A Fayetteville

pest control company has been cited by the state Department of Agriculture

for providing inadequate service in termite treatments.

RSA Services

Termite and Pest Control is charged with not adequately treating more

than 4,000 homes in the south metro area for termites during construction

of new homes.

The company

has been in business since 1995 and is a subsidiary of R.S. Andrews Enterprises

Inc.

Agriculture

Commissioner Tommy Irvin said that affected homeowners would receive a

letter from his department informing them of the lack of termite treatment

In the letter,

Irvin urges the homeowners to have their property inspected soon since

termite swarming season is fast approaching.

"This

service was performed out of RSA's Fayetteville office. However, since

this is such a flagrant violation, we will investigate their other offices,"

Irvin said.

Irvin added

the company will be fined and he intends to meet with them March 6. When

the company meets with Irvin, the commissioner expects that any consent

order will involve going out and retreating the houses at no cost to the

consumers.

Irvin explained

the company was pretreating the houses, but was not going in at the end

of the construction phase and doing backfill work.

"The problem

is the dirt covers up those chemicals and those varmints have a clear

shot at the house," he said.

In his many

years in charge of agriculture, Irvin said this is the biggest number

of complaints ever documented.

Most of the

affected homes are in Fayetteville, Newnan, Stockbridge, McDonough, Ellenwood,

Jonesboro and Rex.

The commissioner

said many people