· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Pest Control
Pest control agreements bundle two quite different things: general pest service, which is largely preventive, and termite protection, which is closer to insurance. They deserve separate evaluation.
Termite agreements
The important distinction is between a repair bond, which covers damage as well as retreatment, and a retreatment-only agreement, which covers further treatment but not the repairs.
Repair bonds cost more and are worth the difference in Middle Tennessee, where subterranean termite pressure is constant.
General pest service
Typically quarterly exterior treatment with interior service on request. Ask which pests are covered and which are excluded, since bed bugs, wildlife, mosquitoes and termites are commonly separate.
Ask what happens between visits. A meaningful agreement includes free callbacks; a weak one charges for them.
- Repair bond or retreatment only, for termites
- Which pests are covered and which are excluded
- Free callbacks between scheduled visits
- Whether the annual termite inspection is included
- Transferability if you sell the house
Transferability
A termite agreement that transfers to a buyer is genuinely valuable at sale, since Tennessee buyers and lenders often want a termite letter. Ask whether transfer is automatic and whether there is a fee.
Keep the documentation together with the treatment history — it is what makes the transfer straightforward.
Questions worth asking
Whether the technician is the same each visit, since someone familiar with the property notices change. Whether the company is licensed by the state, which anyone applying restricted-use products must be.
And what the renewal price is after the first year, because introductory pricing is common and escalation is where the cost sits.