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Not a fan of Terminix here in Phila

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qwerty

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Posted 5 years ago
Thu May 1 2008 14:48:24
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So I called them for an inspection to see if they could find something I couldn't; and they tried to pressure me into treating my place as if there's a BB infestation despite any evidence (beyond bites). They told me that the treatment for fleas and BBs is the same so really I had nothing to lose.

I told them that I had some bites, they were grouped and that I was worried about BBs. I wanted them to come here, inspect the place and start killing things if they found anything. I told them I had a dog so I wasn't sure if I really had BBs or fleas. I've since washed the dog and nuked the poor thing with frontline (sorry fuffy) and haven't seen or been bitten since (I'll stop being crazy if I go for a full week or month or so).

He said "well if you have a bunch of grouped bites you probably have BBs."

So...I'm not a fan of Terminix in Phila, they're out to see you something. If find anything or get any bites I'm going to call around to some other places and see what I can find.

/I've bought a jeweler's loop for better inspections of small crevices.
jimb5140

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Posted 5 years ago
Thu May 1 2008 15:52:05
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I would google what the differences are with flea bites vs. bed bug bites. Bed Bug bites are often 3 in a row, and tend to focus on upper body, arms, hands, neck, but they go for the legs as well.

I would also call other PCO's in Philly and see what they say and offer vs. these guys. See if you can find someone who really advertises specialty in bed bugs, because treating these is nothing like treating any other insect. They are, as one PCO described to me, probably the most difficult insect to eradicate. (maybe after termites, but at least they don't come after you) I posted a rather poor review of Terminix and their methodology to treat bed bugs here in New York after one of their guys left me a voicemail with an overview of their treatment plan and procedures, and it sounded more elongated and less involved compared to other PCO's who specialized in bed bugs.

I think we have great FAQ's on what a good exterminator/PCO should be doing during their treatment. It should take a few hours, even for a small apartment, everything should be sprayed, furniture, walls, floors, beds. They should be using "Residual" (key word there) so it sticks to your stuff and the bed bugs walk over it and die as days go by. The application of the insecticide should be quite liberal, your apartment should be puddled with this stuff. They'll tell you that you need to leave the premises for a few hours, maybe even the whole day. They'll need to do a follow up treatment, ECt. There's a lot more in the FAQ's section I believe that you can read.

Philly laws, like NYC laws, often favor the tenants. Your landlord should be covering the cost of this. I would call 4 or 5 different exterminators for estimates, it will be quite expensive depending on the size of your place. Don't let your landlord use his own guy because its cheaper, they've gotta be bed bug people.

Good luck to you.
BBcoukHome

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Posted 5 years ago
Thu May 1 2008 16:15:31
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Hi,

If you even suspect fleas a plug in flea trap is well worth the $20 or so it will cost.

If after a few days you still get bites and don't find anything on the flea trap then its time to consider other options.

David
Nobugsonme

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Posted 5 years ago
Thu May 1 2008 17:27:19
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qwerty,

Are you saying they said all this without actually inspecting? Or after inspecting and finding nothing?

As David said, you can rule out fleas with a cheap plugin flea trap.

There's a good FAQ on this site about what to ask PCOs when you call. We do recommend you call at least three and ask them those questions--in your case, I'd try three more.
qwerty

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Posted 5 years ago
Thu May 1 2008 18:20:17
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Nobugsonme

Yep. All this over the phone.

BBcoukHome

Yea I'll give that a try. We haven't had any more bites so maybe this was all a false alarm. I've looked at the pictures of BB bites and flea bites they both seem to bite in clusters, they both look red and itchy -- so impossible to get a fix on there.

Hopefully I don't need any kind of exterminator and washing the dog fixed my problem. This guy seemed clueless though, seemed to think that getting rid of fleas was difficult (which in my opinion they're not).
Nobugsonme

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Posted 5 years ago
Thu May 1 2008 20:41:49
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qwerty,

Fleas infest homes, not just the actual pet (though if they came in via the dog it's possible to catch them early enough). I would try the flea trap to get some confirmation and see if you still have them.

