Termite control waivers to change

Plant Board afraid of system's abuse

— A State Plant Board committee decided Friday that that changes are needed in a structural termite control form.

Form 920, which has been used since October 2003, allows companies to waive up to 17 minimum requirements for structural pest-control work.

"We're worried that it could be abused," said Scott Bray, manager of the Plant Board's commercial pest control section.

After nearly three hours of discussion, the pest-control committee asked the board's staff to prepare alternatives to the Form 920 waiver system, possibly returning in whole or in part to a pre-approval system. Limits may be placed on the number of waivers permissible per job or the number of waiver forms that a pest-control firm can issue annually.

The committee plans to review alternatives before the next board meeting, scheduled for Dec. 18.

Unlimited use of the waiver, especially if a contract fails to cover the cost of repairs for potential pest damage, also concerns the Arkansas Pest Management Association, said Don Alexander, the group's executive director and former director of the State Plant Board.

Before October 2003, any pest-control work that failed to comply with state standards required pre-approval from the Plant Board, Alexander said. Complaints from the Arkansas Realtors Associationled to the Form 920, which was seen as a way to streamline regulations, especially when a house was changing hands, he said.

Now, for example, a pestcontrol operator can elect not to remove wood debris and form boards from underneath and around a building when placing a structure under a termite contract but must notify the homeowner through the waiver form.

Arkansas' pest-control laws and regulations are spelled out in a Plant Board document known as Circular 6. That document and the Form 920 waiver can be viewed at the Plant Board's Web site: www.aspb. arkansas.gov/plant_structural.html.

Concern Friday was focused on three Form 920 items that allow a pest-control company to waive chemical treatments in and around a building.

David Hopper, president of the association and owner of Hopper Termite & Pest Management in Mountain Home, said he was worried about small companies that waive services critical to the prevention of termite infestations in order to offer cheap prices and accumulate pest-control accounts.

"Where's the consumer" when these companies need to treat for termites or pay for termite damage "and they decide it's not worth it anymore, so they shut their doors and they're out of business?" Hopper asked rhetorically.

Hopper, along with severalother association members, asked the pest-control committee to eliminate the waiver of chemical treatments from Form 920.

Representatives from Terminix, however, the pest-control industry's largest single company, said consumers should be able to buy non-treatment contracts.

Steve Good, a Terminix vice president based in Memphis, said, "We strongly believe that the waiver ought to stay" because many consumers want "green alternatives" to termite control.

Almost 60 percent of Arkansas homeowners have no pest-control contract in place, either because they cannot afford treatment or because they do not want to use chemicals, Good said.

So, during the past year, Terminix began offering a the "Termite Inspection and Protection Plan."

The plan includes treatment if termites are found, coverage for damage and prevents Terminix from canceling the contract. To date, 50,000 customers in the country, including 1,200 in Arkansas, have opted for the plan, Good said.

For the fiscal year that ended June 30, State Plant Board records revealed that 41,161 termite jobs were completed, with 3,865 of those jobs involving waivers, Good said. Terminix was responsible for 5,169 of those jobs and 1,384 of the waivers, he said.

Arkansas has 107 licensed termite companies with 1,044 licensed operators and 2,053 registered agents, according to Plant Board records.

Business, Pages 37, 38 on 10/27/2007

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