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I think I have termites or something eating my framing of my wood shed (located next to my house).
Any thoughts pros or cons about them. I assume it will be a locally owned franchise doing the work.
Or is this something a mom & pop pest control company can do?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
chris
I'm in the Dallas area....if that matters.
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Quite a while ago we used a bug spray co. I think it was Terminix, but not sure. They killed all the creepy-crawlies very well but then we were bugged by the bug spray co. They were very insistent that they must come back and spray regularly. I saw no need to respray after the bugs were all deceased.
My boss is a Jewish carpenter. Our DADDY owns the business.
Trying to understand some people is like trying to pick up the clean end of a turd.
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the former owner of our house had a bug spray service come out, we were going to continue it, but we never got around to signing up for it. Haven't really noticed that many bugs in the house. kind of wonder now why he had the service.
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick
Mark
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(10-17-2016, 01:13 PM)Foggy Wrote: I saw no need to respray after the bugs were all deceased.
The reason for maintenance is to keep them from coming back, bugs will tend to return to the same areas. Insects like termites can do significant damage before their presence is obvious, so regular inspections are important.
One can learn to do the inspections, but most people seem to prefer the ease and warranty of a commercial inspector.
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Guy from Terminix came, confirmed termites in the shed next to the house, said he'd spray a barrier around the perimeter of the home, install bait stations. House perimeter is about 325 feet. Cost is $1800, $1650 if paid with cash. I said, "WHAT?!?!"
He said, lemme look at it again, ok, how about $1160?
I still said, "WHAT?!
He said time to do it is about an hour, maybe two. Dayaam, that's pricey....
He said $280 if I wanted to continue yearly with the warranty, otherwise it would be a one year warranty.
Getting a 2nd estimate tomorrow from a locally owed pest control company.
Guy also saw evidence of roof rats and squirrel chewing, but didn't see any entrance points....
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If you have not already, do a Google search on Terminix and read the reviews. I did couple years ago and decided to never give them a try. Found a local company to tent my house (pretty typical where I live) and they did a great job.
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Had a local guy come by today, says house is not affected, only the shed. $365 to do the shed. Done. He's scheduled for next week, his first available time. He'll use Termidor as was suggested previously. He said the termites will likely come back as it appears the shed is sitting on the ground (settled). It sits on 4x4 treated posts, but one side is real low to the ground. He said clear the dirt away as best you can, which I did today. I can't reach under much past about 9 inches from the perimeter, I think some of the joists might be on the ground, not sure. Still gotta pull all the stuff out of it (from the floor) so he can treat the interior. Spending the $365 is better than $1160. Prolly could do it myself, but I decided to have someone who knows what he's doing do it.
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seems I recall quite a few years ago when my brother worked pest control that the chemicals they used killed the live bugs but didn't effect the eggs.
kind of makes sense to me, but that could have been a sale pitch also.
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A bad company, my mother used them. They do not do regular inspections like other companies do (she had to call them when she saw a problem), the realtor told her when she went to sell the house that they were bad, even the house inspector gave them bad marks.
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11-15-2016, 10:08 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-15-2016, 10:10 PM by BrokenOlMarine.)
I agree that you should read the reviews of whatever company you use. Sometimes the internet can be very useful. LOL.
Years ago, back in the late 80s, my ex brother in law got out of the Corps and went to work for a Nationally Branded Company in WV.
They were dispatched by the central office to do inspections when their "Spray Days" weren't full and he said that he had a LOT of room on the "Cost of Treatment' when he found evidence of infestation and he had a lot of freedom on whether or not he found infestation.
If there were two nice cars in the drive, and the owners "had money..." Most likely he would "find evidence" of termites and they would need immediate treatment and then a maintenance contract. He had been taught to throw out the first number. I can't remember... lets say:
That will be $700....
If they didn't balk....
For todays treatment ....
If they still didn't whine and moan.
Then $70 a month for the followup.
Oh that's a little high.
Oh, I'm sorry..... That's $70 a quarter.
if he got to the address, and it was a small trailer, some poor wife with four kids and NO money and he inspected and they were riddled with termites,
He'd spray the crap out of the place and tell her she was fine, no charge and leave. (HE didn't tell the boss about that.)
He couldn't deal with the big scams so he quit after about six or eight months.... and went to work for his father's business. Ol' Dad was the GM at a jeep/chrysler dealership.
At least you knew you were getting taken there. He was the Parts manager there for years....
Jim in Okie
You can tell a lot about the character of a man -
By the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.
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