Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor

Published on August 24th, 2006
Modified on September 10th, 2006 - 286 Comments
Filed under: House & Home

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286 Responses to “Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor”

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1. 151
   Pete Says:
   August 6th, 2010 at 11:11 pm

   Dan another option for you is to purchase Advanced Bait systems from a doityourself website. A lot of people think they are better than sentricon. I’m thinking about doing this to my house. I plan on checking them every 2 months. I just wonder if I need to really check them between December and February. If not that means checking them 5 times which isn’t bad.

   KA, one of the doityourself sites has videos on how to install and maintain bait stations. I would think you could also call the site operators or maybe even contact the manufacturer and ask for info. Tell them you are a concerned home owner having the baits installed by a profession and you jsut want to make sure the proper procedures are being followed.

2. 152
   Doe Says:
   March 4th, 2011 at 3:49 pm

   I’m doing a lot of research and getting conflicting information. This conversation has been helpful, though. Two questions stick out. 1-how long does Termidor really last? 2-is there really any value to a warranty against damage, with how the exclusions are written?

3. 153
   jim Says:
   March 4th, 2011 at 5:50 pm

   EPA regulation says all termiticides must show initial signs of breaking down in 3 – 5 years. Termidor’s 10 year tests show plenty enough strength to kill with an estimated 15 year max in the right soil conditions.. termidor does not dilute every time it rains like other products such as Premise 75.. There is a new product just hitting the market called Altriset which is made by Dupont and so far looks like it may be as good as Termidor (if that is possible )…As far as warranties go some companies offer a repair guarantee and some just a retreat guarantee,(prices vary) ..The truth is if a company is insured ALL treatments are backed by a repair guarantee whether they tell you or not…

4. 154
   J.R. Says:
   March 18th, 2011 at 5:35 pm

   The detector on the moistest corner of the house was tripped (paper strip “chewed” and button popped). There is a narrow sidewalk and 3ft. high foundation, with a couple of basement windows with lower sills. No mud tubes have ever been seen and that area in the basement is accessible and inspected during the quarterly (regular) bug treatment. Our local company was recently taken over by Orkin (NOT happy about that) and recommends the Sentricon, at $1100 and $300/yr. after first year. Advice, please? I’m in Missouri, if that makes a difference.

5. 155
   jim Says:
   March 19th, 2011 at 5:46 pm

   In short stay away from Orkin and FMC Frontline baits. Choose a company that does no less than 6 checks per year, quarterly and tri annual is a pure profit rip off. ….good luck. Jim

6. 156
   Marquina Says:
   March 22nd, 2011 at 6:20 pm

   Hello

   I bought a house last year, the house was previously treated for termites 5 years ago, in the inspector said that there were no active termites at the moment I bought the house.

   I want to be on the safe side and I just requested 3 free quotes: one with Orkin, they charge 1,100 and they use both baits and liquid treatment, they didn’t see any active termites. Then Terminix did an inspection, they want to charge me 1,800 and they have only the option of Termidor, the guy saw a little whole, the size of the tip of a pen and he said that it was from active termites, then I found another company: All safe pest and termite, which is BBB accredited and is part of the National Pest Management Association They came to the house, we showed the technician the little whole and he said that it was not from active termites they charge $600 they use sentricon and spot treatment with termidor if they see any active termites, they also mentioned that they have infrared camaras to see if damaged has been created by termites, do these cameras really work? Also they don’t offer a warranty.

   I am not really sure what to do, should I get more inspections? I don;t understand one company tells me I have termites the other 2 that I don’t.

   If I pay extra for the warranty will any of the big companies cover the possible damage caused by termites?

7. 157
   jim Says:
   March 22nd, 2011 at 6:38 pm

   If you choose to do it go with All Safe , but make sure it’s checked at least bi-monthly.

8. 158
   Marquina Says:
   March 22nd, 2011 at 6:49 pm

   Thank you Jim, yes they do check the baits every 2 months.

   Is it ok that they don’t offer a warranty? I am torn because of that

9. 159
   jim Says:
   March 22nd, 2011 at 10:58 pm

   Marquina, fact is any licensed and insured company has a repair guarantee . That’s what my insurance company told me.

10. 160
    jim Says:
    March 27th, 2011 at 4:43 pm

    If they are being evasive about a guarantee don’t deal with them. Sounds like they have something to hide like maybe not being licensed and insured.

