A family-owned Southeast Texas inspection and pest control company — TREC Licensed #4935, voted Best in Pest Control by the readers of Orange County, and built on three generations of hands-on values, family loyalty, and faith.
James "Rusty" Barfield is the owner and lead inspector of Barfield Home Inspections & Pest Control, PLLC. Since 1998, Rusty and his brother Randy have led the way in home inspection and termite inspection across Southeast Texas — and their reputation for thoroughness, expertise, and valued customer service is the result of nearly three decades of doing the work the right way, one home at a time.
Rusty is a field-experienced inspector who follows national standards as well as the standards of the State of Texas. He's always thorough, and he genuinely enjoys taking the time to walk the home with each client — answering questions, explaining findings, and giving honest advice about repairs. Rusty believes the purchase of a home is one of the largest financial decisions most families will ever make, and every client deserves an inspector who treats it that way.
What sets Rusty apart isn't just the credentials or the years in business. It's the philosophy he brings to every property — a philosophy that traces all the way back to a 10-year-old boy on a Massey Ferguson tractor, learning from his Papaw Woods how to plow a straight row across an open field.
That story — and what it has to do with how Rusty runs his business today — is below in his own words.
I have been working since I was 10 years old. My Papaw Woods was a farmer that always needed a field hand to work and I always loved spending time with him. None of us other Grandkids wanted to work, but I would do anything to be around him — so I talked him into teaching me how to drive a tractor when I was 10. He had these huge Massey Ferguson tractors with big fenders, and I used to ride for hours on the fender while he drove. Sometimes I would spend the entire day riding that tractor with him.
Then I got to where I would operate the hydraulics for him when he would turn around on the turn rows. Very few words were said during these training days, as he didn't have much to say. One day we were plowing with a 4-row disc, about halfway through the field. We had just made a turn and got straightened out and throttled back up when he stood up and said "Here" — motioning for me to take the wheel and the seat. So I did. And the next thing I know, he steps off the tractor and starts walking back to his truck.
I just kept going and never let up. I was a little bit scared when I got to the turn — but I did it just like I had watched him do hundreds of times, and it went smooth as silk. There I go. That was the beginning of what has become my life.
My Papaw was the very best at what he did, and the few words of knowledge he shared with me that day — and all the times I spent with him — have patterned the way I approach every job I perform to this day. You see, there is an art to farming, and it requires expertise. When you take to a field with a tractor and a piece of equipment, there is a technique that has to be used to turn the earth and prepare it in a special way for crops to produce the highest and best quality yield.
I remember one particular lesson on how to make your rows straight, and why. If your rows are straight, it will be easier to harvest. If you have crooked rows you are wasting acreage, and the machine you use to harvest will miss some of the crops. My Papaw would always start in the middle of the field and pick a direction he wanted the soil to be turned in. He would take the radiator cap on the tractor and line it up with a marker at the end of the field. Most of the time it would be a distant tree. Once you got lined up with the marker, you would plow towards that mark in as straight a line as possible. Once you made that first cut, you would work to one side of the field, go back to the first cut, and work to the other side.
I will admit though — my rows were NOT always straight. It was hard for me as a 10-year-old to stay focused on something on the horizon for that length of time. I can remember lining my tractor up and plowing to the end of the field and looking back, just knowing my rows would be straight like my Papaw's, and seeing that zigzagging line. But I eventually got the hang of it.
Now that I think about it, this is how my life has been up to now. I have always been able to find the mark on the horizon, and I have tried to get there in the straightest line possible. Most of the time though, I still make those zigzags — which has been okay, as long as I get to where I am supposed to be.
The lessons from my Grandfathers — my Papaw Barfield was a carpenter who built houses, a story for another time — as well as from my Dad and Uncles, have made me a successful person. And I believe it is because I surround myself and my business with GOOD people who are mostly my family.
Our business is truly a family-owned and operated enterprise — my loving son Christopher who does everything I do and all of the things I can't do, my brother and partner Randy who made me better at what I do by trying to be better than him, my sister-in-law Kellie who IS my office and who knows more about taking care of a business than I will ever know, and of course the field fillers who pitch in when they are needed — Elizabeth, Gabrielle, Paulette, and Wayne. And our employees who are also our friends — Jason who can do anything from scraping gum off a brand new floor to building a whole house, Amy who has always showed up whether it was the worst of jobs or the best, and always pitches in, and eager Aaron who always shows up early and keeps everything cleaned up and moving forward.
We are truly BLESSED for having all of the family and friends in our life, and for the success that we have achieved. The Lord is our marker, and our radiator cap is lined up. Our rows are getting straighter every day.
Barfield Home Inspections & Pest Control isn't a franchise. It isn't a corporate inspection chain. It's a family — and the people who answer your phone call, schedule your inspection, walk your property, and treat your termites are the same people who come home to each other every night.
TREC Licensed Professional Real Estate Inspector #4935. Field-experienced, follows national and Texas state standards, and walks every inspection with the client.
Rusty's brother and longtime business partner. The other half of the Barfield brothers' inspection legacy in Southeast Texas — and, in Rusty's words, the reason Rusty got better at what he does.
Rusty's son. "Does everything I do, and all of the things I can't do." The next generation of the Barfield family business.
"IS my office" — in Rusty's own words. Kellie knows more about taking care of a business than most CEOs, and the Barfield office runs because she runs it.
Jason, Amy, Aaron, Elizabeth, Gabrielle, Paulette, and Wayne — the field fillers, the technicians, the people who pitch in when they're needed and treat every job like it matters. Because at Barfield, it does.
Barfield Home Inspections & Pest Control was founded in 1998 on a simple promise: listen to your concerns and follow through — so our clients can move forward with peace of mind. Nearly three decades later, that promise hasn't changed.
Whether it's a first home in Bridge City, an investment property in Beaumont, a coastal home in Port Arthur, or a termite treatment in Vidor — every Barfield client deserves the same thing: a team that shows up, takes the time to do it right, explains what we find in plain language, and stands behind every word in the report.
"We're the respected and trusted name in the industry — because we listen, we follow through, and we treat your home like it's our own."
When you hire Barfield Home Inspections & Pest Control, you're hiring a fully credentialed, TREC-licensed family team with nearly three decades of recognized service across Southeast Texas.
From your first phone call to final report delivery, here's what sets Barfield Home Inspections & Pest Control apart.
Voted Best in Pest Control by the readers of Orange County. BBB A+ Accredited. Master Inspector recognition.
Not a franchise. Rusty, Randy, Christopher, Kellie, and the team — answering your call and walking your property.
Inspections, energy efficiency, and pest & termite control — all under one TREC license. One team, one phone number, no juggling.
Find the mark on the horizon. Plow toward it as straight as possible. Surround yourself with good people. Papaw's lessons, applied.
Call today — TREC Licensed #4935 • Voted Best in Pest Control – Orange County • Family-Owned Since 1998