Our 19th Ave. Park (San Mateo) Eichler has drywood termites in one area. A company called Northwest Termite uses an electro treatment to treat the area, after the sheetrock is removed. They did the initial inspection.
1) Does anyone have experience with this type of treatment? It is guaranteed for one year. Do the termites usually return after a local treatment? Fumigation would be a more secure solution, but costs more and we have move our dishes, food, medicine, and ourselves out for a few days. What a pain! :( However, we don't want to have the area treated every year either or worry about reinfestation. Any thought on this?
2) If a termite inspector uses a local treatment, I would think they would be ABSOLUTELY 100% sure they found the only area with termites, since they are treating it locally. A fumigation would kill all termites, even if they were hidden. How thorough are termite inspectors in this regard when they treat an infestation locally?
3) Any experience with Northwest Termite? There are located in Santa Rosa. The website is http://www.northwesttermite.com. Any experience, good or bad, would be appreciated.
4) Any other termite companies that do local treatments that can be recommended? Or not recommended? A company that does a lot of Eichlers would be especially helpful.
E0mail directly with feedback and rcommendations to: eichlernetwork AT irishdragons DOT com
Thanks!
Patrick
Hi Patrick,
There's a couple of things I would think about if it were me:
1) How do I know that the termites are only located in one area (which localized treatment assumes)? Did the inspectors by chance only find the area you pointed out them (yes, I had that happen to me)?
2) Do I understand the warranty? Their warranty might be different but I think most warranties only agree to retreat the same area at no cost. Note that that is "re-treat at no cost", it does not reimburse repairs you might have to make to the structure due to continued/additional infestation.
3) How experienced/reputable is the company in terms of detection and followup service?
Even an effective treatment applied by a good company can have a recurrence but at least you know they will deal with you honorably when you call them back. On the other hand, a non-reputable company might misapply a good treatment and then claim it wasn't their fault when there's a recurrence.
Thorough inspections are key. I had *several* companies in to inspect my home. None were experienced in inspecting Eichlers and all provided inadequate (misleading/inaccurate/incomplete) reports. I finally found a guy who knew what he was doing.
- get references from other Eichler owners
- check the company's record of complaints at the appropriate BBB
- check the company's record at the Structural Pest Control Board (the licensing body):
http://www.pestboard.ca.gov/license.htm
4) What is the downside to you if the termites are not knocked out?
Drywood termites nest *above ground in your house*. If you treat one wall and the termites have already made it to a top framing member, they can readily travel to beams or other rooms. Be sure you know the pros and cons of various treatment options.
As far as I can tell, you can claim that Brahm's lullabies lulls termites into inactivity as long as you have a business license and are certified for any chemicals used by your company. No, honestly.
The following page at the UC Davis Pest Mananagment site provides useful information, but search for more.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7440.html#ELIMINATING
Good luck.
Jake
Paulitzlee--
I'm in your development, and had treatment for drywood and dampwood termites last fall from another company in the area (reply to dean at electricmist dot com for details).
We had been in our house only a month after purchase (inspection was clean but full of disclaimers) and found a location that seemed to have termite damage. In the process of renovating the garage, damage was found to be widespread, but not too serious. Lesson learned was that a) termit inspections are not always accurate, and b)it can be very difficult to locate ALL termite infestations unless you remove your walls and go over everything very carefully.
Tenting came with a warranty of 5 years (they will re-tent if termites are found within 5 years) and given that there are active termite locations on the fence next to my home, and probably in the homes of my neigbors, this seemed like the wisest course. I now EXPECT that there will be a re-infestation in the next decade or so.
Dean
I finally found a guy who knew what he was doing.
- get references from other Eichler owners
Jake,
Since we live in the same subdivision, would you care to provide such a reference? You can email it to me if you'd like.
Chris
Every house has drywood termites at one time or another. After the firtst rain after a dry period, they swarm (they have wings at one stage of their development). Drywood termites do less damage than dampwood or subterranean, but can be in your house for a while without being detected.
There are biological agents that are effective as well (a type of fungus that kills termites and die within a month); Whatever you do you have to know that if you attempt a local treatment, I have not dealt with 1 pest treatment company that 100% guarantees that they will eliminate the infestation (I have personnly dealt with about 10 such companies); however, find someone that will re-apply treatment at least once if the initial treament is not effective. If it were my problem, I would try the non-toxic local treatment. It could work (out of the 14 local treaments that we have attemepted, both by myself or various pest operators) I'd say that 2 had been re-infested. It is worth avoiding leaving the house andthe time and hassle, danger to plants and pets to try to avoid it.