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 around.

Some inspectors push fumigation as a shortcut so they don’t have to be as thorough, but fumigation won’t solve a subterranean termite problem—and a crawlspace is exactly where you’re most likely to find those termites.