Texas PCO Enjoys Treating High-Profile Accounts

The environment around the Gulf of Mexico raises havoc on all types of structures. Intense heat and humidity. Threat of hurricanes. Fierce termite pressure. These elements are particularly harsh for those restoring and maintaining historically significant buildings.

The Captain William Sanders Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Historical Society in Port Arthur, Texas, and the City of Port Arthur face all of these challenges in preserving three stunning mansions built around the turn of the century. The greatest threat for these Texas Historical Markers, however, is the enormous subterranean termite population found in the area. To cope with this threat, all three organizations have turned to Security Pest Management.

"The termite pressure around the Gulf Coast is one of the strongest in the nation," said Ed Boone, owner of Security, which is located in Port Arthur. "Oftentimes, we'll begin having subterranean swarmers in the middle of January. They'll continue through the end of March and we'll be really busy all the way through June."

CONSTRUCTION WOES. Combine that pressure with the type of construction found in the three historical homes and you've got conditions ripe for serious termite problems. The homes - the Pompeiian Villa (1900), Rose Hill (1906) and White Haven (1915) - feature pier construction with "chain walls."

Each home is built on piers which raise it several feet off the ground. A "chain wall" is then built from the bottom of the home down to the soil, creating a crawl space. Access doors provide service access and ventilation to the space. The two major problems with this type of construction are termites' building mud tubes from the ground, up the piers, and infesting the structure; and inadequate ventilation which creates a moist environment where termites thrive.

"Both the Pompeiian Villa and Rose Hill had active infestations when we took them over 10 years ago," said Boone. "We were hired to take care of those problems, but we also recommended a prevention program based on maintenance, inspection and spot treatment which has kept all three homes subterranean termite-free to this day."

The initial treatment done at each home by Security included spot-treating the areas of active infestation, eliminating any wood-to-ground contact, trenching around each and every pier, and making recommendations for maintenance to help prevent future problems. Annual inspections help ensure that the homes stay termite-free.

INSPECTION AND DOCUMENTATION. "The key to our success with these homes, and the homes of all our customers, is the emphasis we put on inspection and documentation," said Delton Domingue, general manager at Security.

Every potential Security job begins with a thorough inspection. Once on the job, technicians complete a detailed graph of the site, list any previous damage or infestations, describe the treatment done, and document any maintenance recommendations made to the customer.

"Then when we do our annual or semiannual inspection," said Domingue, "our technician comes out with a complete record and history of problems and treatments. In fact, we normally have more documentation than the homeowner."

"Thorough documentation is something we stress with our technicians," Boone explained. "We review the documents from every job to make sure our technicians completed them properly. Those records are the key to everything we do.

"When our technician goes out to one of the historical homes - whether it be the Pompeiian Villa, Rose Hill or White Haven - he's equipped with a complete graph of the site and all the paperwork from every inspection we've ever done there. So he can review our entire job history before he puts on a crawl suit and goes under the structure. And we do this with all our accounts," Boone added.

Security's service technicians use this information to troubleshoot and head off problems before they start. If there is a previous moisture problem needing to be corrected, they can be sure it is taken care of. If there are any new additions to the structure or landscaping which may provide termites with a path to the structure, the technicians have been trained to update the graph for future reference.

"A contractor restored a porch around White Haven and forgot to take out the wood form," Boone stated. "Noticing the porch wasn't on the graph, our technician inspected it and found what could have become a potentially serious problem. So we removed the form to eliminate any wood-to-ground contact termites could use to enter the structure."

BOOSTER TREATMENTS. In addition to regular inspections, Security's preventive program for these three homes includes occasional booster treatments using Equity* termiticide from DowElanco. "With the pressure we have down here, if you don't do booster treatments in critical areas, you're going to have problems," Boone said. "We've seen new homes infested with termites while they're being built."

"Doing a thorough treatment with a quality product is a necessity down here," Domingue said, "for the homeowner and for us." Domingue says statistics suggest 60% of the new homes built in the Port Arthur area which are not protected by termiticide will have an infestation in five years. That number jumps to 80% in seven years and 100% in eight.

"We've tried several products since chlordane was taken off the market," Boone said. "We like the residual provided by Dursban* TC the best, but needed a low-odor product.

"We used some other termiticides, but when Equity came out, we were able to have the reliability of Dursban TC in the low-odor formulation our customers were demanding."

A REFERRAL BUSINESS. Sound treatment methods, thorough inspections and a quality service help set Security Pest Management apart from the competition. And success breeds success.

"Most of our new business comes from customer referrals, including those people who know we do the three historical homes," Boone said.

"Treating these homes has definitely helped us grow our business," Domingue said. "People see the quality work we do at the Pompeiian Villa, Rose Hill or White Haven, and they want the same professional job done on their home."

"As long as we stay dedicated to doing the type of work we do at the Historical Markers, our business will continue to grow from the experience," Boone said.

Security was a half-truck operation grossing $12,000 per year when Boone and his wife started in 1978. In 1979, they grossed $40,000. By the year 2000, they hope to have $1.5 million in gross revenue. And thanks to the reputation they've developed for doing quality work at the Pompeiian Villa, Rose Hill and White Haven, they're well on their way.