When the temperatures rise, so do the bugs. For one local man, his termite trouble had less to do with the insects and more to do with their removal.
Riccardo Spezzaferro bought a vacation house on Cape Cod four years ago, despite a pest problem.
"During the buying process, it was discovered that there was termites on the premises," said Spezzaferro.
He signed a contract with Mid-Cape Pest Control to tackle the termites. The company uses a hormonal treatment to get rid of them. The process entails placing underground canisters, around the property.
"The initial contract was $1,300, and they came in and did an initial inspection and then they put the canisters in," said Spezzaferro. "Then it was a yearly renewal of $295, but per the contract it could go up at any time with inflation."
The contract ran from April to October. Under the terms, the company was supposed to visit every 90 days, but for the first two years, Spezzaferro says they came every other month. He knew they treated his property, because they would leave a notice on his door.
Happy with the service, Spezzaferro renewed his contract this past fall. But when April rolled around, he says the service stopped.
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"No one comes," said Spezzaferro. "No indication that they had been here. No notice. The weather at the time had been very rainy and cold and originally didn't think much of it. May came and went and nobody came, and then found myself into the first week of June and nobody had come."
He says he called the company and found out it was under new ownership. He says they told him they were short-staffed, that he should be patient, and they would get there eventually. But he says they never did.
"She told me at that time that they had been here, and I found that surprising, because I had been doing yardwork, and I left the place in a way that I would have known that somebody had come," said Spezzaferro. "I was told there would be no refunds and there would be no credits."
Spezzaferro then turned to NBC10 Boston Responds for help.
"You guys were great. You got right on it," said Spezzaferro.
A Mid-Cape manager said over the phone they haven't had any other customer complaints, but they did not issue a further statement for this story. Spezzaferro was refunded $325 for his pre-paid year of service.
"They were not willing to negotiate with me whatsoever, until you guys were involved," said Spezzaferro.
In Spezzaferro's case, he was able to visit his summer home on the Cape frequently in the offseason to check things out. That's how he says he knew the work was not being done. If you are in a similar situation, but can't physically visit your property often, it's a good idea to have your neighbors or someone keep an eye on things, and confirm that work is actually being done.
