What a termite bond is, how Alabama's termite-contract rules shape it, and the questions to ask before signing for reinspection.
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A termite bond is a written contract that sets out what is treated and covered for a building after treatment. In Alabama the contract practice is written into Administrative Code Chapter 80-10-9. Before signing, the owner should read the current contract and ask the company that holds the bond what is covered and how the reinspection works.
A termite bond is a contract, not a treatment. It sets out what the company that holds it agrees to do for a building after the initial work, and the terms are written in the contract itself. Homeowners often assume a bond covers everything in the house, or that it lasts indefinitely. Neither is a safe assumption, and the contract is the only place where the real scope is stated. This page explains the parts of the Alabama practice that can be stated plainly and the questions that are worth asking before signing.
Alabama has its own termite-contract practice, set out in Administrative Code Chapter 80-10-9, Professional Services. The rules include a waiver form that must be used where a required treatment cannot be performed in some area, and the owner or the owner's agent must sign that form before treatment begins. A homeowner who is asked to sign a waiver should read it, ask what treatment is not being done and why, and keep a copy. That form is one of the few concrete requirements a homeowner can check for themselves.
Termite bonds sit close to the work described on the termite control page, but they are a separate arrangement. Treatment deals with the colony that is there now. A bond is about what happens afterward, and about whether the building is checked again. Phones are answered 24/7, and a visit is arranged when a technician is free, but no arrival time is promised for any inspection or reinspection. The price for the bond and for any work under it is explained and approved before work starts.
Do not sign a waiver or a bond without reading it, and do not sign a document that leaves an area blank. Keep copies of every signed form, the current contract and the inspection records in one place. Do not assume that a bond excludes a problem because the company has not mentioned it, and do not assume it covers a problem because the building has been treated before. Ask the company that holds the bond to confirm the wording in writing.
The homeowner reads the current contract from start to finish before signing, including any schedule of what is covered and anything marked as excluded. The version in use today is the one that matters, because older paperwork may describe terms that no longer apply.
If a required treatment cannot be done in some area of the building, Alabama's rules call for a waiver form that the owner or the owner's agent signs before treatment. The technician explains which area is affected and why, and the homeowner keeps a copy of the signed form.
The homeowner asks the company that holds the bond what it covers, which parts of the structure are included, and what happens if termites are found in an area the contract does not name. The answer is written down, because a verbal description is not the contract.
Where the contract calls for a reinspection, the date and the scope go into the agreement. A reinspection is a visit that checks the building against the record from the last visit. The technician records what was found, so that the next visit has something to compare against.
The bond, the waiver, the inspection reports and any treatment records are kept together, ideally in one folder. If the house is sold, those records are what a new owner and a lender will ask for, and a complete set makes the transfer simpler.
The contract decides it. The bond covers what the written terms say it covers and nothing more, so the homeowner has to read the wording.
A bond usually names the building, describes the treatment that was done and sets out the conditions under which the company will come back. It may also list parts of the structure that are excluded. The homeowner should look for those exclusions first, because they show the edges of the agreement more clearly than any summary does.
This page does not say that one is. The rules set out what must happen where a bond or a treatment is used, and the homeowner should check the current wording with the company that holds it.
Alabama's termite-contract practice in Chapter 80-10-9 sets requirements for the work, including the waiver form, but whether a bond is needed in a particular case depends on the contract, the lender and the situation. A homeowner who has been told a bond is required should ask who requires it and in what document.
Only if the contract says so. Reinspection is part of many bonds, but the timing and the scope belong to the agreement, not to a general rule.
Many homeowners expect a reinspection every year, and some contracts do call for one. Others set a different interval or leave the matter to the company. The homeowner should find the reinspection clause and write its date down, so that the visit does not depend on anyone's memory.
The building, its construction, its size and how much of it the contract covers. Nothing here is a figure, and the price is approved before any work starts.
A house on a crawl space takes a different amount of time to inspect than a house on a slab, because the sub-floor is a large part of the check. The size of the building, the number of outbuildings included and the distance out of town all change the work. Access to the full perimeter and to the sub-floor, where it can be entered, adds time as well.
