Protecting Your Home from Termites — and from Our Mess Termite treating is messy work. On the exterior, inspectors probe your home’s wood, sometimes sending a spray of termite droppings onto your patio or walkway. Technicians drilling and treating can leave behind a light dusting of sawdust around the perimeter. Thankfully, that’s all outside—rain takes […]
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A Long Day in the Life of a Termite Inspector Mobile Homes and Crawlspaces It was a Saturday, and I had four inspections. The first two were mobile homes. Mobile homes always come with a crawlspace. I actually like attics—no matter the temperature—because they’re more of a challenge. Crawlspaces… they’re almost never fun. They stay
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Termite Inspector Ailments Inspecting for termites isn’t exactly a desk job. If you’re thorough (and not everyone is), you have to work your way through the attic, crawlspace (sometimes more than one), and probe every section of accessible wood around the perimeter of the home. It’s not for the faint of heart. In fact, there
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Old or New Termite Activity While inspecting a customer’s garage, I found a significant amount of termite droppings. Since the home had been fumigated less than five years prior, I thought the droppings might have occurred before the fumigation and had already been dealt with. But then I spotted a kickout hole—the place where termites
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Inside a Crawlspace Crawlspaces are a termite inspector’s least favorite place—damp, dirty, webby, cramped, and full of surprises. I’ve been in a 9,000-square-foot home with a crawlspace just as big, and I’ve been under a mobile home during an earthquake. But if you want a complete inspection, you have to get in there and crawl
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Clues Not Always Considered During a Termite Inspection Let’s face it—many termite inspectors are focused on one thing: selling you a treatment. If they see wood damage, they’ll often claim it’s active termites without considering other explanations. They ignore signs that might tell a different story. Maybe they started their careers with good intentions. But
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Termite Inspectors are Termite Detectives, Part 2: In Part 1, I talked about how the inspection begins with an interview and the clues found in inspection and fumigation tags and termite droppings. In Part 2, we’ll look at all the other sources that help us crack the case and recommend the best solution for your
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Termite Inspectors are Termite Detectives, Part One: I always thought I would have made an excellent detective. I even applied to the state police—twice. The first time, my future ex-wife told me she’d break up with me if I became a policeman. (In hindsight, I could’ve saved myself a lot of pain and anguish if
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What to Expect During a Termite Inspection First, a quick disclaimer: I can only speak to what you can expect from a California Termite inspection. Not every company operates the way we do—and frankly, we think that’s a good thing. Call Before Going: We always call or text when we’re on our way. It might
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The Case of the Infested Couch: A Lesson in Thorough Termite Inspections I was performing an annual drywood termite inspection in Encinitas, California for a property just a mile from the beach. The owner had a termite warranty in place, and as part of that coverage, I was back to make sure nothing new had
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