Woodworm treatment costs - alternative to Rentokil?

dave_on_the_save

I have just had Rentokil round to survey my house and they have found 'current infestation of woodboring insects confined to the ceiling joists and supporting timbers". the report does not say the extent of the infestation or the size of the loft void (it is a fairly large 4 bedroom barn conversion)

They are the common furniture beetle so structurally I am not that worried. The quotation from Rentokil to carry out treatment in all of the loft void is over £800 + vat and that does not include any removal of insulation which I need to do (if they did it the quote would double) The Product they will use is 'Control Fluid SB'

What I want to try and establish is a fair price for the work including guarantees and any alternative contractors who could give me a competitive quotation for the work

All help very much appreciated

DOTS

muskoka

DOTS

We purchased house Dec 10 & had major woodworm. Being MSE we did the woodworm treatment ourselves. We had an independant damp/woodworm chap round who was very helpful. He advised to lift two floorboards every 5 (i.e. 2 boards up & 3 left down). Then you can access all wood to spray with treatment. We went right through the house including removing insulation & treating all the loft. He advised to go to B & * & buy a £15 garden pump spray with a wand to for applying the treatment.

We purchased under his advice - http://www.agwoodcare.co.uk/prod/soluguard_woodworm_treatment_concentrate.html , although not from this supplier.

It cost us for the whole house probably £200 absolute tops including the new joists & boards required. However, it was a lot of work!

We did get a quote for £850 to have the house treated and yes, we would have got a guarantee, however that wouldn't have included the new joists/floors - that perhaps the contractor wouldn't even have picked up on. We may not have a written guarantee BUT we are 100% confident we treated every piece of old/new timber in the house.

David_Aldred

Hi Dave on the save,
If you want further quotes look on the Property Care Association website for a member contractor in your area. Rentokil are not the cheapest but they have been around for a long time and this gives some degree of comfort they hopefully will be in the future should you need to claim on the guarantee. The Property CAre Association (PCA) contractors have to qualified and satisfy the PCA they are competant so hence the recommendation. It is essential the loft is thoroughly cleaned out including industrial size vacuuming and stripping of any paint / coatings to ensure surfaces are back to clean wood othewrwise treatment will be a waste of time and money. The surface applied insecticide only penetrates just below the surface and in no way goes through the entire depth of wood so is not an instant kill to insects throughout the depth of timber. It may therefore be several years before the infestation is brought under control and what appears superficial damage now can be quite significant during that period. Insurance backed long term guarantee gives confidence to any purchaser if you come to sell the house at some point in the future. There are surface areas of roof timbers that cannot be reached / accessed with even the best treatment without pulling the roof apart so it is only going to be partially effective but the thing is to bring any live infestation under control to a point that is perceived to be negligable. Common furniture can still do massive amounts of structural damage if allowed to continue to infest at high levels of activity. Ensure the infestation is actually active by asking to see a live beetle which should be possible at this time of year as the insects emerge to breed during the summer. If no live beetles can be found and you are in no rush it may be prudent to monitor for activity over the next twelve months by leaving a good length of white lining in the loft void laid out - the beetles are attracted to white surfaces as they emerge to breed, also taping paper / card over lengths of timber where activity is suspected is another useful means of monitoring for activity. Any treatment whether by specialist contractor or DIY needs to comply with appropriate health and safety requirments for you / the people in the house / people in the adjoining properties / animals / etc. Spraying insecticide chemicals in a confined space such as a loft void can be a killer (both short and long term risk) if you don't know what you are doing so be warned if you are thinking of doing this yourself. Never ever consider doing this on your own / without the proper safety including breathing equipment / without anybody outside that confined space monitoring you with appropriate means by which a person getting into trouble in there can be saved. Warning notices should be fixed both short and long term of the long term insecticide chemicals used should be fixed at point of entry to loft warning people entering the confined space of the treatment, what product was used. date of treatment, contact info etc. Services and other vulnerable items within loft void need protecting during and for some time after treatment, the beetles fly so the entire house is at risk - primary other place to check woudl be bathroom floor timbers which they prefer (being wet) and window cills during the fly out period. By no means an exhaustive list but hope this helps - further info on the this subject, timber decay and dampness / cavity wall ties please my other posts on here - kindest regards, David Aldred - indepenent damp and timber surveyor.