Need Help: Orkin vs Terminix vs DIY
Peter Chenoweth
about here for a few days and looked through lots of posts. I'm not looking
to stir up debates over which company is better (more likely, which company
has suckered the least amount of money out of customers).
My wife and I have owned our 80+ year old home (our first house) for a year
and a half. The termite inspection when we purchased it was negative,
though our neighbors warned (after we moved in) that there's a pretty active
termite colony(ies) around and that most of them have termite problems. My
house was recently inspected by Orkin and found to have a small infestation
of termites. The termites are active, and came up through our dirt area in
the crawlspace of our basement and are currently feeding on a small, 4-foot
long by 2 foot high half-wall that is not connected via wood to any part of
the rest of the house. So the repair of that will be very easy and
inexpensive, at least.
As a first-time young pair of home owners, we're pretty shocked at what
exactly it costs to control these pests. When I was expecting a
couple-hundred dollar spray-and-kill-em solution, I nearly fainted when the
Orkin estimate was $2400+ for the first year, and $350+ yearly fee. The
first thing I did was call some other exterminators for other options.
Terminix inspected today and told me the same things - mostly that the
infestation is minor - but active - and I need to do something to stop them
but shouldn't be overtly concerned with my house falling in on itself (which
I have been since Orkin found the damage...). Terminix quoted $1200+ for
the first year with $240+ yearly fee after that for their standard sentricon
treatment. I did sign the contract and Terminix is scheduled to come on
Thursday (5/29/03) to do the install, but I have a three day cooling off
period in Illinois where I can terminate the contract with no penalty, and I
may do it. He also quoted me $750 now, $150/year fee after to treat the
whole foundation with Termidor (I've read it's good stuff...), and a spot
treatment on the active colony to kill them, with a guarantee to keep the
termites away but not their damage guarantee. My father is of the type that
I should just go to the local Lowe's and buy some of the Termarid
killer/stakes stuff and spray the actives and stake out the rest of my house
by myself, for $75..
So I need more advice. I've read a half dozen websites arguing over whether
the sentricon system works, and a dozen others touting how evil
Terminix/Orkin is and customer's they've taken. The infestation is pretty
minor at this point, though I have no doubts that given time they will find
a way into the structural timber of my house.
I fully expect that for $2400 that Orkin will be able to eliminate the
problem, but that's a lot of money for us. $1200 is slightly more
palatable, but it's still a very significant chunk of change. $750 is
better still and puts less of a dent in our budget, and at this point is
what my wife wants to do. I'm not so sure I like the Terminix solution as
now that I've read the fine print in their contract, it seems to have a huge
number of loopholes where they can get out of it. Also, their solution is to
leave the termites where they are, munching away and hoping to bait and kill
them.
I would greatly appreciate any kind words or advice. I know there are
several professionals that monitor this board, and I'd love to hear what you
say. Post here or email me at PeterCh...@hotmail.com.
Thank you.
Peter Chenoweth
Lar
says...
:) I would greatly appreciate any kind words or advice. I know there are
:) several professionals that monitor this board, and I'd love to hear what you
:) say
:)
Usually I see the Terminix starting at $2400+ and Orkin
starting around $1700. I would stay away from both and
the baiting systems. Go with Termidor, it is pretty much
idiot proof. Go with a smaller established company and
you will probably pay $800-$1100 for the treatment. If
Terminix's bid also includes drilling and treating the
dirt filled porch areas and they will be doing the spot
treatment with the termidor, that actually is a workable
treatment for your home. By shopping around you might be
able to get a cheaper yearly renewal. And if Terminix
balks on the porch drilling remind them you aren't
obligated to use them, they will come around..the
salesman needs that end of the month sale to go through.
The do-it-yourself treatment will give you that warm
feeling of saving all that money, but it won't be real
protection.
--
Good judgment comes from experience,
and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!
Peter Chenoweth
you give lots of advice on this forum.
I really only have four choices of pest control in my town, Terminix, Orkin,
and two independents. One of the independents I've heard some less-than
good things about, and the other likes to over charge and has an
"unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB.
