Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504110085
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``Just like any other business - like plumbing and roofing - it's buyer beware,'' said Mike Merchant, entomologist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
Merchant suggests the following considerations:
Ask at least three companies to do an inspection, assess the problem and give you a written estimate of how much treatment will cost.
Ask the company to draw a diagram of your property and show you what workers are going to do, where they're going to treat and exactly where they will drill holes to inject the termiticide inside and outside the house. Usually, holes are drilled no more than 12 to 18 inches apart around the perimeter of the exterior in order to create an effective chemical barrier.
Ask the company for references of other jobs that it has done, and call those home owners to see whether they're satisfied.
Find out how long the company has been in business. This will give you an idea of the company's stability and whether it will be around to honor the warranty.
Check the Better Business Bureau and see whether there are any complaints against the companies you obtain estimates from.
Ask each company to explain warranty terms and whether the contract can be renewed. Major companies usually offer lifetime warranties as long as you renew the contract every year. The companies reinspect the home every year when the contract premium is paid and re-treat if necessary.
If you can afford it, go with a company that offers such a warranty, and renew the contract every year. It's not unheard of for treated homes to be reinfested.
Be careful if the company offers you a choice of spot treatment, consisting of treatment only in the area of the house where termites are found. Consider partial treatment only if you have financial hardship and can't afford to have the whole house treated. Often termites enter homes at several different places, and some locations may not be spotted during the initial inspection. Also, termites could leave the treated part of the house and resurface in an untreated portion.
Aside from termite treatment, there are a few preventive measures you can take against these pests, Merchant said:
Never store firewood or other lumber up against the house; put the woodpile at least 10 feet away. The untreated wood stacked on soil is likely to draw termites.
Make sure you have good drainage. Water should not puddle around the house.
Promptly repair roof leaks or other water leaks. Moist wood makes an easy target for termites.
Use treated wood for fences and treated wood or metal for fenceposts. Mount the posts in cement. Leave a gap between the fence pickets and the ground so that the wood doesn't touch the soil.
Keep mulch a few inches away from the slab of the house.
Don't plant bushes right up to the foundation of the house. Leave a 6- to 8-inch gap so that you can visually inspect foundations for mud tunnels.
If you're building a deck, be sure the wooden deck supports do not touch the soil. Anchor them in small concrete piers, or put the whole deck on a concrete slab.
Once a home has been treated, do not disturb the soil 6 to 8 inches around the house, or you risk damaging the chemical barrier in the ground.
by CNB