Termite Contractor Comparison

Termite Treatment Contractor Reviews for the North Phoenix Buyers Club

Author-Reviewer: Tim C. Martin

 

Updated: July 3, 2020

Bypass Reviews - Go Straight to the Group Price

Termite Contractor Comparison

Termite Treatment Contractor Reviews for the North Phoenix Buyers Club

Author-Reviewer: Tim C. Martin

 

Updated: July 3, 2020

Bypass Reviews - Go Straight to the Group Price
Important Disclaimer

The author of this report (Tim C. Martin) is not a certified termite expert or contractor. Everything included in this report is knowledge and opinion gained from various resources during the research phase of this project. The North Phoenix Buyers Club – Termite Treatment Project is a community effort to obtain the best termite contractor for a fair price for a large group of neighbors.

 

Members who sign up for this group are not obligated to buy from any contractor and all financial arrangements and responsibility for follow up, treatment, warranty, or any other issue is between the group member (You the Buyer) and the contractor.

 

By continuing to read this report and by continuing to participate in the North Phoenix Buyers club, you assume all responsibility for any treatment or transaction and will not hold the author of this report (Tim C. Martin) or the Group (North Phoenix Buyers Club) liable for any errors or omissions, or anything else.

 

 

(Sorry for all that but we do live in America 😎

Goals for Treatment

Treatment Quality

Quality of Treatment was first and foremost. Although all participants were required to give a five-year warranty without any annual fees, homeowners would prefer to have the job done once and never have to think about it again.

Service Cost

Cost was not the primary factor but was very important. With termite treatment ranging from the hundreds into the thousands it became quite clear that, in many instances, the cost can be attributed to “what the market will bear”.

Warranty Record

All contractors were required to provide a 5-year warranty without annual fees. That’s great as long as the contractor is still in business in 5 years time. With hundreds of termite contractors in the valley and many companies going out of business or sold every year; will that warranty be available if we need it?

The Best Treatment Chemicals for Termite Control

After reading countless articles and speaking to many contractors over the past couple of months, I have found that the hands-down most used and effective termite control chemical in the United States (including Arizona) is Fipronil.

Most contractors use a Fipronil product with the brand name Termidor, although many use a product called Taurus which contains the exact same formulation. The Termidor patent has now expired and Taurus comes at a lower cost.

One of the contractors in this report uses a product which contains Fipronil and Imidacloprid. I found much less evidence of its efficacy as it’s a newer product on the market.

How Appropriate Termite Contractors Were Selected

Reasons for Inclusion

  • Highly recommended by neighbors on our NextDoor post
  • Companies with a large number of Treatments done in 2017 (according to Dept of Agriculture TARF Report)
  • Few if any consumer complaints on the Dept of Ag website
  • High number of years in business
  • Reviews from Social Media and other consumer sites
  • Contractor on-line survey
  • Telephone Interview
  • In-Person Inspection

 

Reasons for Exclusion

  • Companies with a small number of Treatments done in 2017 (according to Dept of Agriculture TARF Report)
  • Several consumer complaints on the Dept of Ag website
  • Companies with less than 7 years in business
  • Companies who have changed names or operated under a different name in the past ten years
  • Reviews from Social Media and other consumer sites
  • Telephone Interview
  • Contractor on-line survey
  • Self Selection (“we don’t give 5-year warranties” or “we won’t give a group rate”)

 

Six Termite Contractors Compared

(in order of best scores)

Read all the information and author comments on six valley termite contractors.

Magic Pest Control

Magic Pest Control

Facts quoted from Company Representative - Nelson Ruiz

** Preferred Vendor ***

Magic Pest was chosen as our Preferred Vendor for the North Phoenix Buyers Club group buy.

Over 50 members have gotten termite treatment from Magic Pest over the past year and a half. We have a Great Group Price – Rave Reviews!