11. 161
    don Says:
    April 3rd, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    Last week I found termites in our basement, it seems they entered around an old stoop that now has a deck built over the top of. We have had two estimates one from Orkin and the other from Terminex. Orkin would do only a Sentricon system, with an above ground bait box inside where they entered, due to our well being within 5 feet of our home. Terminex would apply Termidor thinking that the well was probably not a problem and was far enough away. I am not sure what is the best way to go with water contamination a possibility. Since the well is in front of the home and the known entry area in the rear would Termidor applied in the back yard and Sentricon around the whole house be a reasonable method?
    I would appreciate your input!

12. 162
    michael Says:
    April 14th, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    hi,

    im from the philippines. where can i order termidol to be shipped here?

    thanks,

    mike

13. 163
    Tyler Says:
    April 15th, 2011 at 11:01 pm

    Jim,

    Not to impressed with some of your comments. Why are you so against Orkin?

    I work for Orkin, and in my area Orkin is the most thorough company with the best customer service. I really don’t appreciate your blanket statements about my company. Should I say the same negative things about your company? Think before you speak brother.

14. 164
    Jim Says:
    April 20th, 2011 at 6:08 pm

    Tyler, not all Orkin and Terminix tech’s are bad. I worked for both for about 12 years each. I worked at 9 different Orkin branches in 5 states , I mainly worked at one branch but was regularly sent to others take care of complaints/state complaints due to untrained techs and managers who really didn’t care. I witnessed how Orkin trained salesmen to work the obituaries and how to drive through neighborhoods looking for yard ornaments common to the elderly (targeting elderly ).I worked at 2 Terminix branches , both were great when they were local owned franchises but once Service Master took over it got really bad . We were being told by the region manager to spray water , that’s when I walked away. Now after owning a small business for several years and asking several bait manufacturers why they are spreading the bait checks out so far they have all gave me the same answer ,,,, It has nothing to do with quality and is being done because of pressure from the big companies to save money on manpower… I have been told this now from every manufacturer …. The only way I would do more than bi-monthly is if they are pre-baited…

15. 165
    Bart Says:
    April 21st, 2011 at 10:25 am

    The new Sentricon (called “Always Active”) IS pre-baited. The bait is put in from the beginning and only needs to be monitored once a year to add bait. You guys who do “every other month” monitoring is crazy. You are living in the dark ages. The world is changing. Try to keep up! Just because you go more frequently, doesn’t make your service better. It just costs the consumer more to pay for your unnecessary visits.

16. 166
    Pete Says:
    April 23rd, 2011 at 4:59 pm

    “The only way I would do more than bi-monthly is if they are pre-baited.”

    So from the above commenter I see that Sentricon is now pre-baited. Does that really mean you can let it sit for a year?

    Doesn’t the bait in Advanced have some amount of active ingredient as well?

    What’s to stop you from just pre-baiting all the tubes in the area where you have seen swarmers?

17. 167
    Bart Says:
    April 26th, 2011 at 11:09 am

    The Sentricon bait tubes are made different now. They are hard and designed to last underground for up to 5 years. Since it is a new product, it still remains to be seen whether his is true or not. If it does last, it will be a great product for the marketplace.

18. 168
    Pete Says:
    May 2nd, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    And isn’t the test material in advances also poisonous to a degree?

19. 169
    Jim Says:
    May 2nd, 2011 at 10:37 pm

    Actually Bart I charges less for my bi-monthly plan than most do for their quarterly, tri-annual or annual checks . With the new sentricon 1 bait tube will kill a small to mid-sized colony so if a large colony hits it and your checking too far apart then you’ve lost that hit. A large colony can empty a bait tube in 2 weeks , I’ve seen it happen many times .

20. 170
    Scott Says:
    May 10th, 2011 at 8:49 am

    I’ve just found out Termidor is banned in France as they think it is harmfull to the enviroment. I’ve been using Sentricon around my house for years and have been very happy with the results. They just switched me to bait in every station now and I can only think it will work even better.

21. 171
    Jim Says:
    May 10th, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    All non repellents are very restricted in Europe. They were thought to be the cause Honey Bee’s dying. Even though it has been proven to not be the cause they have had a tough time making a comeback.

22. 172
    Bart Says:
    May 10th, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    Scott- We have been having fantastic results with the new “always active” Sentricon formulation. The bait composite is much more condensed now (sort of like a bar of soap), so it lasts a long time in the ground and eliminates many times more termites than before. Since the bait tubes are about every 10 feet around the structure, it will take care of millions of termites. Best of all, it will do so using no liquid chemicals.

