<p>When we bought our house 16 years ago, they found termite damage in the crawl space during inspection. It was treated and repaired and we didn’t think it was a problem and closed the deal. After we moved in it had to be retreated a few times. We kept the contract and get an annual inspection. Had no incident so far for more than ten years. The contract renewal is coming up and I am wondering if there were termites once in the past, should we stay vigilant? Do they go ever away? How much longer should we keep the contract?</p>
<p>I could be wrong but is my understanding they never completely go away. The exterminator merely comes up with a method of keeping them away from the house. There are a number of new ways to treat but after examining our house and the location the exterminator recommended the old fashioned route which was to create a chemical barrier. The chemicals today are not as toxic and don’t as readily migrate in the soil so we went for it. We have had a contract in place for twenty years. Ten years after the initial treatment they found a tube under our porch during the annual inspection and treated again. There are exterior “baiting” methods which also keep them away from the house.</p>
<p>I am sure that someone else on CC has more knowledge than I do. Hopefully they will jump in. Personally, I would keep the contract.</p>
<p>There’s no such thing as a permanent elimination of termites. You should keep the contract forever. It’s very cheap compared to the potential damage.</p>
<p>I have a contract, and an annual inspection always results in treatment needed. It’s less expensive to have the contract than to have more damage and higher bills to fix it later.</p>
<p>For myself, I don’t know that I would remember to have someone come and inspect without the annual renewal. That would likely result in a lot more damage, which would cost more to treat/repair.</p>
<p>Wow, I didn’t know I was making a lifetime commitment! It was partially started because the company has gone through some change and the older inspectors are replaced by new people. I may be just being paranoid but I got the impression they won’t catch termites until damage is quite advanced.</p>
<p>We don’t bother with contracts. We have termite treatment as needed. We have had ground treatment as well as once having the house fumigated. In HI, termites are a constant menace, with the humidity and warmth year round.</p>
<p>They don’t usually know if there are termites unless they see ‘evidence’ (droppings) of termites which of course is from the wood that they’re eating which of course means some damage is being done. They can also see evidence in wood damage as well as the tunnels of some kinds of termites. They can get rid of the termites that are there but every year there are new termites looking to move into your house. It’s like trying to get rid of ants - it’s pretty much an endless battle. The damage doesn’t have to be ‘quite advanced’ though to detect them. The evidence can be found even when there’s minimal actual damage. Left unchecked the damage can get quite extensive and expensive to fix and can even be dangerous if it weakens structural members of the house.</p>
<p>The different treatments can slow things down.</p>
<p>It’s hard to say whether the ‘contract’ is less costly than just inspecting/treating/fixing every now and then as Himom does. It really comes down to what that monthly contract costs and how bad termites are in your area and even what kind of wood is used in your home (they like some types of wood more than others). I think pest companies make a lot of money from these monthly contracts but then they make a lot of money from fixing all the damage as well. You just need to do some math and guesstimating on this.</p>
<p>That is accurate. Our house is made of redwood and mostly the termites seem to be eating trim (made of other material) and parts other than the redwood. They are quite voracious and can do a lot of damage quickly. The ground termites are the nastiest, but the other termites can also cause damage but more slowly. </p>
<p>Around here, most termite folks will come & do a free inspection & quote if you call them. We have not seen the value in having a termite contract for us but others may find it valuable.</p>