Termite Inspection/Service (apartments, how much, house)
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We have been in our home in Georgia since May 2007. To date we have not had any termite control/ inspections performed at our home...though we did get a termite letter prior to purchasing the house.
How often are we supposed to be getting termite contorl services (I.E. Terminex etc) ? Is this annual thing in GA ? I'm completely clueless on what we should be doing...
Look on your termite letter to see if you had a termite bond. Unf. since it is June 2008, if you had a bond, it probably expired in May. I would call the termite company and beg to have the bond renewed if possible. You should have a "repair and retreatment" bond on your home. In Ga it's "not if you get termites" it's "when you get termites".
The termite companies will probably want to install the Sentricon system in order to give you a R & R Bond. Just be sure to call around to get quotes.
Avoid Terminix and any baiting station treatments....these typical are not very effective. Terminix is notorious for having a revolving door of "termite specialists" who make tons of money by installing baiting stations which are inherently flawed. Baiting stations are supposed to work by first, luring termites to the station, then, once said termites are discovered via inspection (usually quarterly), a separate chemical is applied to the bait that the termites are supposed to take back to the colony which inhibits reproduction and kills it off. The problem is that termites are very sensitive to changes in their environment, and most likely, once that bait station is disturbed via removal to check for activity, they will not ever return to take the poison.
Typically your best bet is to get routine inspections and, if possible, have a termite barrier installed. These can either be chemical or physical. Both options are not totally impregnable. Physical barriers include either a fine steel mesh which is applied along the foundation (very rare in the US) or 16-grit sand trenches that run along the foundation. These are a bit extreme, for obvious reasons of cost and inconvenience.
The bottom line is this - you will know it when a termite colony has been in your house for 3 or more years b/c you will find dozens (or possibly hundreds) of dead swarmers or their wings on window sills. Also, you will likely find tiny dirt mounds on the wall where they have emerged. An earlier means to locate is finding mud-tubes running from the ground, over foundation, to your house. Unfortunately, termites can also enter through 1/16" gaps in foundations, in brick mortar, and between foundation floors and foundation walls.
There are two different types of termite bonds - retreatment and repair. Retreatment means that the company will simply treat the colony and rid your house of termites. The Repair bond means they will do this AND repair the damage. This sounds great, but it is my understanding that there are so many loopholes in collecting on this that it is virtually worthless.
Your best protection is own two eyes and the brain between your ears. Learn about them and know how to detect them. Sadly, I actually know more about termites than the guys my company usually sends to "inspect" my house, so I will probably shop around for another company once this year's bond is up.
Avoid Terminix and any baiting station treatments....these typical are not very effective. Terminix is notorious for having a revolving door of "termite specialists" who make tons of money by installing baiting stations which are inherently flawed. Baiting stations are supposed to work by first, luring termites to the station, then, once said termites are discovered via inspection (usually quarterly), a separate chemical is applied to the bait that the termites are supposed to take back to the colony which inhibits reproduction and kills it off. The problem is that termites are very sensitive to changes in their environment, and most likely, once that bait station is disturbed via removal to check for activity, they will not ever return to take the poison.
Typically your best bet is to get routine inspections and, if possible, have a termite barrier installed. These can either be chemical or physical. Both options are not totally impregnable. Physical barriers include either a fine steel mesh which is applied along the foundation (very rare in the US) or 16-grit sand trenches that run along the foundation. These are a bit extreme, for obvious reasons of cost and inconvenience.
The bottom line is this - you will know it when a termite colony has been in your house for 3 or more years b/c you will find dozens (or possibly hundreds) of dead swarmers or their wings on window sills. Also, you will likely find tiny dirt mounds on the wall where they have emerged. An earlier means to locate is finding mud-tubes running from the ground, over foundation, to your house. Unfortunately, termites can also enter through 1/16" gaps in foundations, in brick mortar, and between foundation floors and foundation walls.
There are two different types of termite bonds - retreatment and repair. Retreatment means that the company will simply treat the colony and rid your house of termites. The Repair bond means they will do this AND repair the damage. This sounds great, but it is my understanding that there are so many loopholes in collecting on this that it is virtually worthless.
Your best protection is own two eyes and the brain between your ears. Learn about them and know how to detect them. Sadly, I actually know more about termites than the guys my company usually sends to "inspect" my house, so I will probably shop around for another company once this year's bond is up.
Quite informative thanks. My only questions is that it seems that you saying that I need to look around and 'react' once I see the termites. How dangerous are they to your home ? I thought it was the kind of thing that once they show up you are basically screwed...is that not the case ? I'm wondering if some kind of preventative maintenance would be better than doing nothing at all...