  • Years in Business:  25
  • Number of Employees:  18
  • Dept. of Agriculture Lic.:  5158
  • AZ Corp. Commission:  Yes
  • # of Treatments in 2017:  1532
  • Exterior Chemical Used: Termidor He .125% Drilling and Trench and Treat soil for corrective treatments. Trench and Treat soil and Expansion Joints for preventative treatments (no drilling)
  • Interior Chemical Used: Termidor He .125% and Termidor foam for plumbing areas
  • Full Inspection/Report before treatment?:  Yes
  • 5-Year Warranty – No extra fee: 10-year warranty with no additional fee. Warranty is transferable one time for $125.

The Bottom Line

Price: $600.00 w/ 10-year warranty for preventative treatments with no additional annual fees.

Price: $725.00 w/ 10-year warranty for corrective treatments with no additional annual fees.

Reviewers Impressions

  • Price/Value
  • Detailed Knowledge
  • Cooperation with The Group
  • Reviewer Rating (Overall Impression)

Magic Pest Control is the second company that gets VERY HIGH marks in my book.

Nelson, who owns the company, is very interested in us as a group. He came out for a personal interview and neighborhood inspection just like Action Termite. He uses our preferred chemical and gets great reviews also.

Nelson is very knowledgeable and strikes me as very honest. His company has been in business for 25 years.

There are a few differentiators. First of all, the price is higher than Action. But with that comes a more thorough interior treatment (all plumbing areas that are accessible), as well as a 10-year warranty. He is giving a lower price for homes without visible termites.

Lastly, Magic Pest Control offers a one-time warranty transfer for $125 if you sell your house.

Recommendation: Yes

 

Action Termite Control

Action Termite Control

Facts quoted from Company Representative - Mike Saldivar

 

  • Years in Business:  49
  • Number of Employees:  25
  • Dept. of Agriculture Lic.:  8285
  • AZ Corp. Commission:  Yes
  • # of Treatments in 2017:  10,614
  • Exterior Chemical Used:  Taurus SC
  • Interior Chemical Used: Taurus SC foam
  • Full Inspection/Report before treatment?:  Yes
  • 5-Year Warranty – No extra fee:  Yes

The Bottom Line

Price: All homes will have a complete exterior perimeter treatment done. Plumbing areas will be included in
all post tension homes at the home owner’s request. Interior treatment will be provided for any active infestations. Also included will be an inspection of home at the time of
treatment at home owner’s request. All treatments will be performed with Taurus SC.
Cost per Home will be $495.00 this will include a 5 Year Warranty the warranty will include a free
inspection once a year at homeowners request. A written warranty will be provided to each homeowner
at the time of treatment.

Reviewers Impressions

  • Price/Value
  • Detailed Knowledge
  • Cooperation with The Group
  • Reviewer Rating (Overall Impression)

Action gets great reviews almost everywhere and, in my opinion, they are probably well deserved.

Action has been in business for many years and does over 10,000 treatments per year. They will use our preferred chemical and have worked with HOAs’ and other buyer groups before. I immediately felt like they understood where we were coming from.

Mike, from Action, wanted to look over a variety of house foundations in our neighborhood before he made a bid. That was refreshing. His questions were great and his answers to my questions were spot on.

Action appears to be of the mindset that they will do a good job at a fair price and “if” termites show up during the warranty period they will be happy to come back. That is exactly what we were looking for.

I’m quite convinced that Action would do a great job for us.

Recommendation: Yes

 

Budget Brothers Termite & Pest

Budget Brothers Termite & Pest

Facts quoted from Company Representative - Jeff Miklus

 

  • Years in Business:  Not Reported
  • Number of Employees:  49
  • Dept. of Agriculture Lic.:  8289
  • AZ Corp. Commission:  Yes
  • # of Treatments in 2017:  10,000+
  • Exterior Chemical Used: Fuse or Dupont Altiset
  • Interior Chemical Used: Fuse or Dupont Altiset
  • Full Inspection/Report before treatment?:  Yes
  • 5-Year Warranty – No extra fee:  Yes

The Bottom Line

Price: $495 Flat Rate for our Group

Reviewers Impressions

  • Price/Value
  • Detailed Knowledge
  • Cooperation with The Group
  • Reviewer Rating (Overall Impression)

I felt Budget Brothers should be included in the research as they are very large and have been in business for a long time. They do thousands of treatments every year and are known for low prices.

