Terminix

The quarterly visits seem to be working well. We live out in the country and we have mega amounts of pests that they have under control now. We had added on to our house and we're having stinging scorpions all over the place for a while. Terminix came back and re-treated and helped us get to the point where we could live here without running into scorpions. We also have a commercial account and at this time, it's working fine too. There have been problems over time, but this particular technician calls and we set a time because we don't live at our shop. Through this year, we've only been there one day a week. That's been good that he knows to call.

I stopped the annual termite inspection because that guy kept saying he had been there and he never met me. He did the last one but by then, I was through with them. I didn't think it was thorough. The annual inspections are certainly not very thorough compared to what they used to be when they came and looked at different things. Now, they just kind of walk around and say, "Yeah, it's fine." It has offended my sensibilities to be charged that much money and have that little time or the couple of times when I think they didn't even come at all, or they drove by the house and couldn't get in.

Every time Terminix calls me to tell me that the next appointment is whenever, they would say the technicians are doing it outside and I don't have to be here. I keep telling them it’s supposed to be on the inside too. They would supposedly do something and tell the people who are coming that they're supposed to come inside too, but the people get here and they refuse to come inside. There's a disconnect.

This past time, it wasn't such a big deal. The ants were pretty much gone at that point because of the winter. But the next schedule that’s coming up is in March and the technicians really need to come in and check the traps to make sure that there is food, bait, and everything like that in it. That aside, Terminix has helped me get rid of the problem so I'm somewhat satisfied. Before COVID, they were doing really well coming inside, checking everything, and making sure.

I was looking at the pricing options for getting the house sealed off so that we could take care of the rat option, and we don't have credit. So, I would suggest allowing a customer who already makes quarterly payments to add a little bit to that payment so that service can be done and it could pay off over time. We’ve been customers for two years and faithfully making our payments. Even if it’s a little late, we let them know. And Terminix has been understanding about most things. So, they could probably take that extra step too because that’s more money in their pocket and more that the customer can be satisfied with. Terminix is great and does the job. Our guy straight up lets us know the way we wanna go. They have these stations and he tells us which ones work best. He doesn’t fool around.

Initially, the technicians were supposed to come out and do the termite remediation but they forgot to do that. So, I asked one of the sales reps and they asked the technician about it. He made a couple of emails and then a short while later, they were out. They dug up termite traps and placed them in the yard. The pest activity is on a sharp decline. So it’s nice. I started a month and a half ago. I was having a lot of spider activity. The wall spiders aren’t all that big of a deal but the brown recluse is what I was concerned about. I don’t see a whole lot more of them. So, they did a good job of eliminating their food source. It gets rid of the spiders once they go.

Scheduling a service has been great. Last week, I called on Thursday requesting them to come in and spray the inside of the house because I saw spiders. They squeezed me in and they’ll be out next Thursday. So, that’s cool. Overall, the experience with Terminix has been great. My requests have been met. Some lines were crossed and they didn’t install the termite traps when they first came out but outside of that, the technicians were intelligent, sounded like they knew what they were talking about and educated.

There was something else that I had asked him to do and that I asked about. He looked at me, laughed and said, "You wouldn't ever do that. I've been doing this my whole life. That isn't what you do." It was spraying something for spiders. He said, "I can't spray anything around that pool. If they find one drop of chemical that I sprayed in that pool, I lose my job."

The initial visit is a little bit more than you pay normally which would be understandable because they're really going through every single thing. He stuck a little spade down into the ground and said, "This is the kind of place ants congregate so we'll treat this area." He really was amazing. He really knew what he was doing. He was very pleasant in every possible way.

I'm not unhappy with Terminix or with the service that the technician provided. I'm going forward with them. If I had spoken to them and I wanted X, Y, and Z, and they sent me this terrible technician that I didn't like and didn't trust, then I would be out the door. But I feel like I can trust him. He even told me alternative things I can do for the rats that aren't poisonous. He told me things to try to put down the smell that they don't like so they won't come around. He was really very knowledgeable. My neighbors used him and they love him. He made himself totally available. He said, "If you see one thing you don't like, just call my cell phone and I'll be here." He really talked a lot about things.

I cannot get answers to simple questions. I cannot find anyone with knowledge to answer questions. I cannot get anyone from Terminix to show at my property to perform the services that they are contractually liable to perform. Terminix website claims BBB accreditation, BBB says Terminix is not a BBB accredited company. More lies. Because of my experiences with Terminix, I do not trust anything told me by Terminix. I know they have lied to me about service performed and have filed false and fraudulent documents. I now doubt that previous service claims and documentation are not fabricated lies.

We called again early Friday morning and we were told that there was a rain delay. (We have security cameras and immediately called out the lie.) We talked to someone else later on Friday morning, and the story changed to a scheduling delay at another job. On Friday, the Terminix team told us they were going to install the tent and gas that morning (on Friday) and remove the tent on Saturday. We expressed concern about the shortened time for the gas to be in the house and were again told a different story; that the gas only needs to be on for 6 hours.

The tent was on for less than 24 hours total and when we returned on Sunday we found our house was not in the secured state we left it. There was a brown sticky residue on our kitchen counters and one of the cabinets, all of our windows were unlocked, one of our windows was left open, the air conditioning had been turned down and the lock box *with the key to our house inside* was on our front porch, unlocked and unsecured.

The communication throughout our experience was untrustworthy and extremely impolite by the local Terminix team and their contractor. I regret entering into an agreement with them, but now I am stuck. Hopefully this information can help other consumers prepare, stay better informed and make sure they choose a vendor who values customers.