When deciding who to use to control termites at your home the homeowner must know the real costs that are involved in providing that service by the company they’re choosing. The following breakdown is a fair and accurate assessment of what costs a pest control company incurs when the job is done properly. Termite control in some parts of the control is not a matter of if you’ll need it, but when.
Termite control in the pest control industry used to be the highest priced service offered, but with increased pressure from competition and the introduction of newer insecticides it has become a service that is often open to abuse. Companies that are looking for a quick buck and fly by night operators have pushed the average cost of a job below those seen in the last 10-15 years. Upon hearing this the average consumer would think this is a good thing. Unfortunately, it’s not. The decrease in the cost of a job is done at the expense of quality. For example, the average observer of our industry would have no way of knowing that the leading insecticide for termite control costs a pest control company about $600-$700 dollars. One case of this product will make approximately 400 finished gallons of product. Let’s do some math.
Our company is from Connecticut so I’m going to use averages from our state and assume that the type of home we’re treating will be a raised ranch with basement construction. A ranch in CT usually has dimensions of 40′ x 26′ for a total linear footage of 132′. The label for all termite control products specify that you MUST us 4 gallons of product per 10 linear ft per ft of depth to a minimum of depth of 4′. In simple terms this means for an 8′ deep section of foundation 10′ long the applicator MUST use 16 gallons of finished product to treat according to the label. In turn this means that our average size ranch will need in total 211 gallons of finished insecticide along the exterior. Lets also assume there are live termites at a 10′ section of garage that will need an additional 4 gallons of product to treat according to the label. The total amount of product needed for this home is 215 gallons.
The pest control company will have fixed costs for this job as follows:
1. Insecticide cost= $350
2 Labor @ $15 per hour Pest Control Methods For Home x 4 hours=$60.00
3. Taxes on labor=$10
4. Fuel=$5.00
Total Fixed Costs are $425.00
These figures don’t take into account advertising, insurance, equipment, employee training and a host of other business related expenses that would be difficult to breakdown, so lets say they add another $50.00 (this is low) to the total cost of the job.
Now, hold your hats because what I’m about to tell you is true. I regularly go to jobs where the bid from competitors has been about $500.00 for this typical home. The total profit for this $500.00 job is a whopping $25.00. Does anyone actually believe that is fictional home was treated properly for a profit of $25.00? The answer is obviously no. The owners of these fly by night companies lied, broke the law, cut corners and pocketed your cash.
In order not to be a victim of what I call termite “theft” make sure you shop around, call your state regulators for a referral (trust me, they know who’s been naughty or nice). Termite Describe Pest Control Measure control certainly isn’t rocket science for a reputable company that knows what they’re doing, but as with any business there are usual and customary practices that must be adhered to.
Don’t be a victim of termite “theft” when your home is a stake.
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