Termite Bond Checker: Is My Termite Bond Worth It?

"Retreatment and repair" means the company re-treats if termites come back and repairs damage under the contract's terms. Read those terms for any dollar cap or exclusions, since the rules require the box but not a particular level of coverage.

Is it worth it? Renewal or plan fees run about $150–$500 a year, against a liquid treatment of about $300–$1,200 on a typical Georgia home, plus any repairs. With repair coverage, a missed infestation is the company's problem, not only yours, which is the main thing a bond buys.

Transfers and changes: Georgia doesn't require a bond to transfer to a buyer, only that transferability be disclosed when the house sells. If your contract limits coverage after additions, decks or new beds against the foundation, call the company before that work starts.

Georgia allows either kind of coverage as long as the contract says which one in a boxed statement. With retreatment only, the bond pays for termite control, not carpentry, so damage found later is a homeowner cost.

Is it worth it? Renewal or plan fees run about $150–$500 a year, against a liquid treatment of about $300–$1,200 on a typical Georgia home. A retreatment-only bond mostly buys regular inspections and re-treatment without a new bill. Ask whether the company offers retreatment and repair, what it costs, and what the repair cap is.

Transfers and changes: Georgia doesn't require a bond to transfer to a buyer, only that transferability be disclosed when the house sells. If your contract limits coverage after additions, decks or new beds against the foundation, call the company before that work starts.

Under Rules 620-6-.02, a written termite contract must include the treatment type, the effective date and term, a diagram of the structure, the price, warranty terms with a boxed "retreatment only" or "retreatment and repair" statement, bond details, the renewal fee with how many years it's fixed and the reinspection frequency, and any liability limit tied to changes in the structure. It must also disclose the 3-day right to cancel. Warranty-only contracts need an annual inspection, and bait contracts need station-by-station monitoring records.

Start by asking the company for a complete written copy; the item may simply be on a page you don't have. If they can't provide it, the Georgia Department of Agriculture takes complaints through its Structural Pest Control Inspection Request form or at 404-656-3641. An inspector visits and collects contracts and service tickets. Outcomes range from a warning to corrective action, a fine or license action, and it can take weeks to months.

Timing: GDA's inspection authority runs 5 years from the initial treatment, or 2 years after a contract longer than 5 years expires. There's no published filing deadline, but don't wait.

The WIIR is the official form certifying a structure is "apparently free" of wood-destroying organisms, as a basis for transferring property. It's the only form accepted for Georgia transfers; the national NPMA form isn't. Only a Wood-Destroying Organism (WDO) certified operator may issue it: a WDO-certified or registered technician inspects, and the company's WDO Designated Certified Operator signs.

It comes with a 90-day guarantee: if an infestation is found within 90 days of issue, the company must treat it free, and conducive conditions it should have reported must also be corrected free within 90 days. It isn't a structural report or a warranty that termites are absent; it covers five organisms in readily accessible areas and excludes mold.

Your bond shows up on it. The WIIR must disclose past treatments by the issuing company, the contract's expiration date, whether the warranty transfers and at what fee, any Official Waiver, and areas that couldn't be inspected. Georgia doesn't require bonds to be transferable, so a transferable bond can be a selling point.