Terminix

Founded in 1927—specifically as a way to protect hardwood floors from the damage caused by termites—Terminix has a long track record of handling pests effectively and has been present for many of the major technological changes in the industry. Headquartered in Memphis, Terminix pest control extends to 48 states and has over 300 branches and franchises across the country. Many states have more than one location, but several have a huge number of locations, including 31 in California, 39 in North Carolina, and 28 in Florida.

With over 10,000 employees working to fight your pests, Terminix has the manpower and coverage to respond quickly. Notably, Terminix is now backed by Rentokil (after an October 2022 merger), which makes it part of the largest global pest control group and adds even more expertise to its operations.

Terminix’s basic pest control service offers coverage of 13 common household pests, including:

While this pest list covers the typical bugs and critters you might encounter at home, it is somewhat limited compared to some competitors’ plans. Notably, it still does not include certain common pests like fleas, ticks, or mosquitoes. To get rid of those, homeowners must purchase a more comprehensive plan or targeted add-on services. In other words, Terminix can handle a flea or tick problem, but those are not covered under the standard plan without an extra fee. Similarly, mosquito control is offered as a dedicated seasonal service (not part of the base package). This tiered approach is something to consider if you’re dealing with a variety of pest issues.

Terminix has practically become synonymous with termite elimination – and for good reason. E.L. Bruce, a hardwood flooring manufacturer in the 1920s, actually helped found Terminix by commissioning a research lab to create a termite insecticide (after termites ravaged his floors). Today, termites remain a core specialty for Terminix.

Termites invade homes in every continental U.S. state, and there are three main types to worry about: Subterranean, Drywood, and Formosan termites.

Subterranean termites are the most common threat and will nest in the soil beneath a home, traveling upward to feed on a home’s wood structure. A well-organized Subterranean termite colony can have more than a million hungry workers chewing up over 100 pounds of wood per year. Formosan termites (also known as Dampwood termites) are very similar to their Subterranean cousins but are found in more humid states like Hawaii and across the Southeast. Drywood termites infest from above and choose to nest in any type of wood, including dry lumber like the wood in a home and will infest virtually any part of a home from attics to walls to furniture.

Termites never stop. They feast 24/7. And termite activity often goes undetected; if termites find a crack as thin as a credit card in your home’s structure, they can get in and eat away without any visible signs. Average termite treatment and damage repair are more than $8,000.

Blisters in wood flooring, hollowed or damaged wood, and discarded termite wings found near closed windows, doors, or other home-access points are all indicators of termite activity in your home. Mud tubes and random mounds that resemble sawdust or coffee grounds are also sure signs of an infestation.

Terminix can put a stop to termite destruction. They start with a free termite inspection to assess any current or past termite activity. Based on what they find, Terminix technicians will customize a treatment and protection plan for your home. Terminix typically presents three levels of termite control options, and as long as you stay on a protection plan, they provide annual monitoring to guard against new infestations.

Terminix offers a special type of termite bond for homeowners who purchase their services. Under the termite bond, or termite contract, any new damage that occurs by termites within the contract time period will be covered by Terminix. Most termite contracts only offer additional treatments should the homeowner find continuing problems while their home is being treated. Terminix’s termite bond goes one step further by including the cost to repair new damage.

• Technicians install a series of bait stations strategically in the soil around your home. Termites that encounter the bait carry the slow-acting control agent back to their colony, effectively spreading it to others. This ultimately wipes out the colony at its source. Each Terminix bait station is loaded with enough active ingredient to rapidly knock out termites once they share it.

Terminix technicians apply a liquid termiticide barrier (after trenching soil and, if necessary, drilling through slabs around your foundation). The Liquid Defend treatment creates an impregnable chemical zone in the soil. Subterranean termites are killed as soon as they tunnel toward your home and hit the treated earth, preventing them from infesting the structure.

For extensive above-ground infestations (often Drywood termites), Terminix offers whole-home fumigation. They’ll cover your entire house with heavy tarps, sealing it, and then release a fumigant inside. The gas penetrates deep into wood beams, trim, furniture, and wall voids – reaching all the nooks where termites hide. This tent fumigation method ensures a complete kill of both Drywood and any remaining Subterranean termites in the building. You’ll typically be able to safely return home within a few days of the treatment.

Bed bugs are another notoriously difficult pest that Terminix tackles head-on. These tiny insects hide in beds, furniture, and clothing, and survive by sucking blood from humans or animals (usually at night). While bed bugs don’t transmit diseases, their bites leave itchy welts and can cause major distress and sleepless nights for homeowners.

Terminix’s bed bug service is comprehensive. It starts with a free, thorough inspection of your home to confirm any bed bug activity. The trained technician will check your mattresses, box springs, bed frames, linens, couch cushions – all the common hiding spots – as well as more unexpected areas (behind picture frames, along baseboards, etc.). If bed bugs (or their telltale eggs and droppings) are found, Terminix will customize a treatment plan and get to work as soon as possible.

Terminix is so confident in its bed bug solutions that it offers a special Bed Bug Guarantee. Initially, you get a 30-day satisfaction guarantee: if bed bugs are still biting after Terminix’s treatment, they’ll come back and re-treat at no additional cost. Moreover, if you purchase mattress encasements for your beds through Terminix (a recommended preventative step), they will extend the bed bug guarantee to 90 days. A 90-day guarantee for bed bug service is almost unheard of in this industry, where most companies might give 30 days at best[11]. This extended guarantee reflects Terminix’s confidence in their approach – and it gives homeowners extra assurance that if the bugs somehow return within that period, Terminix will take care of it.