$750 for spot treatment of infestation and whole house foundation
application of Termidor by Terminix is sounding pretty good...
Again, thank you for the advice.
Peter Chenoweth
"Lar" <lar...@attbiBUGS.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.193dbfba1...@netnews.attbi.com...
Lar
@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net>, p...@p.com says...
:) I really only have four choices of pest control in my town, Terminix, Orkin,
:) and two independents. One of the independents I've heard some less-than
:) good things about, and the other likes to over charge and has an
:) "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB.
:)
:)
You might try emailing one of these guys at
http://www.ipconetwork.org/referral/referral.mv#Illinois
and if they aren't near you, maybe they will have a
contact that is satisfactory.
timot...@adelphia.net
repair guarantee you will actually see it covers no repairs. Strange isn't
it? For $2400.00 Orkin should be able to stop the termites, but the won't.
The problem is they are depending on a piece of wood in the yard to protect
your home from termites.
This is your first home, please don't let it be your first major mistake
also. If you have the 2400.00 or the 1200.00 treatment now sooner or later
you are going to have to have it treated properly, and you will also have to
pay then. My question is this, why not pay for the proper treatment now and
be done with it?
Termite infestation in a home is not minor in any situation. What they are
seeing is the minor part that may be showing. What about the problems they
cannot see? What about the termites that are hidden in the walls and never
show themselves? Have the home properly treated with Termidor and be
finished with it, you will thank yourself in the long run.
I wish you the very best.......
Tim W
Eric Lee Green
> Thanks for the response - I was hoping that you'd respond as I've seen that
> you give lots of advice on this forum.
>
> I really only have four choices of pest control in my town, Terminix, Orkin,
> and two independents. One of the independents I've heard some less-than
> good things about, and the other likes to over charge and has an
> "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB.
>
> $750 for spot treatment of infestation and whole house foundation
> application of Termidor by Terminix is sounding pretty good...
Indeed. That's the option I'd choose, in your situation. Bait systems
are at best useful only for detection and prevention, not for
treatment of active infestations, in my opinion.
--
Eric Lee Green mailto:er...@badtux.org
Q: What happens when you cross a portal(et) with a penguin?
A: http://www.badtux.org
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Lar
er...@badtux.org says...
:) Bait systems
:) are at best useful only for detection and prevention, not for
:) treatment of active infestations, in my opinion.
:)
:)
Scratch that...I usually do two or three jobs a year
that have been on baiting programs for a number of years
and the termites are found on the house rather than in
the stations.
timot...@adelphia.net
appears to be to much of a wuss to post what he sent to me here. He was
trying to bash me saying that Terminix is the greatest, or in other words
the typical brainwashed Terminix Employee.......I will send you guys his
email or post it here if you want to see what he has to say....
Lar
@news1.news.adelphia.net>, timot...@adelphia.net
says...
:) I had a guy respond to this posting by email. He is a Terminix employee that
:) appears to be to much of a wuss to post what he sent to me here. He was
:) trying to bash me saying that Terminix is the greatest, or in other words
:) the typical brainwashed Terminix Employee.......I will send you guys his
:) email or post it here if you want to see what he has to say....
:)
:)
Oh to be able to stand behind the company that was fined
this year in Connecticut $300,000 because of fraudulente
trade practices...Who would of thought you couldn't do
outdoor carpenter ant control in 2 feet of snow....or
the Washington state person that was given a bid for
carpenter ant control of $1800 to tent and fumigate the
house, only about $1700 more than what probably was
needed to be done. How could ya not be proud to be
associated with that class act.
g
get your good guys and bad guys. Most of the larger companies do not condone
bad business practices, Though they cannot be with their employees 24/7 you
have to find a company that is stable and have the proper training. You do
not want a fly by night company that will not be there next year. And if
there is an exorbitant price difference beware! when one is charging 2000.00
and the other is charging 800.00 either one is not going to do it right or
the other is price gouging.
"Lar" <lar...@attbiBUGS.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1941b0b72...@netnews.attbi.com...
timot...@adelphia.net
Terminix is, what he didn't know is I have worked for Terminix and Orkin
both. I seen in a later post that the larger companies do not condone bad
business practices, that may be true, but they are the ones that set the
standards for their techs to do 20 stops a day and provide "quality"
service........They may not condone it they just set the stage.....
