How much does a termite treatment cost?
Suffering a termite attack can be a very stressful experience – not the least because homeowners are worried about the expenses of repairing any damage, as well as the costs involved in treating the termites. As such, one of the most common questions is, “How much does a termite treatment cost?”
Like many such questions, the answer is, “It depends”. There are a number of factors involved in drawing up a termite treatment proposal and price. Much of the information required to provide a quote can only be gathered during a site visit, which is why reputable companies never give quotes over the phone.
Here are some of the key considerations we need to take into account:
How big is your house?
The bigger the perimeter of your home, the bigger the area requiring protection.
What type of construction is your home?
The construction type of your home has a big impact on the type of product used and the amount of work required. The two basic construction types are homes on concrete slabs and homes on piers. Typically homes on concrete slabs only require the termite protection system to be installed around the perimeter of the building. For homes on piers, if a soil treatment is installed, the soil around each pier in the subfloor also needs to be treated.
How deep are the foundations?
When treating the soil around a building, it is necessary to dig down to a depth of at least 50 mm below the top of the footings, as the soil needs to be treated to that depth. So, it takes a lot more time and effort to dig down and treat the soil around a house whose footings for example are 600 mm below the surface, compared to a house whose footings are 300 mm below the surface.
What type of soil is present?
If the soil around the home is to be treated with termiticide, it needs to be a nice sandy, loam soil in order for the chemical to get evenly distributed within the soil and to bind effectively to the soil, so it stays in place. If the soil is unsuitable, say it’s heavy clay soil or rocky sandy soil, all the soil will need to be replaced with sandy loam soil before treatment takes place. (In such situations it is sometimes better and cheaper to install a termite monitoring and baiting system).
What type of termite protection system/product is used?
If your home is actually under termite attack, the costs to eradicate the termites from the building will depend on the species present, the scale of the attack and the construction of the building.
Once eliminated from the building, to provide lasting protection from termites, there are two types of Brisbane termite systems available – chemical treatments to the soil or termite monitoring / baiting systems. The type of system used to protect the building will impact the initial installation costs as well as any ongoing costs. Generally speaking, chemical treatments will have higher installation costs and lower ongoing costs, whereas termite monitoring and baiting systems will have lower installation costs but higher ongoing costs. It’s important to note that whatever the system installed, annual termite inspections are still required to maintain any warranty.
So, if you are unfortunate to suffer a termite attack, don’t rush into making a quick decision. It is important to listen to what the various companies are saying and recommending. Although dealing with termites is often an unbudgeted expense, if you can help it, don’t rush to choose the cheapest quote. At the end of the day, you are trying to protect your most valuable asset, so it is important to choose an experienced and knowledgeable professional, who has all the license and insurance in place. Ask for recommendations from friends and choose a termite professional you trust. At the Pest Doctors we are happy to come out and provide free quotes and discuss your options.
Of course, with termite damage not covered in standard home insurance, it’s always better to budget to install a protective termite treatment when you purchase the property, to prevent a termite attack in the first place.