Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > Long Island
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-22-2009, 06:11 PM
 
40 posts, read 365,264 times
Reputation: 39

Advertisements

I just purchased a home in Northport in Oct and we had it inspected of course no sign of termites and this weekend we had a termite swarm. I had 2 companies come and give me an estimate Terminix and Suburban. Both came up with the same price for the service. I have been doing some research online and Terminix has tons of complaints and the system that Suburban uses which is the Sentricon system has been listed as a scam. It's a lot of money and I just wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions or experiences with either company. Thank you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-22-2009, 06:25 PM
 
19,576 posts, read 20,401,433 times
Reputation: 16233
Did you get termite certificate with the home inspection? They are usually good for a year. You may have some recourse if you got that.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2009, 07:48 PM
 
Location: NY
1,416 posts, read 5,583,495 times
Reputation: 605
This is definitely termite swarm season (the first reallly warm days each spring -- this weekend will see tons of people having the same unnerving experience!).

I'm not sure if banks nowadays still require a termite certificate or simply just an inspection saying there is no evidence of an active infestation (with the usual list of caveats of why 30-50% of the house could not be inspected because those areas were "inaccessible").

Hopefully you did get something from the seller's termite company if they had one.

My nephew just bought a house and the termite contract from Terminix is supposedly being transferred over to him. Whenever it runs out he's planning to see if another company can take it over because Terminix does have a not so good rep when it comes to termite control (ironically enough). You may be better off with a small local company.

Stay away from the Sentricon system; those bait stations are leased, you do not own them, so if you decide to switch companies the installing company comes over and rips them all out. The Bayer Advance bait system is much better and you own them outright and can then use whatever company you want for monitoring in the future.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2009, 08:28 PM
 
40 posts, read 365,264 times
Reputation: 39
thanks this was our first home purchase so we def have learned a lot. We have the
inspection saying there is no evidence of an active infestation (with the usual list of caveats of why 30-50% of the house could not be inspected because those areas were "inaccessible"). So we have no recourse. I just need to make sure we get the right company it's so much money I want to choose the right system that actually does the job.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-23-2009, 09:38 AM
 
Location: East Northport
3,351 posts, read 9,720,882 times
Reputation: 1337
Typically, when you close you will also receive a one year warranty against termites from the company that did the inspection. It doesn't matter if some areas were inaccessible. If so, you should go back to them.

That being said, don't let the termites freak you out. Go with a big reputable company.

Also, try to ascertain where the termites are entering your house from. One area that is particularly vulnernable is is you have a brick or cement stoop. These are usually filled with sand, which give the termites easy access to the house.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-23-2009, 10:31 PM
 
294 posts, read 875,923 times
Reputation: 78
Have been warned by home inspectors that the bait systems are really just "inviting" termites from neighbors' homes to your home. The bait traps actually supply food to the termites. So when the company comes to check on the bait and finds activity, they replace the food with poison which the termites are then supposed to return to their colony.

I prefer one-time treatments/spraying with monitoring by the company.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-10-2009, 11:27 AM
 
59 posts, read 433,976 times
Reputation: 46
Sentricon is not a scam as a termite system. I can't speak for any company however. Where you are though your bait system will be useless in the cold winter months. You may want to check out a liquid termite treatment around the foundation of your home. I'd insist on Termidor or Premise and you should be fine. If you need more info on baiting, check out this article and see if helps you make up your mind. Termites: To bait or not to bait | Pest Cemetery

Good Luck
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-10-2009, 12:38 PM
 
19,576 posts, read 20,401,433 times
Reputation: 16233
I bought some termite killer myself and treated my last house and it worked 100%.
Cost 20 bucks.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-10-2009, 05:41 PM
 
Location: Stony Brook
2,897 posts, read 4,378,703 times
Reputation: 2752
have them use the chemical injected into the ground. stay away from baiting systems, they suck. the chemical will kill them, and last for years. baiting systems are hit or miss, most times miss.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-11-2009, 08:17 AM
 
13,768 posts, read 38,047,707 times
Reputation: 10686
Quote:
Originally Posted by chacker17 View Post
I just purchased a home in Northport in Oct and we had it inspected of course no sign of termites and this weekend we had a termite swarm. I had 2 companies come and give me an estimate Terminix and Suburban. Both came up with the same price for the service. I have been doing some research online and Terminix has tons of complaints and the system that Suburban uses which is the Sentricon system has been listed as a scam. It's a lot of money and I just wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions or experiences with either company. Thank you.
Read the info on the contract to be sure they don't have to stand behind their findings. Some states make them guarantee their inspection especially when you buy a home.

The Bait system is not what you want if you already have termites. The traps are put around the yard and if the termites already have a food source (your house) they aren't going to go searching for one.

IIRC once you have your house treated the chemical will last 7 years. If you read most termite service contracts they are only good for 7 years, after that you have to pay.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:




Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > Long Island
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top