Here is the email he was to ashamed to post in public...
Peter, STOP!!!. Call Terminix and cancel their agreement. If you read their
repair guarantee you will actually see it covers no repairs,
Dude you must cant read you moron....... where the hell do yall get this
crap. the national inquirer.
Yes I am a Terminix employee and it makes me mad when people make statements
that are completely false.
If Terminix is so bad then why is it that we make billions of dollars and
have tens of thousands of customers. Maybe some government conspiracy
allows us to do this.
Stop trying to build your business by bad mouthing other companies. Sure I
admit that when you have the volume that Terminix does things happen.
However I have never seen a case where Terminix tried to get out of any
contractual obligation. Matter of fact we end up fixing things in alot of
cases that were clearly not included in any service just to keep people
happy.
I am sick of these attacks on Terminix. If you want to email me on this my
email is tim...@sc.rr.com <mailto:tim...@sc.rr.com>..........
Lar
@news1.news.adelphia.net>, timot...@adelphia.net
says...
I have never seen a case where Terminix tried to get
out of any
:) cases that were clearly not included in any service just to keep people
:) happy.
:)
I like this statement, when in fact he would have to
know it is almost a gift, for the branch managers, to
have the knack to try to get out of damage claims. To
fix things clearly not included in service agreements
may be one way to look at it..or is it a case to cover
your arse to avoid letters to the BBB, state boards,
etc.
--
Bob
got a bad tech, guess what kind of service you get. To bad they took the
customer care service board down. Most of my regular customers were once
Terminix, Orkin or Ehrlich accounts. I wonder why they changed? tt was
not customer satisfaction that made them change to me.
GOD BLESS THE USA
Member of IPCO- International Pest Control Operators
Public message board- http://www.ipconetwork.org/fmb/cboard.mv
Cable Plukker
that have been on baiting programs for a number of years
and the termites are found on the house rather than in
the stations.
O Kay now.
Memorial Day party......Termite men...discussion.
Termidior...death within hours....ability to groom?
Translocation low, repellency theories.
Sentricon...death within months....dead termite repellency theories.
Translocation high, monitoring crucial to obtaining data.
Data kept in some secret place only known to Dow Chemical.
When we sell temite jobs, we can sell anyway we want.
Partial,
no warranty, low cost.
Give one area a shot at chemical or above ground stations.
Full treatment,
initial warranty,
monitoring,
yearly, monthly, quarterly,
with limited time span on renewal.
Chemical treatment, drill holes, trench, make a barrier. Imagine
painting.
Baiting system, drill holes, install stations, monitor, capture
termites, feed termites,
more stations, more feeding, feeding stops, move stations, continue
monitoring.
DO PARTIAL IF NECESSARY.
Seven Years of baiting. Never had to do a partial chemical treatment on the
system.
Cost analysis of full treatment and baiting system over the long haul,
if done correctly, 75cents per lin ft..
Once upon a time, we were the only PCO's around who would do homes with
well systems
within the house. What a joy it was years ago when termite baiting came
along.
We thought, expensive. Hard to sell. Never work.
Years later, good value. Sold like mad. Thousands of happy customers.
timot...@adelphia.net
Jim Vadek
news:MUVBa.2319$cp6.1...@news1.news.adelphia.net...
> Here you go Lar, this is the email he sent me trying to say how great
> Terminix is, what he didn't know is I have worked for Terminix and Orkin
> both. I seen in a later post that the larger companies do not condone bad
> business practices, that may be true, but they are the ones that set the
> standards for their techs to do 20 stops a day and provide "quality"
> service........They may not condone it they just set the stage.....
As my newly discovered pest guy explained it: The nationals just burrow
through customers. If they lose a few customers along the way all they do do
is pick up a few more as they keep on burrowing through the market. They're
so big, losing a few customers does not matter to them. But for a small
operator who is known all around town - they'd prefer to keep their existing
customers because winning new ones is not easy.
timot...@adelphia.net
slightly is about it not being so easy for the smaller guys to get
customers.
