Comments on: Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor

By: CJ 1/19/12

CJ 1/19/12 — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:07:40 +0000

How can I as a home owner tell if the pest control company is realy using termidor or water down or counterfit when they come to aply. I got 5 estaments, all the in same price range and prety much the same area treatment procedure. I have narrowed my choice to 2, one is along time local area pest control , my second choice is a relative company young company aprox (5 years) both phone book adds have terimidor seal? what can I look for when they arive to treat smell, consistancy color?

By: Joey

Joey — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:36:09 +0000

Sounds like you are in great shape! Termidor and Sentricon are both great, proven termiticides.

By: Elliot

Elliot — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:54:11 +0000

Thanks. They came out this morning and did the Termidor SC treatment through the 4″ foundation slab and installed 31 Sentricon bait stations around the perimeter of the house.

By: Joey

Joey — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:39:07 +0000

Sounds like a good plan to me. The liquid application will take care of the immediate problem, and the Sentricon will be a good long term solution to eliminating all the termite colonies surrounding your home.

By: Elliot

Elliot — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:12:37 +0000

We have been living in a house for 20 years that was built in 1955 on a concrete slab. I assume it had chlordane treatment that lasted for decades.

Yesterday, while having a parquet square in our wood flooring repaired, we found subterranean termites under that board and one more. A reputable investigator came out, spent a considerable time checking everywhere for evidence of termites in other places, and found none. He suggested a maintenance plan that involves Sentricon around the house at every eight feet and application of a termiticide through the concrete slab in the place where we found the termite activity (the floorboards are already removed and access to the concrete is immediate). This all sounds rather reasonable to me. Any comments?

By: Joey

Joey — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:03:34 +0000

Debbie- go to the Sentricon website (wwww.sentricon.com) It will show all the authorized operators. The reason that your renewal fee did not drop is that the new technology involves baiting every station. The bait is much more expensive than the wood that was in there before. Your home is now being protected year round with active bait. Your dealer’s labor cost will go down, but their cost to the manufacturer (Dow) will go up.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:46:38 +0000

I have been using a Sentricon system for many years. My pest control company has just informed me that due to advances in technology, they will only need to inspect the stations two times per year, instead of four. I expressed joy that my annual fee would surely drop, only to find that this will not happen. I’d like to shop for a new Sentricon provider, but does Sentricon grant only one license to a city? I’m in Memphis and I don’t seem to find anyone who provides Sentricon other than my existing pest control company.

By: km

km — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:36:27 +0000

Argh!! Right now I am really frustrated and looking through numerous websites. I had the sentricon system installed in my house last October when we first found out we had termites. This system is expensive but heck if it was going to give us peace of mind it was worth it. Well last month we ecountered termites in our bathrooms. We call our pest control company and they install bait stations in our bathrooms. On Sunday I noticed what appeared to be little black mosquitos lying dead in my bathroom floor and one of my hallways. I sweeped them up only to notice that there were more coming out of my vents – gross!. Last night that I get home I had even more dead all over my house. Well turns out they’re full grown termites. I am at my wits end and don’t know what to do. My pest control company is supposed to go this weekend. My house is seven years old and was pre-treated before construction. Will I ever get rid of these pests?!!

By: Holly

Holly — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:49:32 +0000

Hi, I have recently discovered termites (Desert sub.) in my home. They are isolated in my upstairs master shower area. I discovered them by turning the light on one night and there were a couple hundred flying termites. Had no sign once so ever that I had an issue. The home had been treated previously, I was about 1 yr outside the warranty. Anyway, I have a new company working on it. My concern is that it has been 5 weeks and they are not completely gone, although dwindling in number dramatically. I have had a complete Termidor treatment, and they have done an interior dusting twice, including drilling in under my tub deck in the master and shooting the dust there. Do you think I could have an issue with the plumbing and is it providing moisture for them to live there? Or is it normal for the chemical to take some time to wipe out a whole colony? I keep getting told that they must go back to the soil and in that case they should be dying out??

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:08:26 +0000

I’m a retired Pest ControlCompany Owner: Hands down Termidor is the only game in town for Sub- Termite if you want control.

