Need a good pest control company (Tucson, Nogales: foreclosed, appliances, credit card)

[themudpuppy]

Anyone know a good pest control company in the Nogales/Rio Rico area, or one in Tucson that serves that area?

I need a termite inspection and probably treatment. I looked up termite history for the house I'm buying, and it says they found infestation last year, but didn't treat it, so I assume there's still a problem.

Also, I'd like to get a scorpion inspection and have the house sealed for scorpions. Anyone know a good company that does this?

There are a lot of pest control companies online, but I'd rather go with one that someone can recommend. Thanks!

[DellNec]

Originally Posted by tnp

Anyone know a good pest control company in the Nogales/Rio Rico area, or one in Tucson that serves that area?

I need a termite inspection and probably treatment. I looked up termite history for the house I'm buying, and it says they found infestation last year, but didn't treat it, so I assume there's still a problem.

Also, I'd like to get a scorpion inspection and have the house sealed for scorpions. Anyone know a good company that does this?

There are a lot of pest control companies online, but I'd rather go with one that someone can recommend. Thanks!

With Tucson, it's not "if" you will have a termite problem but WHEN. Tucson has the largest termite problem out of any city in Arizona.

The pest company will most likely use Termidor spray along with bait trap stations.

As far as scorpions go, DO NOT let them seal up your weep screed holes. As that is your drainage hole for water that gets behind the stucco. Many companies seal those holes and then people get rotting wood frame walls.

Scorpions get in between your wall framing (which cannot be stopped unless you built the home differently), bathroom vents, door gaps, window gaps, plumbing lines, etc. It only takes the width of a credit card and a scorpion can get in.

Most tract homes are poorly built and leave hundreds of gaps in them to allow scorpions to get through. I've seen million dollar tract homes have scorpion problems that never get solved. As it would require a complete tear down of the exterior walls.

You can reduce the scorpions but you will never stop them completely.

[themudpuppy]

Originally Posted by DellNec

As far as scorpions go, DO NOT let them seal up your weep screed holes. As that is your drainage hole for water that gets behind the stucco. Many companies seal those holes and then people get rotting wood frame walls.

Thanks for the warning. I didn't see any weep holes in this house, but I wasn't really looking for them, so I'm going back out there today to look. We don't have stucco home where I come from, so I'm new to all of this. I've heard that many weep holes don't have screens and that putting screens on them can help keep scorpions out, so I'll make sure they don't seal the holes but just put screens in them, if this house has weep holes.

I'm pretty sure I'll have scorpions there, as the house is rural, in the hills, and next to a wash. So I do expect to see them, but I'd like to keep the population down as much as possible.

[DellNec]

Originally Posted by tnp

Thanks for the warning. I didn't see any weep holes in this house, but I wasn't really looking for them, so I'm going back out there today to look. We don't have stucco home where I come from, so I'm new to all of this. I've heard that many weep holes don't have screens and that putting screens on them can help keep scorpions out, so I'll make sure they don't seal the holes but just put screens in them, if this house has weep holes.

I'm pretty sure I'll have scorpions there, as the house is rural, in the hills, and next to a wash. So I do expect to see them, but I'd like to keep the population down as much as possible.

Every stucco home has them, they are mandatory, as they provide the drainage plain escape. It is commonly mistakenly called weep "screen", but the correct term is weep screed.

The problem is this metal strip leaves a gap between the stucco and styrofoam. Even if one puts some type of mesh screen to block the holes, which I DO NOT recommend as this can cause water blockage, you still have the gap between the weep screed and wall.

There is NO WAY to stop scorpions from going between the weep screed and your stucco wall. IMPOSSIBLE. A properly sealed home will prevent the scorpion that is already in the wall from entering the interior wall cavity. This would have to be a properly detailed styrofoam paneling, detailed OSB shearing, tar paper, and spray foamed interior wall framing to seal the wall cavity.

You still have the issue with the bathroom vents, door seals, plumbing, electrical and windows gaps. Some of this can be addressed AFTER the build but some of these areas CANNOT be addressed because they would require access to the wall cavity, which requires demo work. A buddy of mine did all he could, it reduced the interior scorpion problem but he still gets them inside the home. He just wears shoes when he walks around at night.

[themudpuppy]

Thanks for the pics. Now I know what to look for.

Should I go with a big company like Terminix or Orkin, or are the smaller companies just as good? Don't want to pay an outrageous fee if I don't have to.

[DellNec]

Originally Posted by tnp

Thanks for the pics. Now I know what to look for.

Should I go with a big company like Terminix or Orkin, or are the smaller companies just as good? Don't want to pay an outrageous fee if I don't have to.

As long as the smaller companies are licensed and use quality products, you should be fine. Companies like Terminix & Orkin rely on long term contracts to make money. It's a tough call.

I believe you will be looking at around $1,000 to get the entire termite spray, bait traps, follow ups. It can get more expensive if the termites are heavily infested in your walls, in which case you would have to spray bomb the walls and entire home. Also one would have to replace the damaged framing.

[swbell6]

I used Five Star last year for subterranean termites. It cost about $750 for a 1,200 square foot house. (We have dry-wood termites in Arizona, too, but they are treated differently.) Different companies use different chemical methods. You should get at least two estimates. Their website says they service the Rio Rico area. Good luck!

5 Star Termite & Pest Control - Tucson, Arizona AZ

[themudpuppy]

Thanks!

I went to look at the house again today, and the weep screed holes have already been filled in, with concrete! Would this be a deal-breaker, or is this easily fixed?

[DellNec]

Originally Posted by tnp

Thanks!

I went to look at the house again today, and the weep screed holes have already been filled in, with concrete! Would this be a deal-breaker, or is this easily fixed?

NOT GOOD!

Depending on how long it was filled for, there already could be damage to the wood framing and stucco.





It's not going to be easy to just remove the concrete by poking holes in the drainage hole. They may have stuffed so much concrete in there that water will still get trapped when it rains.

If it were me, I would walk away from the home. A lot easier said than done if you already put a deposit on it. I would get a QUALIFIED building inspector to look at it. I say QUALIFIED because most inspectors are not that good, even though they are licensed they miss a lot of stuff.

The only saving grace for Tucson is that it doesn't rain too often. Even so, you could be looking at TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars in damage if the wood is rotted. Add termites to that mix and I would say RUN, RUN AWAY from that home. Or as Jenny would say, "run Forest, run!"

[themudpuppy]

The house is 5 years old. I don't know if the original owners did it or if it was done later. Otherwise the house appears to be in excellent condition. It was foreclosed last year and was "revitalized" by the HUD NSP II program. Supposedly they fix anything not up to codes, replace anything that's broken, etc. They put in all brand-new appliances, repaired the a/c, put in new fixtures, etc. The whole house looks brand new, but I don't know what kind of damage is behind the walls that I can't see. You'd think they would have taken care of the termite problem and the weep screed problem too, but apparently they didn't.

I will be getting an inspection done. I'm looking for a good inspector right now.