“How much does a termite inspection cost?” is one of our more common questions. It’s actually a good question. Not surprisingly, the price will vary depending on the nature of the property being inspected. But perhaps more concerning is the wide variation in the prices quoted by different pest control companies for the same property. This can be very confusing for customer and makes it difficult to know what’s a fair price for a termite inspection. Here we have a look at the factors that impact the price of a termite inspection.
Size and nature of the property
The property is the house plus land. A termite inspection includes the main building on the property and any outbuildings, landscaping features, trees and fences within 50m of the main building (and within the property boundary). Therefore, the more things to inspect on the property the longer the inspection will take. For example, on a rural property all the gum trees within 50 m of the property need to be inspected for termites and termite nests, which may include test drilling the trunk of the tree, which can take some time.
Size of the main building
Not surprisingly the bigger the house, the longer an inspection will take. An inspection involves inspecting each room in turn, so the more rooms the house has, and the bigger the rooms, the longer the inspection will take.
Construction type
The construction type of the house can have a big impact on the time taken to carry out an inspection. In particular, the presence of a sub-floor can have a big impact on the time taken to carry out an inspection. If a sub-floor is present, it is necessary to crawl throughout the sub-floor checking every piece of supporting timber in turn. For houses built on a concrete slab, there is no sub-floor and so the inspections will be quicker and cheaper.
Similarly, is it necessary to check all the timbers in the roof void. So, the bigger the roof void and more challenging it may be to crawl through the roof void will also impact the duration of the inspection. Of course, if the house has cathedral ceilings and therefore no roof void, then the inspection will be quicker.
Additional buildings
If there are additional out buildings, such as garages and sheds, these will also need to be inspected.
All these factors impact the cost of a termite inspection, as the longer the inspection takes, the more it will cost. As a guide, at Termite VIC, it will generally take us 1.5-2 hours to carry out a termite inspection on an average house. (It will then take up to an hour to write the report).
So, why can there be such variations in price from different companies? Well unfortunately, a lot of it comes down to the quality of the pest control company. There are a number of companies which will carry out a termite inspection in as little as an hour. This obviously allows them to charge a lower price. However, you need to be careful what you are paying for. Saving a bit of money on a termite inspection when you are trying to protect a house that nowadays is often worth over a $1 million dollars, is perhaps more than a bit risky. It is certainly better to pay for a quality pest control company to take their time over the inspection and make sure no termite activity or damage is missed.
So how do you choose a quality termite inspector (pest control company)?
Apart from recommendations from friends and maybe looking at Google reviews, there are some key things to consider when asking for a quote:
- Did the company ask you questions about the property before providing a quote?
- How long did they indicate the inspection would take?
- How much experience do they have in termite inspections?
- Are they full insured to carry out termite inspections?
- (You can ask to see their licence and insurance)
Why are Termites VIC different?
Although customers are asking for a termite inspection, if you book a termite inspection, that is all you will get. At Termites VIC, we go one step further. When we carry out a termite inspection, we follow Australian Standards 4349.3, which is for timber pest inspections. This means we actively inspect for borers and timber decay as well as termites, as they can cause significant damage to timber too! Of course, as we’ve been doing termite inspections for over 35 years, you can have confidence we provide termite inspection reports you can trust.