23. 173
    Anthony Says:
    May 15th, 2011 at 6:28 pm

    Is Sectricon something that I can check on my own after the first year or is it a system that I can’t get into or that requires an electronic detector to check. I don’t mind walking around my house every two months to check the canisters.

24. 174
    Amanda Says:
    May 17th, 2011 at 11:03 am

    Hi,

    We recently found termites both the reproductive and workers about 60 ft from the house and another location about 5-7 ft from the house. We have gotten estimates for both the chemical treatment using terminador from co A and premise from co b. We also got an est for Sentricon HD always active from co A, and Sentricon Monitoring from co b. And we have a quote from Terminx that has a protection plan with no treatment until termites are found within a 5 ft from the house and at that point they will treat with termindor. We are torn with what option to go with and have been told from both Terminx and another vendor that Sentricon is a waste of money and does not work.

25. 175
    Jim Says:
    May 17th, 2011 at 11:28 pm

    Amanda, if it comes to a choice between Termidor & Premise 75 the Termidor wins easily . Both work great initially but what makes Termidor better is it doesn’t re-emulsify and Premise does . Which means every time the soil around your home gets wet Premise will dilute and spread thinner .Termidor bonds with the soil and does not move . As for baits Sentricon / Shatter , Advance and Ensysex are all proven baits . Firstline termite bait is the only bait proven to not work , and that I know because about 12 years ago while working for Orkin I had to sign off on several legal documents pertaining to what I could disclose to customers and if asked by the media .If you do choose baits go all pre baited if inspections are more than 2 months apart .

26. 176
    Amanda Says:
    May 18th, 2011 at 8:50 am

    Hi Jim,

    What do you think of the Terminx program, where they come out yearly and inspect but unless termites are found within 5ft of the house they do not treat. But if termites are found within the 5ft barrier then they will treat using termindor, and they have a guarantee that they will repair any damages caused from the termites.

27. 177
    Amanda Says:
    May 18th, 2011 at 8:55 am

    Hi Jim,

    We got a recent quote from Terminx, the program costs about $359 a yr as long as no termites are found within a 5ft barrier of the house. It’s more of an insurance, once your on the program, and the customer suspects termite activity, they will come to inspect and if confirmed then treat using Termindor.The program also has a yearly inspection to make sure no termites are found within 5ft of the house.

28. 178
    Jim Says:
    May 18th, 2011 at 9:04 am

    Amanda, stay clear of that program its a scam on consumers and has been banned in several states and is under scrutiny by many attorney generals .

29. 179
    Bart Says:
    May 18th, 2011 at 11:26 am

    Sounds like a bad program to me. Why waste your money paying for insurance. Why don’t you just pay a professional pest company to come and get rid of the termites?

30. 180
    Jim Says:
    May 18th, 2011 at 5:50 pm

    Anthony there are several excellent baits you can buy online and install yourself. Advance, Shatter ( which is a consumer version of Sentricon ) & Exterra by Ensystex .

31. 181
    Amanda Says:
    May 19th, 2011 at 12:16 pm

    Thanks, yeah after thinking about it, it sounded like a bad program since you are relying on their word that they will treat it. So now the decision is back to prevention now or wait until we find termites closer to the house.

32. 182
    Jack Baney Says:
    May 24th, 2011 at 4:59 pm

    Jack Asks:

    I have 3 quotes for the Sentricon System that include the Initial Installation + Quarterly Monitoring of the Sentricon Stations for the 1st Year.

    The quotes are: $900 from Home Team Pest Defender, $1500 from Terminix, and $1710 from Atlantic Pest Management.

    How can there be such a diparity in the quotes for the same system, Sentricon.

    Jack

33. 183
    Bart Says:
    May 24th, 2011 at 5:50 pm

    I would compare the bids carefully to make sure that all the terms are equal. Also, make sure that they are all using Sentricon. I was under the impression that Terminex is no longer an Authorized Dealer of Sentricon. The rest is just a basic function of profit and overhead. A national “chain” is going to have higher overhead because they pay a chunk to headquarters. Not sure why Atlantic is so high. Call them and ask them.

34. 184
    Anthony Says:
    May 24th, 2011 at 6:23 pm

    Jim,

    Is Advance also now “always active” or “pre-baited”? That’s the only reason I’d want to go Sentricon.

    I understand that non pre-baited units need to be inspected every 2 months, but how often do the pre-baited stations need to be checked?

