YUKK! i have termites! NOW WHAT!????

Question

So... the terminix inspector came today and went tapping around the house. The reason they came out is due to little pellets i have seen around the corners of the walls, so i called for an inspection. Well its official, we have the nasty little things, and he said he would highly reccommend tenting. How much is the normal cost of tenting? he said 1300$ was a deal he was willing to cut us. Is this high? good? We are in southern california, if rates differ. anyone with experience on the nasty little things and fumigation? uuuugh!

gee. thanks steve. lord how would i have lived without that. silly me.

Answer 1

Steve had a very good idea. Rich has no clue.

What you are dealing with is Drywood Termites. Drywood termites are slow moving termites that have no connection to the ground. They get the moisture they need from the wood that they are infesting, unlike the Subterranean Termites, which have the main colonies in the ground and bring mud into a house to protect them from dehydration.

I have a few questions for you. When you called Terminix, were you seeing swarming termites? How old is your house? Has it ever been treated for Drywood Termites before? What did the pellets look like?

The reason I am asking is that, if they only found pellets, not wings or swarmers, there is no way of knowing how old the are. Which means, if it was ever treated previously, the termites may be dead. (They may be dead anyway, many Drywood colonies never make it.) Drywood pellets never go away. They can stay in walls for pretty much ever. With just the passage of time, storms, even ground shifting can shake some loose and you will find them. If the pellets were in a pile that looked like a pyramid, then it is likely that it is an active infestation. If the pile was flatter or scattered, then it is unlikely they are new.

I would definitely have several more companies come out and check. I would recommend that you check with the smaller companies, not the "big" guys. The reason I recommend this is because most of the smaller companies are owner operated. Therefore the person coming out is the one who took and passed the state exam. When you call the bigger guys, rarely are the inspectors state licensed. They regularly work under someone else's license from their branch. Also, the inspectors from the big companies usually get paid commission only. So, if they don't sell, they don't get paid. So the "deal" that they are going to give you probably wouldn't be that much of a deal at all.

If you have any more questions, feel free to e-mail me. I use to work for Terminix and Orkin and now own my own company. Good luck to you!

Answer 2

I'd get a second opinion and compare prices if you do need to tent your house.

Note: If you get your house tented, you'll need to find another place to sleep for a few days -- no living thing can be in your home during the tenting process so you'll have to find temporary homes for your pets and plants, too. Also, any food that is opened (flour, sugar, crackers, etc.) must be put into special bags and securely tied so that the poisonous gases don't get into them.

If the infestation is small, people generally have the pest control person treat that area and then have the house tented (if necessary) when they are in escrow -- right after they move out.

Termites can be a headache. Hope your problem isn't too severe. Good luck.

Answer 3

I think you need another opinion. I know someone who had Terminex come in and check for termites. They pointed to a piece of rotted wood and said it was a sign of termites. When Terminex quoted a huge price they called in a local company and another chain. Both others said the damage was caused by water on the bottom of the trim pieces and that there was no termite damage at all.

Fumigation is fast but will not kill the nest. The nest (or bunch of nests) can be a hundred feet away from your house and linked by underground tunnels. Fumigation will kill what is inside the building but not get as far as the nests nor the queen that can turn out lots of new termites to replace the ones killed in your house.

Bait is slow since it needs the termites (by trial and error) to find the bait containers located around your house. Then they need to keep bringing the bait back to the nest and kill the rest of the workers and the queen. In the meantime you are paying for the exterminators to keep coming back and checking. This could take six months until the bait containers are found.

Answer 4

get another opinion that sound real high priced how do you know you really have them , Have they done a lot of damage?

Answer 5

easy call the exterminator or kill them yourself one by one