[tophcfa]

It seems all the pest control companies want to push customers into paying a significant one time fee to treat for ground originating termites and then pay an annual premium to keep a insurance policy in place in the event of ground termite damage. The expenses can add up over the years and the insurance policy has a very long list of coverage exceptions that appear to give the insurance provider an excuse to deny most claims.

I would be very interested in opinions from fellow Villages residents who have researched this and what they have determined regarding the necessity to protect their homes from ground termites.

[retiredguy123]

Last year, my Massey original 5-year termite contract expired. I paid them $400 to retreat, and to renew the contract for an additional 10 years, with an annual inspection fee of about $100. The treatment consisted of injecting chemicals under the ground every 16 inches around the perimeter of the house. They did a thorough job. Note that Massey does not provide an insurance policy. They guarantee that they will repair any termite damage that occurs using their own money. No insurance company is involved.

I also discussed the termite treatment with Deans. They charge about $140 per year to inspect the house for termites, and they will treat a small section of the house every year (not the entire house). This seemed ridiculous to me. But the biggest problem with Deans is that they would not provide a long-term contract against damage. Their inspection and treatment guarantee was only on a year-to-year basis. So, they are free to cancel the contract at any time or to raise their fees. That was totally unacceptable to me, and that is why I hired Massey.

Both companies will try to sell you an additional treatment for flying termites that can get into your attic. I opted out of this treatment and only went with the subterranean termite treatment, which is pretty standard around the country.

[Blueblaze]

At $150 for a treatment that lasts 10 years, it's necessary.

At $500 plus $300/year for a "guarantee" that evaporates the moment you tell them to quit bothering you every month, it's a scam.

Where did I get that $150 number? That's literally the price I paid three years ago to treat a 2,000sqft house, plus two 1200sqft metal buildings on an acre in Texas, the year before we moved. I could turn over a shovel anywhere in that yard and find termites. And yet, pre-treatment wasn't required in Harris County, and that 20-year-old brick house had never been infested, even though it had never been treated. The only reason I treated it was that I had an infestation in the barn when I enclosed one of the garage doors with hardi-plank siding and then planted a flowerbed next to it. I didn't realize that termites will eat hardiplank. The infestation took about two years for me to notice. Total damage was a sheet of hardiplank and one 2x4. But while I had the guy out there, I asked how much to treat the whole place, and $150 is apparently what it costs for Termodore termite treatment in a state that doesn't begin with "F".

Where did I get that $500 number? That was what Massey quoted me, and when I refused, they threatened to dig up all the sentracon bait traps the previous owner had paid them to install. I pointed out that everything on my property belonged to me and that Florida is a stand-your-ground state. I never heard from them again. But so far, I have not found a single termite company in Florida who will simply treat my house for a reasonable price without demanding a yearly ransom for the warranty.

[retiredguy123]

I have lived in Georgia and Virginia, and the going rate for a whole house termite treatment was about $1,000 to $1,200, with an annual inspection fee of about $100. Both states had a lot of termite damage. Florida doesn't seem to have as much, but I don't know why. In Georgia, if you laid an untreated wood board on your lawn, in about 30 days, half of the board would be eaten by termites.