Sentricon is not effective and a waist of money.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:54:32 +0000

Hi,

Thanks, the pest control company has already come out and accessed the damage. Termindor treatment only for the exterior walls, he didn’t recommend Sentricon as we have active termite activity.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:52:34 +0000

Hi,

Yes the local pest control company who are going with suggested Termindor for the exterior walls as the infestation appears to be coming from the exterior walls. No treatment will be needed inside the house.

Thanks,
Amanda

By: Bart

Bart — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:09:40 +0000

I am very well aware. I have been treating termites since 1969.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:56:59 +0000

Well Bart it depends where the termites are. Termidor is labeled for indoor use if you’re drilling an interior expansion joint or foaming a termite infested wall. So, to answer your question Amanda, it all depends on where they have infested your home. Your best bet is to leave it up to a proffesional to determine the best possible treatment for your situation.

By: Bart

Bart — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:21:54 +0000

Termidor is now labeled for exterior only. No treatment will be necessary in the inside.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:25:54 +0000

Hi,

Ok a couple of months ago we thought we only had termites on the about 6 ft and beyond from the house. However last night we discovered termites in our basement, mind you I had two termite complete a termite check and told no termites inside the house. So now we will have to do treatment and was wondering if we went to Termindor for the outside would they also do additional treatment inside to kill the termites in the house, or is Termindor enough.

Thanks!

By: Tyler

Tyler — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 01:31:50 +0000

Keith,

I am certified in Termite Biology through Texas A&M, and have never heard of such a thing. The whole point of a non-repellant is to transfer the poison without the termites realizing what is going on… which leads me to believe that he is lying.

I would hesitate to use that company. They could be a good company with a misinformed salesman, but that just sounds to me like he is trying to pull a fast one on you.

I work for Orkin, and I think very highly of the company. We only use Termidor, we use flow meters, we foam termite infested walls, and we genuinly treat at a rate of 4 gallons per ten feet per foot of footer depth. Have you had Orkin out to give you a quote?

Double check with that guy about what termiticide he is using. Something smells fishy to me…

By: Keith Ostertag

Keith Ostertag — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 00:52:21 +0000

Thanks Tyler. Sorry, I left out the most important part of the message! He claimed that the dying termites (or dead termites?) would emit pheromones that would chase the colony next door. Is there any truth to this? This is despite using a non-repellant insecticide, don’t know which one.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:27:09 +0000

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.

By: Keith Ostertag

Keith Ostertag — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 18:43:47 +0000

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?

By: Tyler

Tyler — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 02:50:24 +0000

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.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:56:52 +0000

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.

By: jim

jim — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 06:16:06 +0000

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 companyâ€™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 …

By: tom

tom — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 04:05:54 +0000

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.

By: Bart

Bart — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:52:21 +0000

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).

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 02:24:26 +0000

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. .

By: Anthony

Anthony — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 01:37:57 +0000

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.

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 29 May 2011 20:20:11 +0000

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.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sun, 29 May 2011 14:05:51 +0000

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

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sun, 29 May 2011 14:03:44 +0000

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?

By: Bart

Bart — Fri, 27 May 2011 14:57:08 +0000

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.”

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:58:23 +0000

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..

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:50:43 +0000

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 ..

By: laura

laura — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:22:33 +0000

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??

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 24 May 2011 22:23:10 +0000

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

By: Bart

Bart — Tue, 24 May 2011 21:50:56 +0000

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.

By: Jack Baney

Jack Baney — Tue, 24 May 2011 20:59:39 +0000

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

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:16:11 +0000

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.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:50:53 +0000

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 .

By: Bart

Bart — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:26:59 +0000

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?

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:04:32 +0000

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 .

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:55:21 +0000

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.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:50:49 +0000

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.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 18 May 2011 03:28:07 +0000

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 .

By: Amanda

Amanda — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:03:58 +0000

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.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Sun, 15 May 2011 22:28:08 +0000

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.

By: Bart

Bart — Tue, 10 May 2011 19:03:04 +0000

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.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 10 May 2011 16:28:50 +0000

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.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 10 May 2011 12:49:21 +0000

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.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 03 May 2011 02:37:42 +0000

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 .