Avoiding Termite Inspection Scams

Another common inspection ripoff targeted at homeowners is someone coming in and offering to do a termite inspection on your home. The tactics used are playing on fears and the classic bait and switch. The person will inspect your home and then offer more expensive services that may or may not be needed.

First, make sure the signs of infestation or in your house or near a foundation. If an inspector shows you signs of infestation from wood piles or fences that are not connected to your house be wary for this may be a sign of a scam. Second, make sure that the termites are not being confused with a different type of insect, the flying ant. The flying ant may be annoying but does not pose a danger to the structures or foundations of your homes.

As with avoiding many other scams, the important thing is to know who you are dealing with. You can get a good idea of whether or not the pest control expert who you are dealing with by contacting the Better Business Bureau. Many states require exterminators to be licensed. You will also want to check to see if there are any lawsuits that have been filed or are pending with the particular business.

When hiring an exterminator, you may want to check with several companies first and see what each of them recommends. The procedure should often be similar and most treatments run under $1000 dollars. If the price quoted is several thousand dollars, you might want to look elsewhere.

It is sometiems the case that an exterminator subcontracts out to another company. While most of them will try to hide this, this is the sort of thing you should find out before hiring them. If a subcontractor damages your property by rendering services, you will need to know who to hold responsible, whether it is the extermination company or the person doing the subcontracting.

Before finally agreeing to any services from any exterminator, make sure they guarantee their work. Often this means that should a re-infestation of termites occur, they will show up and retreat your home. Some exterminators will also cover any damage caused. Make sure you read over any such agreement carefully before engaging the services of the company. Just remember the Ancient Latin motto of “Caveat Emptor.”

Sources:

http://www.sddt.com/Reports/article.cfm?RID=462&SourceCode=20060503crn

“5 Biggest Home Repair Rip Offs.” Tom Philbin. Reader’s Digest. Mary 2007. New York, New York.