It is true that fleas can be easy to get rid of if you just have a few living on your pet or in the pet bed. But they can be a hassle when they're everywhere, I hear.

However, bed bugs are harder to detect AND more trouble to get rid of, and if you continue to get bites and you rule out fleas, please do read the FAQ on finding a PCO.
Battle of the Bugs

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Posted 5 years ago
Fri May 2 2008 0:05:51
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Hi there. I'm in Philadelphia and had experience with Terminex. I've discovered bbs in my appt about 1 month ago. Read many websites and blogs. Now your post has called out to me. I must speak up. Terminex is full of bed bug crap. If you've done any reading on bedbugs and you see their methods, you'd know right away it's a bunch of hooey. They are the only company (on their own claim) that uses a dry ice spray. In theory bed bugs can be frozen to death, but with their half a$$ing method of waving the applicator quickly over surfaces and only on the edges of the mattress, it doesn't kill squat. You can even wave your hand over the stream and not have any impact. Maybe if you hold the stream over a bedbug for 30s you might kill it, so in theory this could work if you really ice everything in your room. Proof positive that this doesn't work: I found a live bug on my mattress within 1 hour of this treatment and after a repeat treatment, found a live bug the next day on the wall. Save your money, time and emotional distress. Avoid Terminex.
BBcoukHome

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Posted 5 years ago
Fri May 2 2008 3:57:15
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Hi,

Getting rid of a heavy flea infestation can be hard and chemicals are needed. Unless it is in the 30 to 40 bites per day all I do is us the plug in flea traps.

As a general rule of thumb if its a suspected Bed Bug case and it is more than 30 mins travel away I will always check for pets or walks in the park before heading off. If I suspect fleas then I dont head out until they have tested the area with a plug in flea trap.

I am also seeing an increasing number of fleas that seem to survive the "spot on the pet" treatments and would always advise people to rotate the treatments they use to reduce the risk of this happening.

As far a going on bite morphology alone I personaly don't feel that there is a strong enough difference between the bites to judge an infestation on appearance alone.

David
hoo2677

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Posted 4 years ago
Sat Jan 24 2009 11:11:20
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My next door neighbor chose Terminex and the freezing treatment, "because they have a warranty." Right! And whatever the hell else they do, brought literally hundreds running for their lives, directly into my house! Thanks Terminex!!

So that was twice because they came back to treat her sofa. Please keep in mind said neighbor had not told ANYONE in the building she even had bed bugs until the second treatment was over and the PCO suggested she tell the association or mgt co. After telling the association, they suggested she tell me, since infested sofa was on our shared wall.

F'd up for sure. It's been four weeks since the sofa treatment, had our first open conversation at the condo meeting last Monday.

My neighbor (who actually tried to assert "we got them at the same time" (what! are we like, sisters or something??) HAS BED BUGS!. They're back at her place, and you know what, since I'm now living this nightmare too, I think she may be scarier in the bad judgment department than these beasts are.

After failing to rid her place of them with the freezing (BIG SURPRISE - NOT!, you're saying you're going to hit every single egg!) She suggests we select them "cause they're so big) to treat our common areas (that she infested through poor community hygiene - previous ranting post). Let's pick a company that failed me, everybody.

Nope, let's select a small local company that specializes in killing bed bugs. That makes sense to me.

So Terminex - freezing - Nope
BugBoy911

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Posted 4 years ago
Sun Jan 25 2009 3:05:27
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qwerty - 8 months ago »
So I called them for an inspection to see if they could find something I couldn't; and they tried to pressure me into treating my place as if there's a BB infestation despite any evidence (beyond bites). They told me that the treatment for fleas and BBs is the same so really I had nothing to lose.
I told them that I had some bites, they were grouped and that I was worried about BBs. I wanted them to come here, inspect the place and start killing things if they found anything. I told them I had a dog so I wasn't sure if I really had BBs or fleas. I've since washed the dog and nuked the poor thing with frontline (sorry fuffy) and haven't seen or been bitten since (I'll stop being crazy if I go for a full week or month or so).
He said "well if you have a bunch of grouped bites you probably have BBs."
So...I'm not a fan of Terminix in Phila, they're out to see you something. If find anything or get any bites I'm going to call around to some other places and see what I can find.
/I've bought a jeweler's loop for better inspections of small crevices.

