New Wood vs. Old Wood Whenever I inspect an older home that has a newer addition, I usually find that the termites are in the addition, not the original structure. At first, that might seem surprising—after all, the older section has been around much longer. But the difference comes down to the type of wood […]
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Did Your Termite Company Do This? Did your termite company remove all the old termite evidence after completing their treatment or fumigation? If not, how can they tell whether the treatment was effective? And if you have another termite issue in the future, will those old droppings be mistaken for new activity—leaving you paying twice
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How Swarming Termites Can Make It from Your Attic to the Room Below When Termite Swarmers Take Flight Termite swarmers—also known as reproductives—leave a mature colony in search of a place to start a new one. Most don’t survive, but the few that do sustain a billion-dollar industry. Seeing 20 to 100 swarmers inside your
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Subterranean Termite Infestation Subterranean Termites Subterranean termites live underground and travel through soil and mud tubes to reach the wood above. These mud tubes protect them from predators and dehydration. Unlike drywood termites, subterranean termites don’t live inside the wood they feed on, nor do they consume it entirely. They eat the softer springwood and
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Termites? A pile of black droppings, typically beneath a section of stucco. Because it’s black (not the color of wood) and concentrated (not spread out like it would be if it came from the eaves above) it’s most likely crickets, not termites. An inexperienced (or less than honest) termite inspector might claim they’re termite droppings
Inside a Chimney Tube I’m not inside the actual chimney tube—there’s no way I’d fit in there—but I am inside the framing that surrounds it. Usually, this area is completely inaccessible. Honestly, nine out of ten termite inspectors wouldn’t squeeze themselves where I was in this video. And even if they did, they wouldn’t expect
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Attic Hazards Termite inspectors know, attics aren’t the safest places to work. Step in the wrong spot and that cool air on their leg means only one thing—it’s now in the room below. And as bad as that is, it can get worse. If the home has a sprinkler system and they step on an
Termites Love the Framing Around Chimney Tubes The wood framing around a chimney tube is especially vulnerable to drywood termites. Temperature changes cause condensation, which raises the wood’s moisture content—something drywood termites need to survive. In fact, nine times out of ten, this framing will be infested. The challenge is that much of it is
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Under a Mobile Home All mobile homes sit on a raised foundation, which makes the space underneath an important area to inspect during a termite inspection. While mobile homes generally don’t contain a lot of wood, there are still key areas where termites or wood-destroying organisms may be found. I focus on wood that’s connected
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Older Homes with New Additions It surprises many people, but when I’m inspecting an older home with a newer addition, I’m more likely to find termites in the addition. The main culprit is Douglas fir, the wood most commonly used to frame homes today. There are two key reasons for this. First, builders don’t typically
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