I am having a hard time finding a termite company that treats with Termidor according to the label.
According to the label, exterior treatment must include digging a trench 6 inches deep, then rodding into that trench down to the footing, or do a depth 4 feet whichever is less. Then material should be applied 4 gallons per linear foot per foot of depth.
My house has full basement all around, footing is 6 feet deep. They should be rodding down 4 feet and inserting 16 gallons (4x4) every 10 feet. By the book, my house requires 300 gallon exterior treatment.
Had one company come out and they dug no trench at all, but then spent a total of 1/2 hour walking around the house poking at the surface here and there, never going more than 1 foot deep at any point. They probably pumped 20 gallons tops and they wanted $900 for this.
Next I called the next higher price guy ($1,500) and he said he does dig trench but does not rod more than 2 or 3 feet down (he was a little vague). He said his rod is only 4' long.
The most expensive guy was Orkin ($2500), salesman said that they dig trench but do not insert rod into soil but just fill trench with Termidor. Called the company manager back and he said that the salesman was incorrect and that they did rod into the soil (I don't know how far yet).
Is this standard practice in this industry, to disregard the Termidor label and expect the homeowner to be uninformed? Is there somewhere I can rent the equipment and do it myself. I am not trying to save money, I just want it done right.
Thanks
Chapter 2. The frustration continues
I just hired another exterminator, after much contemplation. I proactively discussed the specifics, trench will be dug, they will measure the amount of liquid dispensed from the hose, they will dispense 8 gallons per 10 linear feet, it will take about 6 hours. First I needed to accept the fact that nobody trenches down 4 feet, even though that is what the Termidor label indicates that my house requires. 8 gallons per 10 linear feet is the prescription for 2 foot depth.
In the end he dispensed 112 gallons. My calculations show that it should have been 173 gallons. In other words they shorted me even with my conceding the 2 foot depth. (By the book they needed to use 300 gallons.
**But I did not get any Termidor!!! **
I had been monitoring the effort fairly closely, including looking inside of the truck. I wanted to come up with some way of guesstimating how much Termidor was used. I reached in and lifted up the container and it seemed full. At the end of the job I repeated this and it still seemed very heavy. I questioned him about it and he shook it and said that was about right. I asked him to remove the bottle so I could look at it. This took some doing, it was actually in a locked compartment inside of his truck under the pumps (I guess this stuff is expensive). It was full. He then explained that he had refilled the container in the middle of the job. I am certain that he did not for several reasons but I have no choice but to accept his word because I was not watching him 100% of the time.
So in summary: I spent a whole day rearranging my garage, another day watching my foundation get sprayed with water, paid $1,300, and the termites are probably still having a field day.
Please...someone out there must know where I can rent this equipment!! I am willing to drive 100 miles if necessary.
Tags: termidor, treatment, book, foot depth, gallons linear, said that, down feet, exterior treatment, gallons linear feet, house requires, inside truck, into soil, linear feet
