Termites in Your Condo or Townhome? We Treat Just Your Unit.
If you live in a condo, a townhome, a villa, or any unit that shares a wall with the one next door, tenting gets complicated fast. Here's why. In Florida, if even one unit in a building like that gets fumigated, everybody in the whole building has to be out, and every unit gets tested before anybody moves back in. So the termites are in your unit, and now every neighbor you've got is packing up for about three days too. That's a lot of people to line up over a few piles of pellets under your window sill.
Let me be fair about fumigation. Tenting works. It kills what's in the building that day, and there are buildings where we'll look you in the eye and tell you the tent is the right call. But if what you've got is termites in your unit, there's another way to go about it, and you don't have to empty the building to do it.
Found pellets in your unit? Let us take a look.
Austin or I will come out, look at what you found, and tell you straight what it is and what it'll take. If it's not termites, we'll tell you that too. The look is free.
What we do in a condo or townhome
We take care of the problem in your unit. We treat the whole unit, not just the spot where you found the pellets, and we treat as much bare wood as we can reach. Wherever the bare wood is, that's where we go. Your whole unit. Not the whole building.
In a lot of these buildings, the walls you share with the unit next door are concrete block fire walls. Here's the good news on those. We almost never find termites in them. Termites live in the wood, so the wood is what we treat.
You stay home while we work. So do your neighbors. Your food stays in the pantry, your pets stay with you, and you just step out of whatever room we're working in. We've been treating termites without a tent since 2003.
Why one unit can't be fumigated by itself
People ask me why they can't just tent their own unit. Think about how the gas works. It goes everywhere air goes. That's the whole point of it. In a building where the units share walls, pipes and ducts, there's no way to promise the gas stays on your side of the wall. So in Florida, when one unit in a building like that gets fumigated, the whole building has to be empty, and every unit gets checked with a meter before anybody goes back in. That's not the fumigation company being difficult. That's the rule, and it's a good one.
Same goes for an office or a store in a building that shares walls. Florida counts those as units too. If it's your unit, we treat your unit.
Here's exactly what happens when you call
We set a time that works for you. Austin or I come out and look at your unit: the wood, where the termites are, and how far they've gone. Then we tell you what we see, in plain English. We don't give prices over the phone, because we haven't seen your unit yet. We price it after we look, by the size of your unit. The look is free, and you're under no obligation.
Texting? Put your address and unit number in the first message and we'll take it from there.
On the board, or managing the building?
If you're on the condo board or you manage the property, let's talk. We've worked with condo associations for years. Some boards want one unit taken care of. Some want to know what's going on across the whole building before anybody says the word tent. Either way, we'll come out, look at it, and tell you straight what we find. And if the tent is the right call for your building, you'll hear that from us too.
What one condo association says
"He is inspecting our condo's units upon request and has been prompt and honest in his assessment. Our Condominium Association, after spending thousands of dollars in tenting one of our group of three connected units (with another provider) interviewed five other termite businesses due to concern that we could have additional infestations. It was a board decision to select Coby's Tentless Termite and Pest Control after those interviews and one we have been very satisfied with. He has worked with three units and been very honest in stating that others he was asked to check had no problems. I would certainly recommend him to anyone concerned with a termite or pest problem."
— Donna RyderWhen the tent is the right call
If termites are spread all through the building, tenting the whole building may be the better answer. Tentless works when we can get to the wood, and some buildings don't give you that. When that's what we find, we'll tell you, even if it means you don't need us.
If the bugs come back
If the bugs come back, so do we. That's backed by the annual renewal inspection. We come out every year, check the treated areas, and if there's active termite activity again, we retreat it at no charge. Keep the renewal current and the guarantee stays with you.
Don't sit on it
Here's the honest reason not to wait. A drywood colony takes about five years to get big enough to throw swarmers, the winged ones that leave and start new colonies. Once that starts, one colony becomes several. In a building, the next one can start in your unit or your neighbor's. Caught early, it's a straightforward job. Caught late, I've seen it take years to track them all down.
Questions people ask
Can you treat just my unit?
Yes. We treat your whole unit, wherever the bare wood is. You stay home, and so do your neighbors.
Can I tent just my condo or townhouse?
Not by itself. In Florida, if one unit in a building that shares walls gets fumigated, the whole building has to be empty, and every unit gets tested before anyone moves back in.
Do you treat the whole unit, or just the spot?
The whole unit. We treat as much bare wood as we can reach, not just the spot where you found pellets.
Do my neighbors have to leave?
No. We're only treating your unit.
Do you treat offices and stores in shared-wall buildings?
Yes. If it's a unit in a building that shares walls, we look at it the same way. We treat your unit.
I'm on the condo board. Can you look at the whole building?
Yes. Call us and we'll set a time to come out and look at it.
Before anybody empties the building, make one call
A second look costs you nothing. If the tent is right for your building, you'll go ahead knowing it. If it isn't, you just saved every unit three days out of their homes.
As long as GOD keeps making them, we'll keep killing them. Thanks, and you have a great day.
Coby
P.S. Is your board already talking about tenting the whole building? Call before anybody signs. If the tent's the right call, I'll tell you. If it isn't, you'll want to know that before every unit packs up.