Or can I take preventative measures myself and save the money?

You don't need one per se....as long as you think you are good enough to control em.... I've got one because I ain't taking no chances...

I can't think of anything available to use that works.EPA has banned all that was good.

If you can really do the work yourself then sure ... go for it. But if you ever want to sell the home you will have to get one and they aren't cheap the first year

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This

You don't have to have one to sell a house,I just sold one and it never was bonded,the buyer did request a termite inspection which I had to pay but it was cheap,when I build or buy another home I will have one just for peace of mind

The company that treated my house/ground for termites when the house was built is always trying to get me to purchase a contract or bond. But, they cannot explain what good this does. They do no inspections, no re-treatment, cover no termite damage, nothing except allow me to say for $55 per year that they are my termite company.

I don't get it.

I'm confused too. I just had my new house (being constructed) treated prior to concrete pouring for the basement and garage. They'll do another treatment at the job completion, but otherwise I think they'll just inspect every 12 months and send a bill. I'll likely never sell this house, and the one I just sold had no termite bond--I paid only ~$125 for a termite inspection to make the buyer happy. They had a VA loan, which I assumed would require a bond and lots of paperwork, but it did not.

I say get one, my parents did not have one and had termites get in their home last year. Thankfully it was caught fast enough before any major damage was done. That being said, Dad and I still had to remove the Sheetrock on a wall to assess the damage. It was a major pain in the arse but luckily sheetrock was the only real damage. If it hadn't been caught as quickly as it was, it would have been very bad. I had no idea that they eat sheetrock.

I don't either. Alabama Professional Services charged me $140/yr to come look at my basement for about 5 minutes. This policy did NOT even include potential repairs for damages. What's the point? I can look myself. I don't have that kind of money to waste.

I had one with Terminix. It stated that they would pay for any termite damage, that occured after the bond was issued. Initially it was about $1500, then $125 a year after that, with a yearly inspection.

If you get one, get it from a reputable company and not some small time one man exterminating company,make sure it will cover any damage done while the house is bonded,and make sure they are treating the home yearly and not just inspecting it

If there are Formosan termites in your area, I'd get a termite bond. They can destroy a house from the top down and often you have thousands of dollars worth of damage already when you see the first evidence. I have Wayne's Environmental because that's who originally held the bond when my house was built, but I can't vouch for them since I haven't had a claim. My parents had Terminex, and several years ago they had a man knock on the door one Monday morning. He said he was sent by Terminex to repair termite damage found on their last inspection. He came back and worked every day, and around noon on Friday, he asked my dad to check his work and sign where it was complete. No charge for the work.

I would get one if it is like mine. $175/year for inspection, retreatment, and will fix any damage caused by termites at no cost to me.

Talk to PhilArmy. I believe he specializes in termite control.

So who's the best around B'ham area if you wanted a brand new termite bond.

Cooks office off of Caldwell Mill Road #1.
Vulcan Termite #2

I bought my house in November of last year. I've had one inspection since then. How long would it take termites to do major damage?

Guys I do post damage termite inspections when the homeowner sues someone, normally the termite control operator/company. I see a lot of termite damage. We represent numerous termite companies. On other work I do I see a lot of termite damage looking for the cause of sagging floors, etc...

What I typically see are these scenarios:

A. Home has had no treatment in forever and homeowner hasn't been paying any attention, especially in a low crawlspace. Most people do not crawl it yearly to check things out. Typically with combined bad construction practices like wood to grade, high moisture, etc... I'm seen homes be eaten up with termites.

B. Home owner with existing damage hires a termite company to treat their home and maybe even come out at do yearly inspections and have a bond on the home. Termite companies have a HARD time complying with all the state rules and regulations and have a hard time finding good field technicians who will crawl the entire house, mark down all the old damage they see, and perform correctly the treatment. They often times do a slack job. Sometimes new termites find their way in because of improper treatment and do damage.

C. Formosan termites do not have to enter from the ground like subterranean termite species do. They can enter from the roof line. Typical treatment of the grade or foundation does ZERO to stop formosan termites. Most knowledgeable termite companies EXCLUDE Formosan termite damage from coverage. But many termite companies have really bad paperwork and contracts and have no exclusion language so they get sued because they are using old paperwork forms from before there were major issues in AL from formosans.

D. Bad or incomplete or inadequate Wood Infestation Reports (WIR). A real estate transaction normally requires a WIR to get a mortgage approved. Incompetent termite company or technician does a half way job and marks the home as clean or only notes some damage but not all...even missing active termites... but in fact it has termites. Either from never having termite treatments ever, or from treatments that have worn off, or from spotty or incomplete treatments that left gaps in the termite barrier at grade at some point in the home's history. So new homeowner moves in and then notices issues and finds termites. Instant lawsuit.

E. New Construction Treatment was improper or inadequate, either in technique or in amount of chemicals. There are certain ways to do things and if less than that termites can get past the barrier and into a structure.

In Dixie, termites are rampant. It is like playing Russian Roulette to not have your largest investment at least minimally protected with a liquid treatment. Formosan termites are a different problem. Be vigilant to check your attic space, and exterior roof lines and cladding. They will swarm in neighborhoods and jump from house to house.

I also see a lot of fraudulent termite claims where old damage that was prior to ANY termite company being involved and the "new" termite company who just got hired gets sued. Lower quality company is hired, they do a piss poor inspection and treatment, then the homeowner waits a little while and "finds extensive" termite damage and sues the termite company after a few months or a year. It takes a while for termites to do extensive damage sometimes. It is a plaintiff attorney racquet for easy money because of state paperwork regs on the termite companies...they are held too a high standard of care and take a huge risk even treating or providing services on an older home.

There are two types of "bonds":

1. Repair bond: Company inspects and treats your house or structure, excluding any preexisting damage. They guarantee by contract that they have fully inspected and treated for termites and that if you do get termites their contract will repair the damage and retreat as needed. They charge a yearly fee and do an annual inspection.

2. Retreat only bond: Company inspects and treats your house or structure, excluding any preexisting damage. They guarantee by contract that they have fully inspected and treated for termites and that if you do get termites their contract will ONLY RETREAT THE HOME AND NOT REPAIR ANY DAMAGE. They charge a yearly fee and do an annual inspection.

Million Dollar Question.

Depends on the size of the colony or colonies, and material for them to eat. It takes several years in my experience to have major structural damage such as having to replace joists, studs or headers. Best thing you can do is to crawl your own house a few times a year looking for termite tunnels, or mud tubes on the foundation walls, piers, or band joist/floor joists.

Formosan termites can do damage quicker in my opinion, but that might not be scientific.