Let me explain in detail......The National screw up I get a new
customer..........
We do get lots of customers that have never had a national account, but lots
of ours come from the customers that the nationals have burrowed thru. We
take our time and get rid of their problem and the nationals are the ones
that lose.....
Mike Wood
And you forgot about the Premise guys like me that have used it from day one
and never had a call back yet.
"Cable Plukker" <g.j....@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:y34Ca.181009$ja4.9...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Mike Wood
do a lot of older peoples homes and most of my time is just spent talking to
them. It sickens me when I hear from one of them that they have a friend
that is using a National Company ,T or O, and they where charged hundreds of
dollars to get rid of Sugar Ants (pharaoh ants) or the person I had last
year that has spent over $4000 on a termites for a 1700sqf home. And still
had termites and to boot there was no drill holes in the concrete. With the
termites in the front porch. Ok Im getting mad all over again. So what Im
saying is if you have work done with the wrong company that has a person
spending 10 min tops at a house, with a Tech that might be on the job for a
week, that knows if he doesnt sell something more then just the service call
or he wont make any money, you might want to find a smaller down to earth
company that takes the time to make a friend and not just see how much they
can get out of a person. I could go on and on with stories like this from
people or Techs when I would sit in a CEU class and the techs would sit
together and tell each other how they did (took from older people or people
with new borns) that day. Using peoples fears of the unknown to them is
wrong and I think that is what gives the PCO a bad name. Ok this thing
getting to long and not making sence anymore.
Lar
pestde...@centramedia.net says...
:) And you forgot about the Premise guys like me that have used it from day one
:) and never had a call back yet.
:)
:)
I wish I had the same success with Premise that I do
with Termidor...could use the money savings for
something important like golf. :)
--
timot...@adelphia.net
saying. I know of a guy that went and sold a termite job and insulation to a
lady that had Alzheimer's. He charged her about 4 grand and while they were
there doing the job he had another contract in his hand for over 5000.00
when her power of attorney pulled up and threw them off the property. He
told them she had nothing done without checking with him first. The salesman
said all this guy was doing is stealing from these old ladies, I looked at
him and said "much like yourself?" He shut up and did not bring up her name
again until he went by her house and seen that a local company was treating
the home for termites. The power of Attorney was there when this one was
done. If the salesman from Orkin had just searched out the POA he would have
had the job. This same guy watches the obits in the newspaper and does the
Paper Moon scenario on the ladies. If you remember the movie Paper Moon with
Ryan O'neal and Tatum O'neal, they would sell bibles. The Orkin guy does
termite jobs. He goes to the houses of ladies where their husbands recently
passed, he knocks on the door and asks for the man, and when the lady tells
him he is gone, he tells her that the guy was planning on having the home
treated and he said if it was the last thing I do I will not leave my wife
with these termites. Of course most of them buy the damn job. Oh yeah I
forgot to mention, this guy is an ordained minister also. He claims that the
Lord sends him these old ladies so he can put food on the table and money in
the collection plate. I understand how you feel when we have to deal with
crap like this, we have to try and overcome the bad name that is put on this
industry by high pressure salesmen, techs that don't know a termite from a
moth, a manager that only cares about his P&L and not his customers. I know
exactly how you feel, I am there with you.........
Eric Lee Green
> There is no such thing as a full treatment once the house has been built.
> And you forgot about the Premise guys like me that have used it from day one
> and never had a call back yet.
I think it depends on how vicious the termites are in your part of the
country. Here in Arizona, Premise works reasonably well (certainly
better than any of the repellant pyrethroids or Diazanon, albeit not
as well as Chlordane used to work), but we have little rain to wash it
away, and our termites are rather mild-mannered. Somehow I suspect
someone in Louisiana would have rather poorer results with Premise.
Not to mention that, now that Termidor is on the market, I fail to see
why anybody would want to stick with an inferior product for
treatments of existing infestations (and Premise *is* an inferior
product, with lesser life span and less certain nest kills). Maybe for
pretreats, where cost is a big factor, but that's a different market
anyhow.
Mike Wood
works. Like I said been using it from day one and not one call back.