We recently treated a home in Carlsbad where the homeowner’s front fascia was riddled with nail holes from hanging Christmas lights. Eventually, the wood became completely infested with drywood termites. Unfortunately, these termites weren’t in the Christmas spirit. They took advantage of those nail holes as potential entry points and established a colony inside the wood.

In another home in Encinitas, the homeowner had purchased a lighting system that attaches to the underside of the fascia. The system made it impossible to probe the wood, leaving visual inspection as the only option. Drywood termites eat wood from the inside out, and it can take years before an infestation becomes visible. By making a vulnerable area of the home more difficult to inspect, the homeowner has reduced the chances of detecting an infestation early. If termites go undetected long enough, fumigation may ultimately become necessary.

While inspecting a home in San Marcos, we found a good-sized firewood receptacle positioned directly beneath the eaves. Firewood is typically raw, unfinished wood without paint or primer, making it susceptible to termite infestation. A pile of infested firewood—or wood that becomes infested over time—directly beneath the eaves creates an opportunity for termites to spread to the home’s wood members.

We also regularly inspect homes where termite- or fungus-damaged wood has been replaced but the new wood has never been primed or painted. Whoever completed the repairs may have done a good job replacing the damaged material, but leaving the new wood unfinished creates another vulnerability. Paint and primer help protect wood against termite infestation. Unpainted wood is an inviting target for termite swarmers looking for a place to establish a colony. Even if the homeowner plans to paint the wood later, some surfaces may be difficult or impossible to reach once the wood has been installed.

In Solana Beach, we inspected a home where the homeowner was using old tree stumps as platforms for potted plants. The problem was that the stumps were resting directly on the ground. Dead wood in contact with soil can attract subterranean termites, which forage through the soil in search of food. Placing a wood stump on the ground near a home can encourage termite activity in the immediate area and increase the risk of termites finding their way into the structure.

Potted plants on wooden decks present another potential problem. Homeowners regularly water their plants, and some of that water drains through the bottom of the pots and collects on the wood beneath them. Over time, persistent moisture can contribute to fungus and wood decay. The resulting deterioration can make the wood more vulnerable to termite damage.

Termites and fungus may seem inevitable, particularly in Southern California, where wood-destroying organisms are a fact of life. But homeowner behavior can influence how soon problems develop and how easily they are detected.

As termite inspectors, part of our job is to identify these conditions and point them out to homeowners so they can take corrective action. Sometimes the solution is as simple as moving a wood stump away from the house, painting replacement wood, or changing how plants are positioned on a deck. Other situations may require more substantial changes.

It may take the inconvenience of a fumigation to put termites and fungus on a homeowner’s radar, but the goal is to avoid reaching that point whenever possible. A little awareness and a few preventive measures can go a long way toward protecting a home. After all, when it comes to termites, an ounce of prevention really can be worth a pound of cure.