Budget Brothers do not use our preferred chemical but claim they get good results. BB did not feel it was important to look at the neighborhood before quoting a price.

The price they quoted was quite good, however, a check of online consumer testimonials was less than impressive. I never trust online reviews whole-heartedly, but there are particularly low ratings from many customers (yelp in particular – click above). BB did not list yelp as one of their review sites 😎

Recommendation: None

Orkin Pest Control

Orkin Pest Control

Facts quoted from Company Representative - Joseph Bergler

 

  • Years in Business:  110
  • Number of Employees:  25
  • Dept. of Agriculture Lic.:  4029
  • AZ Corp. Commission:  Yes
  • # of Treatments in 2017:  Hundreds
  • Exterior Chemical Used: Sentricon bait and Termidor SC
  • Interior Chemical Used: Termidor and Termidor foam
  • Full Inspection/Report before treatment?:  Yes
  • 5-Year Warranty – No extra fee:  Yes

The Bottom Line

Price: $6.50 per linear foot (see Reviewers Impressions for explanation)

Reviewers Impressions

  • Price/Value
  • Detailed Knowledge
  • Cooperation with The Group
  • Reviewer Rating (Overall Impression)

I have no doubt that Orkin would do a quality job. In addition to liquid treatment, they install bait traps and monitor them.

Joseph, from Orkin, came for an inspection and went over in great detail the entire process. I have to give Orkin high marks for having the most aggressive salespeople in termite control 😎

Of course, this double wall of protection is going to cost and their service is pricey. At 6.50 per linear foot, my house would cost $2145 to treat. Seems like overkill if others will give a 5-year warranty for 1/4 of the price.

Recommendation: None

Tride and True Pest and Termite Control, LLC

Tride and True Pest and Termite Control, LLC

Facts quoted from Company Representative - Trevor Turcott

 

  • Years in Business:  7
  • Number of Employees:  9
  • Dept. of Agriculture Lic.:  9002
  • AZ Corp. Commission:  Yes
  • # of Treatments in 2017:  2400 (discrepancy)
  • Exterior Chemical Used:  Termidor H E
  • Interior Chemical Used: Termidor HE, Termidor dry
  • Full Inspection/Report before treatment?:  Yes
  • 5-Year Warranty – No extra fee:  Yes

The Bottom Line

Price: $468 based on 200 linear feet of soil. (Most of our homes will be more than 200 linear feet around).

Web Links

No online reviews provided. No online reviews found.

Reviewers Impressions

  • Price/Value
  • Detailed Knowledge
  • Cooperation with The Group
  • Reviewer Rating (Overall Impression)

My first conversation with Tride and True went well and based on that and the phone price I invited them to take the online survey.

Once everything was in writing things didn’t look quite as rosy. The $468 per home price only included 200 linear feet of trenching and no drilling. Without drilling floating slabs, effective termite treatment is not possible. In, addition, my house, for example, is 330 linear feet which would make that price much higher.

The number of treatments reported by Tride and True doesn’t seem to jive with the Arizona Department of Agriculture TARF report.

A follow-up call to clarify questions did not yield much joy.

Recommendation: None

Protection Termite Control

Facts quoted from Company Representative - Nichole

 

  • Years in Business:  19
  • Number of Employees:  20
  • Dept. of Agriculture Lic.:  8362
  • AZ Corp. Commission:  Yes
  • # of Treatments in 2017:  1300
  • Exterior Chemical Used: Termidor SC
  • Interior Chemical Used: Termidor SC and a foaming agent as necessary
  • Full Inspection/Report before treatment?:  On Request
  • 5-Year Warranty – No extra fee:  Yes

The Bottom Line

Price: We unfortunately cannot provide a flat rate, But we can provide a 20% discount with each personalized quote.

