with chemicals or the bait traps?

Yes.

2. Is the $1,700 a good deal, or is it too high?

That depends on your market. For where you are, it sounds too high.
Get a third estimate.

3. Is there any other advice that you can offer me around termite
treatments?

When you bought the house, the mortgage company should have required a
termite letter proving it was under an active treatment. If this
wasn't required, a state law may have been broken. Also, most termite
companies allow the transfer of the treatment to a new homeowner --
that if they did a 10-year treatment five years ago, you are covered
for another five years. Ask the seller. You may not need a new
treatment yet.

wrote:
1. Is it better to go with chemicals or the bait traps?

Yes.

Oops. I meant to write "chemicals."