What Does It Really Cost to Tent a House in Tampa Bay?

When people ask me what it costs to tent a house, they usually mean the number on the quote. That number is the price. The cost is something else. The cost is the price plus everything you have to do, pay for, and give up to get your house ready, get out of it, and get back into it. Most folks don't add that part up until they're in the middle of it. So let's add it up together before you sign anything.

First, let me be fair about fumigation. Fumigation companies have been around a long time, and tenting does work. It kills the termites that are in the house that day. There are homes where we'll look you in the eye and tell you, you really need to fumigate. So this isn't about whether tenting works. It's about knowing the whole bill before you pick.

The price is just the starting line

Quotes for the same house can be all over the map, so get at least three opinions before you decide. But whatever number you land on, write it at the top of a sheet of paper. Now we're going to keep adding to it.

Your kitchen and your medicine cabinet

The gas goes everywhere air goes. That's the whole point of it. So anything you eat, drink, or take has to be protected. If it's not sealed in its original plastic, glass, or metal bottle, it either leaves the house or goes into special double bags the fumigation company gives you. Think about what that really means. You're standing in your pantry with the bags. The open cereal, the coffee, the spices, the half bag of chips, the dog food, the vitamins, the prescriptions in the bathroom. Some of it you'll pack and haul to a relative's house. Some of it you'll just throw out because it's easier. That's money and it's an afternoon.

Your family, your pets, and your plants

Every person and every pet has to be out. So does every houseplant you want to keep alive. Where do the dogs go? Where does the cat go? If you've got a bird or a fish tank, those go too. If you don't have family close by, that's boarding, and boarding isn't cheap.

And you're not going back in early. Nobody goes back in until the crew comes back and tests the air with a meter and it reads clear. That's the law of the label, and it's a good one. Plan on being out about three days. That's hotel nights, eating every meal out, and for a lot of folks, days off work.

The outside of your house

Here's the part people don't see coming. To work, the tent has to seal. The tarps go over the roof and have to come down tight to the ground all the way around. So anything in the way has to go.

Heavy shrubs against the house get cut back. Vines growing up the walls come off. And plants close to the foundation can be hurt by the gas, so the ground gets watered down ahead of time to help protect them. Even so, some plants don't make it. Now you're paying to replace landscaping.

If you have a pool cage, what we call a bird cage, and the screen is attached to the house, it's in the way of that seal. A lot of times you have to hire a screen company to take those panels down before the tent goes up, then come back and put them up again after. That's two visits from a company that isn't the fumigation company, and it's not on your fumigation quote.

The roof and the gutters

Think about what's happening up there. A man walks your roof dragging a big heavy tarp. Most of the fumigation contracts I've seen say the company isn't responsible for roof tiles or gutters that get damaged. That's not a knock on them. The good companies use those same waivers, because it can happen. But read your contract, and know that if a tile cracks, that one's yours.

Add it all up

Here's the sheet of paper. Put your quote at the top, then add:

• Hotel or a place to stay, about three nights
• Meals out for the whole family
• Boarding for pets, and the vet visit for the records boarding asks for
• Time off work for the prep, the move out, and the move back
• Food and medicine you replace or throw away
• Screen company to take the pool cage panels down and put them back
• Cutting back shrubs and vines, and replacing plants that don't survive
• Any roof or gutter repair the contract doesn't cover

And add up the time, too. Put all the prep steps together and you're looking at roughly 20 to 40 hours of your own time, not counting the three days you're out of the house. Getting ready for us takes about 30 minutes.

Now you've got the cost. That's the number to compare. Our free checklist has all of this on one sheet with blanks to fill in, plus a week-by-week prep list. Download it here (PDF), or use our termite tenting checklist, which shows how long each step takes and adds up the cost for you as you type.

What happens after the tent comes off

Here's one more thing to think about. Gas kills what's in the house, then it leaves. Once it's gone, there's nothing left behind in the wood. So if a swarm lands on your house next spring, the house is open to them again. That doesn't make tenting wrong. It just means you want to know what protection you have after the crew leaves.

Where tentless fits

We've been doing tentless treatment since 2003. You stay home. Your food stays in the pantry. Your pets stay with you. The screens stay up. And it's not right for every house. Sometimes when we come out, we'll tell you the tent is the better call, and we'll mean it. The only way to know is to look.

And if you're comparing tentless companies, ask each one whether the whole house gets treated or just the spots where termites were found. Both can get called tentless, and they aren't the same job. We price it at the house after we've seen it, based on the size of the home. If you want to see how it works, here's how tentless compares to tenting, and here's what termite treatment really costs with us.

Questions people ask

As long as GOD keeps making them, we'll keep killing them. Thanks, and you have a great day.

P.S. Already have a tent date on the calendar? Call anyway. If the tent's the right call for your house, we'll tell you so, and you'll go into it with your eyes open.