My Journey Through Pest Control (and Why It Matters for My Customers) Before I started California Termite, I worked for several different companies across San Diego County. Each job taught me something important—sometimes what to do, and sometimes what never to do. Looking back, those experiences shaped the values I bring to my own company […]
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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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Termite Foam vs. Liquid When it comes to local treatments for drywood termites, there are three main options: fipronil (in liquid or foam form) and orange oil. I’m not a fan of orange oil. It’s a repellent (termites can smell and taste it and simply avoid it), it dissipates in less than a month (so
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Borating an Attic Space Termites spread by swarming, and they can enter your attic through vents. Since attic wood is usually unpainted, anywhere they land they can start chewing. A borate treatment prevents this by making the wood inedible to termites. The borates work by killing the protozoa in a termite’s stomach, leaving them unable
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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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5 Termite Sales Tactics to Watch Out For I’ve said it before—many termite companies are really just sales organizations. Because of their size, they need to chase revenue to cover overhead. That means inspectors are often focused more on closing a deal than doing what’s best for the customer. Here are five of the most
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6 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Termites They Don’t SleepTermite workers—the ones chewing through your house—never sleep. They work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That’s how a creature barely the size of a grain of rice can turn a solid rafter tail into sawdust in less than a year. Their Wings
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When Smaller is Better Some people feel that working with a big pest control company offers more assurances. Maybe that’s true in some cases, but there are definite advantages to going small. Lower Overhead, Lower PricesBig companies come with big overhead—more employees, more managers, more vehicles, more advertising, and more meetings. All of that adds
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What Termite Inspectors Look For—and Think About—in an Attic When termite inspectors enter an attic, they’re not just looking for termites. They’re evaluating a range of factors that could affect current or future infestations. Fire suppression systems, TAP insulation, borate-treated wood, and even old chalk marks from previous inspections all provide clues. Every attic tells
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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