For an 1800sf single story home, we would typically charge (with Termidor) $720 with a 5 year warranty. With the 20% discount, we would charge $576. (Our average home has a higher square footage than this)

Reviewers Impressions

  • Price/Value
  • Detailed Knowledge
  • Cooperation with The Group
  • Reviewer Rating (Overall Impression)

Protection Termite Control gets fairly good reviews but that’s about all that made an impression on me.

The price is fairly high compared to others and the interest in the group is fairly low.

Not sure what else I can say.

Recommendation: None

LIVE IN PHOENIX? HAVE TERMITES?

Get your home treated and put your mind at ease!

Please write Comments and Questions below

If I can’t answer a question…maybe someone else can….or I’ll go find the answer. Once we have answered questions we will vote as a group and pick the best termite contractor for The North Phoenix Buyers Club.

33 Comments

  1. Tim Martin

    Thanks Sharon 😎 I think we could do these type of group buys for a lot of things; pool maintenance, landscaping, windows, house painting etc. We just need better technology to make it go faster without so much manual labor.

    Reply
  2. Sharon Cardoza

    Wow I am really impressed with all your hard work in this presentation! So…. how about window bids next?!!! Your did an amazing job

    Reply
  3. Karley Maurer

    Yes I vote Magic! Thank you Tim for all the hard work you put in to this!!!

    Reply
  4. Jane Puchillo

    Yes!

    Reply
  5. Michelle Parker-Rock

    Thank you, Tim. Your work is much appreciated. I am ready to move forward with Magic and would like to schedule immediately. Please advise. Michelle

    Reply
  6. Tim Martin

    👍

    Reply
  7. Patrick Skehan

    Magic

    Reply
  8. Melissa Winner

    Magic sounds great! We would like to move on this ASAP.
    Tim, thank you so much for all of you hard work and time.
    We so appreciate it!

    Melissa Winner.

    Reply
  9. Tim Martin

    Is it pretty safe to say that the group vote is for Magic?

    Reply
  10. JoAnn Ehlenz

    Wow Tim. Thanks for all your work. As a rookie ( we just moved to AZ in 2016) this has been very informative. We would go with either company. Magic does make sense for the years and the transfer of warranty if house is ever sold. Thanks again

    Reply
  11. Danette

    Thank you Tim, you get an A++ on your homework and report. My vote is for Action just because of the lower cost and not having to pay extra for signs of termites, but I will be fine with Magic if that is the consensus.

    Reply
  12. Eva Cropp

    THANK YOU TIM! You did an amazing job for all of us. I’m interested in Magic since I don’t have visible termites now and I’m very interested in the 10 year warranty. I had termite treatment done last year and they want $145/yr to keep up the 5 year warranty! Too expensive. 10 year warranty with no fee is well worth it. I vote Magic.

    Reply
  13. Sue Hutchison

    Hi Tim, thank you for putting this all together. I like the sound of Magic with the 10-year warranty. Let us know when we can get started.

    Reply
  14. Karl

    Tim, thank you again for doing this. Your attention to detail and comprehensive approach is much appreciated. My vote is for Magic. Despite the higher initial cost, the value over the ten-year warranty cannot be ignored. Also, the higher price for active termites indicates to me they appreciate the need for more time and investment for a more aggressive treatment, which I think is good business sense. The size of the business in relation to the number of treatments provided in 2017 caught my eye. Magic, a slightly smaller company with significantly less annual treatments may be more accessible and not pressured by an overwhelming schedule to rush through a job.

    Again, thank you.

    Reply
    • Tim Martin

      Very reasoned thinking. The ten-year warranty is compelling. If you sell your home within ten years there would be a $125 warranty transfer fee which is still a pretty good deal and may be a good selling point.

      Reply
  15. Mittun C Patel

    First, thank you Tim. You put in a LOT of work and I appreciate it.

