Termite Control Protection & Treatment

After detecting my house got infested with termites again, this time in the storage room area, I decided to hire professionals to take care of the problem once and for all. Initially I had feedbacks (more like complaints) from relatives and friends who had bad experience with Termite Control Companies (TCC). But after going through the details, I found most of them used the conventional solution which was drilling and pumping chemicals to kill the termites. From the articles I read on the internet, this method doesn't address the core of the problem, since the chemicals do not reach all the cracks and hollow spots in the building structure. Furthermore these chemicals wear out after some time and the termites tend to make a comeback shortly.

I contacted two well-known Termite Control Companies (TCC). They sent their sales representatives a day later to visit my home and make an analysis. I arranged the appointments so that one will come in the morning, and the other in the afternoon.

The first company originated from UK, let's call them TCC1, has been in the pest control business since 1927 providing services to over 40 countries worldwide. They have setup base here in the country for more than 40 years. The sales representatives and technicians who do the field work are directly hired by the company. After checking the areas around my house, the sales rep identified the termite to be Subterranean Coptotermes genus, the most common type found in households. The termite control treatment they recommended was the Sentricon® - Termite Colony Elimination System which is basically a baiting system. The service is packaged in a way to last for a year, with optional renewal upon expiry at a lower price. If agreed and contract signed, TCC1 will send their technicians the next day to carry out a full inspection of the building including rooftop, for signs of termites. A device developed by Termatrac® is used to detect termites through timber, plaster board, brick or masonry with no interference to the building material or termite activity.

Each in-building area found thriving with termite activities will be installed with an Above-Ground (AG) bait station. Each station is a rectangular box 3.5"x6" with 2" height, containing bait compound laced with Hexaflumuron hormone. After 2 weeks, TCC1 technicians will check the stations and verify that termites are taking the bait. If 1/3 to half the bait matrix has been consumed and active feeding continues, a supplement station will be added by stacking it on top of existing station. Stacking avoids disturbing the termite foraging activities. Colony elimination normally takes between 60 to 90 days.

When feeding has not been observed for two consecutively monitoring periods, the bait stations will be removed, followed by periodic inspections (every 3 months) of the building for renewed termite activity. In the event of re-infestation of second termites colony, AG bait stations will be introduced again and fortnightly monitoring will continue until elimination of the termite colony, without incurring extra charges. The whole package cost around USD800 for the first year, with renewal rate around USD200 a year.

In the afternoon, the second Termite Control Company TCC2 did their checks. Pretty much the same analysis as the previous TCC, and they recommended the same Sentricon® - Termite Colony Elimination System. Their package is priced cheaper at around USD670 for the first year, with optional renewal rate approximately USD130 a year. Main difference is that the people I was dealing with are not TCC2 direct employees, rather they are employed by a smaller Termite Control operator holding TCC2 franchise license. This gives them the privilege of using TCC2 brandname and their authorised products (Sentricon is not available to retailers, they are sold only to authorised Termite Control firms like TCC1 and TCC2). The risk here is the franchise holder may go bankrupt and close shop, leaving me with the only option of waiting for TCC2 to assign a replacement. The plus point however is that TCC2 offers a 200% money back guarantee if their service failed to solve the termite problem. TCC2 started its roots in the country back in 1985 and has been expanding their offices since.

Since the product that both TCC use are the same, it's basically the price tag, level of customer service, expertise and response time that score points. In the end, I chose the TCC2 for two reasons : the price tag of course and the sales rep was a lot more accommodating and friendly. And from what I read, Termite Control business is big business, so the chances of the franchise going bankrupt is pretty slim as far as I'm concerned.