Report it to the company that holds the bond, in writing if possible, and keep any mud tubes or wings you have found for the visit.
The contract describes what the company does when activity is found in an area it covers. The homeowner should check that wording before the report is made, so that the call is made to the right party and with the right description. Photographs of any mud tubes and the date they were seen are useful.
Where a building has been treated for termites before, the bond describes what was done, what remains under the contract and what must be checked again. The homeowner should ask which parts of the earlier work the contract covers and whether any area was excluded. The record of the earlier treatment is the starting point for any future check.
Some buildings have an area where a required treatment cannot be performed, such as an area that cannot be reached safely or a section that is not accessible. In that case the waiver form is the written record of the exclusion, and the owner signs it before treatment. The homeowner should understand exactly which area is excluded and whether any other protection applies to it.
A barn, a shed or a detached garage may or may not sit inside the contract, and the wording decides it. A homeowner who keeps stored wood or animal feed in an outbuilding should ask whether that structure is covered. Outbuildings are often treated under a separate arrangement or left out, so the question is worth asking before the contract is signed.
Many of the buildings around West Blocton are older frame houses and farmhouses on piers or vented crawl spaces, and that construction is where a bond and its exclusions tend to matter most. A pier house with a crawl space and stored material underneath needs a clear description of what the bond covers under the floor. Those details belong in the contract, not in a general assumption.
The housing around the town also includes manufactured homes on acreage, mid-century brick ranch houses in the smaller towns and newer slab houses on the county edges. Each of these has a different path for termites and a different set of areas the contract may exclude. Homeowners in rural Bibb County and the surrounding counties often hold older paperwork, so it is worth checking that the current contract is the one on file.
Because the area is spread out, a visit for a reinspection is booked when a technician is free and the scheduling depends on the route. Phones are answered 24/7, and a homeowner who wants a reinspection or a copy of the current contract can call to ask. The price is confirmed before any work starts.
Most termite bond and annual reinspection calls are scheduled the same day when a technician is free, and you approve the price before any work starts.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Subterranean termite control for houses in West Blocton and the rural country around it, from inspection through colony-level treatment.
The Official Alabama Wood Infestation Inspection Report: what it records, who can issue it and what it cannot find.
Soil treatment and bait-station options for subterranean termites, with the checks that keep either route working after the first visit.
How damp under-floor space feeds wood decay and draws termites, roaches and spiders, and what a technician checks under the house.
A termite swarm is a normal dispersal event in which winged reproductives leave an established colony to start new ones.
The Official Alabama Wood Infestation Inspection Report is the written record of visible active or previous infestation by wood-destroying organisms, set out in Alabama Administrative Code Rule 80-10-9-.18.
Structural pest control in Alabama is regulated by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, usually called ADAI, under Chapter 80-10-9 of the Alabama Administrative Code and the professional services law in Title 2 of the Code of Alabama 1975.
A termite bond is a written contract that sets out what a company agrees to do for a building after the treatment, including whether the building will be checked again. The terms are in the contract, and the contract is the only reliable description of what is covered. Read it before signing and ask the company to point out each part that matters to you.
Alabama's rules call for a waiver form where a required treatment cannot be performed in some area of the building. The owner or the owner's agent must sign the form before treatment begins. The form records which area was not treated, so it is worth reading carefully and keeping a copy.
Ask the company that holds the bond, and ask in writing if you can. Ask what is covered, which areas are excluded, what happens if termites are found in an excluded area and how a reinspection is scheduled. A written answer is part of the record and is more reliable than a conversation alone.
The answer depends on the contract, so check the terms for a transfer clause before the sale. A new owner should receive the contract, any waiver and the most recent inspection record. Lenders may ask for a wood infestation report as a condition of financing, which is covered on its own page.
No. A reinspection checks the building against the record from the last visit and notes any activity. A treatment deals with a colony that is active. If a reinspection finds activity, the contract decides what follows, and the technician explains the options and the price before any work begins.
That depends on the company and the contract. Ask whether a barn, shed or detached garage can be included, what it would cost and whether it is covered by the same terms as the house. Do not assume an outbuilding is covered simply because it sits on the same property.