    I also agree with you and others, both Magic and Action are good options. Magic is 200 more but you get extra 5 years of warranty so worth the price difference. I vote Magic.

    Silly question but I want to clarify: With this warranty, if Magic comes back to retreat within 10 years, is there any fee/cost?

    Reply
    • Tim Martin

      Hi Mittun

      If Magic returns for warranty work within the ten year period there is no charge, fee or cost for service.

      Reply
  16. Josh Mehlhorn

    Tim, wow. I cant believe you put all this together. I am fine with your top two choices. I agree that the 10 year warranty would be worth it. My house is not moving away from the mountain and wash so I expect the problem will reoccur. I would like to move forward asap with whatever choice is made. Thanks.

    Reply
  17. Dave

    Thank you for putting all of this information together. I appreciate the detailed research.

    Action treated my home at approx 5 years ago, and I’ve had termite problems in the past few years, but my warranty had already run out. I’m sure that’s not unique to their service, as much as the environment?

    I am open, but Magic might be a better value.

    Reply
  18. Angie

    Tim,

    You really invested some time into this research!!! Thank you very much.

    Magic seems to be a no brainer…IMO. 10 years for those price options and their overall reviews are great.

    Again, thank you for this research. Looking forward to signing up for service. Just let me know the next steps 😀

    PS – If only to have this kind of in depth research and results for all our home needs 🤔

    Reply
    • Tim Martin

      👍

      Reply
  19. Lyn Garrard

    Thank you, Tim, for putting together this excellent summary of potential companies. I am leaning toward Magic as well with double the warranty but at what I feel is a very fair price. Their credentials are outstanding as well. My vote is Magic and would like to move foward as soon as possible after we have all agreed on the preferred company.

    Reply
    • Tim Martin

      👍

      Reply
  20. Pam Albo

    My current termite company charges an annual contract fee of $145 a year. They come out and treat anytime there are signs of termites. My experience has been about once or twice a year. I wonder if it’s necessary to receive a whole house treatment.
    What are your thoughts on if a whole house treatment is necessary? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Tim Martin

      Hi Pam

      Just running the numbers it would cost you $99 per year with Action and $72.50 per year with Magic. That being said…if you get a whole house treatment I would hazard to guess that you wouldn’t have to have people out every 6months to a year which would be a lot less wear and tear on your home.

      It sounds like your termites are pretty bad so it might take them a couple of trips over a year or two to get them dialed back.

      Reply
  21. Jeanette Nichols

    I’m so grateful for your hard work & putting this together! I appreciate this and am leaning towards using Action for the dollar amount & warranty since I have signs of new termites in my garage. I’m interested in what others think… thank you!

    Reply
    • Tim Martin

      Keep in mind…10 years for Magic and 5 years warranty for Action. One of the reasons for price difference.

      Reply
      • Jeanette Nichols

        Tim, I definitely realize that and would be happy with either Magic or Action because of the great reviews, established companies & warranties! 🙂

        Reply
      • Lyn Garrard

        Yes, double the warranty with Magic without double the cost. Magic appears to be a much better deal.

        Reply
  22. W Tate

    I concur with Tim with the recommendation for Action Termite or Magic Pest. I like the Action will do a year inspection at the homeowners request. — During these warranty periods, if there are termites how much is the fee to show up? Or does warranty mean it will be totally free for visits.

    Reply
    • Tim Martin

      Action and Magic will both inspect yearly (if you call for appointment) for no additional fee.

      Reply
  23. Tim C. Martin

    Just in case it wasn’t completely obvious. My recommendation is for Action Termite or Magic Pest. I feel like the extra money for a ten-year warranty from Magic is most likely worth it but I’m interested in your thoughts?

    Tim Martin

    Reply
    • Sue Hutchison

      Hi Tim, I really appreciate you putting this all together. I like the sound of Magic with the 10-year warranty. the savings over that time. Compared with what I have been paying annually will be tremendous.

      Reply

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Magic Pest Control is chosen for our termite treatment group buy

Get your home treated and put your mind at ease!