In terms of environmental responsibility, Terminix has made strides to be more “green” than it was in the past. While some competitors heavily market their eco-friendly philosophies (like Integrated Pest Management, which emphasizes prevention and habitat modification to stop pests before they infest), Terminix historically focused on the direct application of treatments. That is changing. Terminix now states that it uses IPM practices, combining smart prevention, sanitation advice, and targeted treatment – as part of its service approach. In practice, this means technicians won’t just blast your baseboards with chemicals; they’ll also advise on sealing entry points or removing attractants to help prevent future pest issues.

When consulting the Terminix pest control website, a 100% satisfaction guarantee is advertised everywhere, but the details are never specified. It is only through scouring the hard-to-read fine print that you will understand that this guarantee only extends for 30 days. While this is the industry standard in terms of guarantees, it is not well-advertised in the slightest. That being said, Terminix does have its own special guarantees for their termite and bed bug services that vary from their general pest control guarantee.

Terminix scores relatively high on reviews, largely because of the sheer number of positive ones found on ConsumerAffairs.com. It appears that the company is invested in getting good reviews from customers and encouraging them to leave a comment on their work if at all possible.

Overall, customers seemed very happy with their service by Terminix. The company received 4.6 out of 5 on ConsumerAffairs.com—a number based on over 1,600 reviews in the last year. Terminix seems to put a lot of time and effort into cultivating reviews and their work pays off. Most people were pleased with the services they received, commenting that their Terminix technicians were on time, pleasant to work with, and did a thorough job.

Many people commented that Terminix provided a quality service that did exactly what they were going to do. Technicians were on time, friendly, helpful, and they got the job done.

Customers were particularly enamored with Terminix’s communications and scheduling, many stating that the online scheduler was easy to navigate and that the customer service representatives were friendly. This is worth noting because customer communication is something that many other companies struggle with and is often the thing that ruins a pest control enterprise’s reputation online. However, the largest complaint lodged was that customers fell between the cracks in the scheduling or customer service system, but these complaints were few and far between.

Reviewers said that Terminix came to scheduled appointments regularly, were happy to help if there were problems outside of a regularly scheduled visit, and did not make excuses to avoid coming out more than once. As one reviewer wrote:

Effectiveness is ultimately the weakest part of the customer review section as there were many comments from people who needed to have their property treated a second time. While this might be skewed by the sheer number of reviews that are out there, it might also be the result of Terminix not adopting an Integrated Pest Management philosophy, thus allowing pests to return from where they came. Terminix’s 30-day guarantee ensures that these re-treatments will not cost you any additional money; however, the fact remains that pests are extraordinarily difficult to get rid of in many cases.

Pricing pest control services can be tricky – costs vary widely based on your location, your home’s size, and the severity of the infestation. That said, Terminix strives to make pricing transparent and in line with the value of their service. They also offer some guarantees that can save you money in the long run. Here’s a breakdown of what to expect:

• Home Defense Pest Control Initial Treatment: $249
• Follow up treatment (period of one year): $149/each

While Terminix is able to give you a quote online, there are also some additional factors to consider that might affect price points. We were unable to obtain a termite control estimate as those require an inspection to determine the amount of damage and infestation, and level of protection plan needed.

Terminix does not offer a free initial inspection, unlike some companies, unless it is for termites or bedbugs. Instead, they provide a free consultation in which homeowners chat with technicians about the problems they are experiencing and the technician will give them a price quote over the phone.

While it is convenient to be able to get a quote directly over the phone, it simply is not the same as an inspection. Inspections allow technicians to see the full extent of a pest problem as well as evaluate how difficult it will be to solve it. Many questions regarding your pest control solution also cannot be answered over the phone since the full story isn’t known yet.

Terminix’s 30-day guarantee is standard across the industry and serves as a great protection for anyone not on the annual service plan that the company tries to sell. Terminix will provide free re-treatments of your home for 30 days under this guarantee or even refund you entirely if you choose.

We discussed the Terminix termite bond (damage repair guarantee) in the features section, but it’s worth mentioning here as a cost benefit too. Termite damage can be devastatingly expensive – we’re talking potentially thousands of dollars in structural repairs. By choosing a Terminix termite plan that includes the Nix & Fix guarantee, you are essentially getting a termite damage insurance policy bundled in. If termites slip past Terminix’s defenses and chow down on your walls or floors, Terminix foots the bill for repairs (up to the coverage limit). This can save you a tremendous amount of money compared to paying out-of-pocket for those fixes. It’s a strong argument in favor of using a provider like Terminix versus a smaller outfit that might only offer retreatments. Even though we hope you’ll never need to use the repair warranty, its presence is a financial safety net.

While Terminix does cover 13 common house pests in their basic pest protection plan, it does not cover four very important (and common) ones: flies, ticks, mosquitoes, and fleas. The basic pest control treatment also does not cover many types of ants found in homes, only taking care of “house” ants.

To eradicate these, you must upgrade to the “premium” plan, which is a low selling point for many consumers who could easily work with other companies that will automatically include these pests. Overall, Terminix seems to have affordable coverage with a guarantee, but the hidden costs for managing some common pests is frustrating.

If you are facing any kind of termite infestation in your home, then hands down, all research and review indicators point to Terminix to get the problem taken care of.