Bugs

[allairenjadea]

We are nearing the 1 year anniversary of the purchase of our house. The pest control contract is set to expire in early Jan. We used Massey for this service. We have started to receive renewal notices from them and we renewed the contract. Then we received another bill for termite protection. It seems that termites are not included in the pest control service.So we paid that one also. We recently spent a few weks at the house and got a call that it was time for our free annual termite inspection which was done with no problems noted. Since returning to Maine we got another letter from Massey offering to do a $300 inspection for some kind of termite from Formosa and some other type of wood boring insect and then it will cost another $25 a year added to our contract from then on. Being from Maine we really don't know much about these types of insects but what we really want to know is how much of this is really needed and what is the average cost for pest protection for a 1700sq/ft home.

[l2ridehd]

I went through the same thing with Massey. They keep sending letters and bills and the service is really poor. I finally fired them. I hired someone to just do termite and do everything else myself. IMHO they are a rip off.

[Carla B]

We have Dean's for termite inspection and control @ $150. per year. They don't differentiate among different kinds of termites in their written material.

[downeaster]

We are nearing the 1 year anniversary of the purchase of our house. The pest control contract is set to expire in early Jan. We used Massey for this service. We have started to receive renewal notices from them and we renewed the contract. Then we received another bill for termite protection. It seems that termites are not included in the pest control service.So we paid that one also. We recently spent a few weks at the house and got a call that it was time for our free annual termite inspection which was done with no problems noted. Since returning to Maine we got another letter from Massey offering to do a $300 inspection for some kind of termite from Formosa and some other type of wood boring insect and then it will cost another $25 a year added to our contract from then on. Being from Maine we really don't know much about these types of insects but what we really want to know is how much of this is really needed and what is the average cost for pest protection for a 1700sq/ft home.

There are more angles to this than a ping pong game.
There is protection for the inside of your home for the inside type bugs. A lot of people do this themselves. I leave it to the experts.
Then there is protection for your lawn. Some people try to do this themselves but I do not recommend it.
Then there is termite protection. This is definitely not a do-it-yourself project. There are different levels of coverage. There is basic "protection" then there is protection plus repair.
You should become familiar with the various types. The best way I know how to do this is talk to at least three reputable companies and make them explain fully what they will provide and what it will cost. (The total package is not cheap).
I use Superior for everything but the lawn and I use LECO for that. Bates does a lot of business here.
Maybe some more members will check in here to suggest more.
BTW, I find Massey a little too pushy for my liking.