This is exactly what is wrong with these money takers. Its the money takers with the big names and a million workers were %90 don't know anything about what their actually doing except taking your money that are ruining the industry yet making people like myself stand out so much more. FLEAS AND BEDBUGS THE SAME!!!!! ?????? ARE YOU F*&*@ing KIDDING ME!? WOW!! If I could just reach out and help you people I soo would in a second I just can't believe what you people go threw. I keep my business small as myself as the operator and technician and never let my clients deal with some co-worker or employee that changes every service or is on the job for a month or 2. STAY AWAY FROM REALLY BIG COMPANIES WITH A MILLION TECHNICIANS... Stick with highly recommended companies who offer true educated licensed professionals who know what their doing. If you don't get a good gut feeling about the Tech sent to help you then refuse the service. People bedbugs cost money to fix and their not cheap, but yet it shouldn't be outrageously expensive and their should be a guarentee as well. The smell should be minimal yet noticable. Even with a large infestation as the pesticides now a days are not as potent smelling yet very potent in effects. People should not enter the room after treatment for 4 hours minimum usually unless specifically instructed by your Technician to allow earlier entry depending upon the level of chemical used.
paulaw0919

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Posted 4 years ago
Sun Jan 25 2009 10:53:14
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Hi BugBoy911 and welcome. Seems we are getting more PCO's here to contribute info here these days as the word (or spread) of bed bugs gets out. It can be most useful. On behalf of NoBugs please do keep in mind the rules of the site in order to stay in good standing.
I agree with you when you say on many tech's not knowing their job etc... The problem is plainly, lack of knowledge by most. On a homeowners point of view, one will try their best to get the best PCO they can to save their home and belongings. But even then, finding a really good one is like finding a needle in a hay stack. At least it was for us when we were battling bed bugs in 2007. For many of the apartment dwellers it's worse because they are only allowed to use the PCO their landlord hires, which in many cases is a cheap spray jockey or someone's uncle....They too would hire their own PCO if they could, some do, but due to other possible infested units sometimes it's just not enough. Then there's the condo/townhouse owners...they are in a pickle as well. Sure, they can hire the best...but due to each unit being personally owned, if the infestation is coming from a neighbor who doesn't react to bites, refuses to treat...well that's a real sad and hard fight that they can't get out of, they can't move, they own their unit. Education is sooo important as to the spread and treatment for bedbugs. The lack of it, and the lack of gov. support just helps the matter get worse.
Since you are in the NYC/tri-state area, if you are truly wanting to help with the spread of bedbugs, please go to NewYorkvsBedbug.org look through the site, offer help there and very importantly,write your government. They have the forms and examples all ready for you to make it easy and painless. It's imperative, really. Thanks for all the work you do in helping the public.
eatenalivenh

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Posted 4 years ago
Sun Jan 25 2009 20:32:27
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I had to go with the PCO of my LL's choosing and he hired Terminix as well. I am also not very happy with their work. They were here to spray all 3 units in the building there are 2 three bedroom units and one small 1 BR unit. He tech was here for only about 3 hours and that was to treat the entire building shouldn't it take longer than that? Also I took the bed frame apart to be inspected and sprayed and it doesn't even look like it was touched. Nothing looked like it was moved if I didn't see the tech before I left for work I wouldn't even thing that there was a treatment! I got the Terminix Mgr's cell number from the LL today and I plan to call him tomorrow to question how therough the treatment actually was!

I was told that I should be seeing some increased activity after the treatment and that I would see dead bugs but I have seen nothing at all! Should I be concerned that they have gone into hiding until the chemical wears off?

BugBoy911 can you tell me what state your business is in?