I live in the hot and humid south. We have subterranean termites here. I’ve never had an issue, but haven’t had any preventative treatment in the 12 years I’ve owned my townhouse. I have had carpenter bees in the past. Thinking it might be time for a preventative treatment at a $1K one time cost, then $120 follow-up each year. I do get quarterly pest control.
Thoughts?
My experience is that normal quarterly pest control type services don’t do the trick for termites, just things like ants and roaches, and termites need their own treatments for prevention.
Given the amount of damage termites can do before you ever know they’re there, and how expensive that can be to repair or if it’s discovered during an inspection when you’re trying to sell your home, and that you live in an area with subterranean termites, it might be a good idea to go ahead and get it covered.
It seems that the termite control companies are basically selling a warranty as much as anything else. I built my house on 2002 and have had minor termite damage repaired by them twice. They have bait stations all along the perimeter of the house to monitor them.
That is what I was thinking. I remember that when I bought it, the loan required a termite inspection before close.
The $120 per year is a waste of money.
Maybe, maybe not. Lots of those deals include coverage for the cost of repairs if they do the annual inspection and find termites or termite damage. In that case, it’s like insurance, and can be worth every penny.
I live in South Carolina. When we bought the house we had a termite bond. Knowing nothing about termites we thought every year when they did the termite inspection they sprayed for termites. Well over two years ago we found termites and to make a long story short the termite company as we found out had not treated the house from when it was built in 2008 and did little to remedy the situation once we found the termites. We are currently suing the termite company and were supposed to have a mediation hearing on August 14th but has been postponed as the termite company is on their third attorney. We have estimates of close to $500,000 worth of damage and our attorney is very certain we will prevail whether through mediation or if we go to a jury trial. Either way we will have wasted close to three years not being able to fix the damage as our attorney has advised not to repair anything as the termite bond will not cover that. We have Formosan termites and the company after we found the termites on three separate occasions over 5 months tried to defraud us by telling us that we needed to put in a Sentricon system (bait stations) but their contract(bond) explicitly omitted Formosan termite damage in the small print. In addition to suing them to live up to their termite bond we are suing them for fraud as they told us the new contract was a new and improved bond! Needless to say, pay for the bond to protect yourself.
Wow that sounds like a huge mess. Good luck at the mediation.
So is owning dozens of guns, but if it makes you feel safer…
Yep, read the fine print and see what’s covered. To me, 1k + 1200 over 10 years could be well worth the cost. If nothing ever happens, you’re out ~$0.65 a day.
You’re in a townhouse, connected structurally with neighbors. Check what they are doing. If nobody has done anything i wouldn’ t worry. If they have all been treated, then you are the banquet.
That sucks. Some of these companies are like some insurance companies, just trying to get out of paying. I had a similar but much lesser scale issue when I sold my last home. Small evidence of termite activity, no living termites detected, but also nothing previously reported from the termite company and their regular inspections. They should have seen it, should have reported it, and should have fixed it, but they tried to skate. When we found it, they buckled pretty quickly and took care of the repairs at no cost (it was much less than yours, only a couple thousand dollars). So, it worked out for me, but it is something you have to check up on and make sure you choose a reputable company, check the contracts, etc.
I actually have my annual termite inspection scheduled for this Friday. I figure it fairly cheap insurance in the grand scheme of things. It started off at 150/yr 18 years ago and now is 225. Just make sure you know what is covered. Our basic contract excludes Formosan termites and does not cover repairs to damage, it just covers the cost to treat the property if termites are found. Our previous house was under contract when I found termite damage so I’ll always have my property under a contract.
i live in the dry south, and was caught by surprise on termite damage.
The dry south? Must be a small area the size of a refrigerator or something.
I’d like to know where that is! Today will be 94F and right now, the humidity is 74% with a dew point of 75F. We have extreme heat warnings through tomorrow night.
Southwest, san diego
You ass! 
The lady who cuts my hair used to live in SD. Yesterday she posted the temperature forecast for our city in Florida and compared it to SDs. I don’t need to tell you how they differed.
I can’t imagine living in a place where every day feels like a nice, spring day.
Trade off… our ocean water temp 25* less than yours
Looking at the agreement:
Covers the cost of treatment and retreatment. Does not cover the cost of repairs.
After treatment, one year guarantee the premises agaist the attack of subterranean termites.
Retreatment annually for the $195 with same one year guarantee. This price is locked for 5 years.
Any additions not covered, so it’s good I got the perogla finished!