    I assume if I went Sentricon, I could not monitor it myself because I would not be able to by refills?

    Thanks

35. 185
    laura Says:
    May 26th, 2011 at 11:22 pm

    I found swarmers and worker termites in my garage, in a crack where the floor meets the wall attached to the house.

    Orkin says that Termidor would be the best option at 1800.00. They will drill holes in the garage floor and put Termidor there as well as around the house and porch and patio.

    Terminix tells me Sentricon (800.00 up front and 220.00/yr after that)and a smaller local company (399.00 up front and 280.00/yr) also says to go with Sentricon. The two that say Sentricon said that they would treat with active above ground bait in the garage as well as all of the bait traps in the ground.

    I live in Missouri in the country. I want the termites GONE NOW!

    My basement is finished, so I have no idea if they are possibly in the walls of my basement bedroom, which is right there next to the garage wall where I saw the termites.

    Everything I have read on here makes me lean towards Termidor. Howver, 1800.00 seems like a lot of money!! is this higher than the norm? The Orkin man told me that they were the highest in the business. Without having any other bids for Termidor, what should be a reasonable cost??

36. 186
    Jim Says:
    May 26th, 2011 at 11:50 pm

    Laura ,Termidor would be your best option but not Orkin. At $1800.00 I would assume your home to be approximately 150 linear feet . Orkin charges $12.00 per foot ( 12 x 150 =1800 ) most small local companies change $6 to $8 per foot ($900 – $1200 )and come with just as good if not better guarantee with a more affordable renewal . Also Termidor will solve your problem in months not years and as for above ground baits ,,,, they have a high failure rate ..

37. 187
    Jim Says:
    May 26th, 2011 at 11:58 pm

    Anthony , you can pre-bait both . You can buy both Advance and Sentricon on e-bay. You can also look for Shatter which is the exact same thing as Sentricon..

38. 188
    Bart Says:
    May 27th, 2011 at 10:57 am

    Anthony- I would be very careful about buying any of these products on line. There are a lot of black market and boot-leg products out there. The “real” products are tightly controlled by the manufacturers and if they find out about them being sold on e-bay, they take action immediately. Even if you did buy the “real” product, you would have no support from the manufacturers since you are not an “authorized operator.”

39. 189
    Lisa Says:
    May 29th, 2011 at 10:03 am

    We are in the process of purchasing a new house that has been sitting on the market for 3 years. (Builder foreclosure). Both Terminix and Arrow discovered active termites in the garage. The two quotes are quite different in price. Arrow is charging $500 to treat/$275 to repair the damaged 2X6 along with a $250 annual renewal maintenance fee for their Sentricon system. Terminix is charging $1,080 for the Termidor treatment, with a $225 annual maintenance fee. Both companies “guarantee” to repair any termite damage found after treatment. Of course, the Termidor system is liquid and includes digging trenches around the house, and drilling into the basement. Which should we go with, or should we get a third quote? What worries me is not knowing how extensive the garage damage is. I envision millions of tunnels throughout the garage walls….. May or may not be the case, but which system will be best for our situation?

40. 190
    Lisa Says:
    May 29th, 2011 at 10:05 am

    Also, are Termidor and Sentricon the best two systems out there?

41. 191
    Jim Says:
    May 29th, 2011 at 4:20 pm

    Lisa, whatever you do don’t drill your basement floor. Its totally unnecessary with Termidor unless you have activity there . Drilling will almost always leak.

42. 192
    Anthony Says:
    May 31st, 2011 at 9:37 pm

    Jim,

    Leak how? The chemical or ground water?

    Also, how often do pre-baited systems need to be checked?

    Bart,

    I wouldn’t buy from eBay. I’ve found a couple of sites like domyownpestcontrol, etc that look legit. They have phone customer service, reviews, the official Advance logos and product literature pdfs and even videos to show you how to install the products. You really think even they are selling knockoffs? I’d think that there would be huge lawsuits if that were the case. These sites have been around for a few years at least. I can never find Sentricon products, probably due to their specific rules for selling the product, but Advanced is available on several sites.

43. 193
    Jim Says:
    May 31st, 2011 at 10:24 pm

    Its very common to have ground water leaks and with newer liquid and bait drilling the floor just for prevention is a little outdated. Don’t buy any liquid pesticides from eBay they’re mostly fake / counterfeit. .