Oh no - definitely, the preventative maintenance would be the following:
1) No earth to wood contact
2) No earth to brick contact (if possible...ie, if a brick veneer is slapped on at an above grade level, keep dirt below this)
3) No trees/bushes in contact with the house
4) Keep wood and other debris out of crawlspaces
5) Do a routine walk-a-round of your house to ensure no mud-tubes crossing over foundation walls up to siding/brick/etc.
6) Check basement or crawlspace walls for mudtubes
7) Check exterior wood surfaces for obvious rot or "softness", typically indicators of termite activity.
Some would say you should not put wood mulch up against the house and this is true, but the same could be said for pebbles, pine straw, etc., because it is not the fact that mulch is wood that draws termites, it the fact that it holds moisture in the ground, which each of those other things do as well.
You are not screwed if termites get in your house - pretty much every single house in the state of Georgia will have termites infiltrate at some point, the key is early detection and treatment. Honestly the mud tubes are your the best bet for detecting them. There are actually three different types of termites here- subterranean (most common), dry wood (all above rules do not apply...they do not need moisture or ground contact to live), and formosan. Subterranean do not eat wood as quickly as you might think, so even though a colony might be large, the structural timbers will likely still be okay...just need to get the problem treated.
In terms of preventative measures beyond those above, if you Google "termite barrier" you will find there are some, as mentioned, chemical or physical barriers...just depends how far you want to go.
My above rant was really just to say you are your best protection for your home, so while it is good to have a termite letter, you can not rely solely on the individuals who come to your house to inspect....the cost to them to "re-treat" your house is minimal, and they have zero attachment to your home, so there is really no incentive for them to kill themselves checking everything out. Hell, one time I had a termite inspector come out and he never even set foot in the crawl space!!! Bottom-line...no one cares about your house as much as you do, so it is important to know all the potential dangers out there so you can catch things early.
When I lived in my first apartment after college, I went into my closet to hang up some clothes and I saw 3-5 little dirt mounds on the wall (maybe 1cm. diameter). Not really sure what they were, I flecked them off and out poked the slimey white head of a termite!!! I was obviously freaked out by then and put scotch tape over the holes. I would later move apartments while they treated this unit, but since that time I have become literally obsessed with not having termites invade my home. Just really a bunch of research on the internet.
Avoid Terminix and any baiting station treatments....these typical are not very effective. Terminix is notorious for having a revolving door of "termite specialists" who make tons of money by installing baiting stations which are inherently flawed. Baiting stations are supposed to work by first, luring termites to the station, then, once said termites are discovered via inspection (usually quarterly), a separate chemical is applied to the bait that the termites are supposed to take back to the colony which inhibits reproduction and kills it off. The problem is that termites are very sensitive to changes in their environment, and most likely, once that bait station is disturbed via removal to check for activity, they will not ever return to take the poison.
I don't use Terminix, but do have the Sentricon system monitored by another company which works much as you described. Why is this such a highly recommended solution if as you say it's flawed? What information are you basing your comments on that experts who recommend this treatment don't have?
I'm not saying you're incorrect. I'm trying to sort out the truth and make an adjustment if you're correct.
I don't use Terminix, but do have the Sentricon system monitored by another company which works much as you described. Why is this such a highly recommended solution if as you say it's flawed? What information are you basing your comments on that experts who recommend this treatment don't have?
I'm not saying you're incorrect. I'm trying to sort out the truth and make an adjustment if you're correct.
My understanding is that many of the studies that are supporting Sentricon are based out of UF (Univ. of Florida), but that there is some connection between the company that makes Sentricon (Dow, perhaps?) and the university (in way of grants and donations) which makes the objectivity murky. Logically, it makes sense that they may not work as advertised b/c it is pretty well documented that termites will vacate areas/tunnels that are disturbed (which is why they recommend you do not spray areas inside your house in a panic if you discover termites, b/c they will disburse to another area which will be hard to detect). If you search around the net you will find enough claims against the system to make you think twice. I think it may be possible for the system to have some success, but it's really dependent on how knowledgeable the monitoring company is and how much care they give the process.
I have lived here for 2 years now. I haven't had house treated professionally yet.
It was inspected last year and no evidence was found. The barrier cost was just too much for us at the time. (heck it's still too much).
Tired of seeing too many kinds of bugs in my house the year b4 (I'm a northerner,I didn't realize bugs and HotLanta go hand in hand), I applied some kind of Kill em All granule early summer last year, around the perimeter of house. Didn't have much of a bug problem after that.
I noticed that H.Depot and Lowes etc. have treatment geared towards Termites.
Anyone have any knowledge of their effectiveness?
Also the previous homeowner had a bond. There are holes drilled in the concrete patio all around the house with grey inserts in them. What treatment system is that?
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What about store bought barriers?