44. 194
    Bart Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 10:52 am

    Anthony- Yes, I think sites like “domyownpestcontrol” are legit. They are owned by pest management companies (like mine). They just buy from the suppliers and mark it up 50% (or so). You are right that you won’t be able to buy Sentricon online. If you do, something is wrong. It is tightly controlled and is only available to Authorized Operators who go thru extensive training. As for Advance, it is not as tightly controlled, but it is not as effective, and is VERY expensive because you have to buy each and every component. So, if you get hits in 10 stations (not unlikely), you will have to pay about $15 per bait tube for each stations (on top of what you already paid for the stations).

45. 195
    tom Says:
    June 9th, 2011 at 12:05 am

    As a Sentricon AO, and a pest control owner for 22 years, I am hear to tell you that as far as a bait system Sentricon is the best.
    I have used them All.
    They are not equal, the always active prebaited stations is a game changer. And the Sentricon Above ground station hands down also works great! I have used Termidor, Premise, dursban, permethrins, etc. I still use Termidor, but this new always active station is awesome. I am very excited to offer this product now.
    We will monitor these stations 2 times a year, but are only required 1 time a year.
    As far as you telling the public that Shatter, and Advance are the same product, Please use your head….that is a joke. Give up on the do it yourself treatments!
    As far as The 2 major company’s you keep talking about, they are like dirty used car salesmans.

46. 196
    jim Says:
    June 9th, 2011 at 2:16 am

    With the exception of Firstline which is the only bait system proven to not give colony elimination , the difference really comes in the company you choose . I have used most all of them in my 25 years ( Firstline , Sentricon, Advance and Ensystex ) or at least the major brands . Size does count , with the larger stations I’ve had more hits. As big fan of Termidor I have now seen 2 failures , both done by Terminix. I blame Terminix not Termidor which is for the most part a bullet proof product . As far as do-it-yourself baits and without some basic training odds for success are truly slim at best. Tom, good description >.The 2 major company’s you keep talking about, they are like dirty used car salesmans…. Although I was recently called by someone with active termites who had been using another local small company like me for years . The home was 210 linear feet around and these JOKERS only had 7 Advance stations . The best advice to consumers is don’t get rushed into any company or brand, and do some local research among friends and family and neighbors …

47. 197
    Tom Says:
    June 9th, 2011 at 4:56 pm

    I really have a problem with Diaflubenzeron as the active ingredient, My company at one time was the largest Exterra operator on the East Coast of Fl. and even though termites feed on the bait it seems that all we ever did was keep feeding them…we feed them for 3 years and never eliminated them…once becoming a Sentricon AO we eliminated the colony at the Exterra sites in a few months with soldier heads in the bait tubes…I never found that in the Exterra stations or Advance… I recently purchased a company in Central Fl. and they have many Advanced Accounts, after servicing those accounts I feel the stations have a bad design like Exterra with allowing too much sand in the stations( soil intrusion). At least Sentricon and Hex-Pro clean themselves when pulling the monitoring device or bait tube out. The cavity of the other Bait systems are just full of sand.
    My experience with Termidor failures are that they do happen and had to use Above Ground Sentricon stations to get rid of the problem…I will tell you that Termidor does work great but a lot of homes do not want drilling of block or adjoining slabs and this still should be done even with using Termidor, but companies have been taking short cuts… That is why I am sticking with Sentricon as my primary offer to consumers.

48. 198
    Tyler Says:
    June 13th, 2011 at 10:50 pm

    domyownpestcontrol.com is a legit site, and their customer service is incredible. I have ordered products from them before, and I absolutely love those people. Would recommend them to anyone.

49. 199
    Keith Ostertag Says:
    June 18th, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    A termite inspector told me I should warn the next door neighbors that since we were getting a treatment around our house that they might need one as well since we would be chasing the colony over to them. Uh.. wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of non-repellant poisons like Termidor? Maybe I am missing some information?

50. 200
    Tyler Says:
    June 18th, 2011 at 7:27 pm

    Keith,

    You are correct IF they are using Termidor, or a simliar product. A lot of the discount companies like to use products like Talstar or even worse, MaxxThor, which uses Bifenthrin as an active ingredient. Bifenthrin, although it will kill termites that come in contact with it, will repel termites once it is in the soil. Cypermethrin is also a repellant, so it just depends on what they are using.

    Fipronil (Termidor) and Imadacloprid (Premise or generic version) will not repel termites. It will kill them. What did he tell you they were using?

    If that is what the sales guy told you, he is either trying to pull a fast one on you and your neighbors or he is not using Termidor.

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