How do I know if I have Termites

DANA WILSON HOME INSPECTION SERVICES LLc

MASSACHUSETTS

978-831-7363

TERMITES

LEST START WITH THEIR LIFE CYCLE AND IDENTIFICATION

IDENTIFICATION - DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS BETWEEN TERMITES AND ANTS

CHARACTERISTICS: 

• Termites swarm in the spring and again in the fall. However, you might be able to find signs of termites year round.
• Termites eat wood, they create mud tubes (sandy colored tunnels) to travel in.
• Termites cause structural damage to wood members.
• Termites live underneath and behind concrete floors, walls and inside wood.
• You're more apt to see shelter tubes and blistering paint/wall paper than a Termite.
• Termites can live in a structure for years before their noticed.
• Their colonies grow to as much as thousands.
• They can be mistaken for ants.

VULNERABLE AREAS OF YOUR HOME:

-         You can find Termites and evidence of Termites in every area of a home. Basement stairs (step surface, underneath at stringers and under steps storage areas – sill / bands), Basement floor, basement wood members (commonly at sill/band, joists, floor boards and main support posts and beams and between sistered (doubled-up) boards). In crawl spaces, laundry rooms, bathrooms, door jambs, main level floors, window frames, wood paneling, trim boards, blistering wood surfaces, blistering wall paper, all types of foundation walls, and in attics at rafters. Exterior side of foundation, decks and posts.

PICTURE LIBRARY: 

THE PICTURES START IN THE BASEMENT, LEAD TO MAIN LIVING AREAS THEN THE ATTIC AND THEN THE EXTERIOR.

BASEMENT:

Shelter tubes coming through and across a concrete floor.   

Shelter tubes coming through a brick wall.

Shelter tubes on floor joists. 

 

Termites just under the surface of paint.

Shelter tubes on paneling.

 

Moisture stains and rot at paneling. Termites inside the red circle.

Shelter tubes on the side of the floor joist, in the corner where the joists meet the floor boards and between the floor boards.

Blistering paint, Termites under the paint especially where wood/door jambs touch the floor or the foundation.

The work bench.

The basement bathroom remodel job.

The small sandy spots are evidence of Termites.

MAIN LEVEL

Baseboard and trim boards.

Hardwood floors. There are times when the hardwood is covered with carpet, you have to have a sharp eye to catch the small sandy spots on the baseboard.

Swarmmer’s on a floor.

Look for wings on floors, under sinks, cobwebs and furnace filters.

ATTIC

 

Small sandy spots on the surface of the rafter may be all you have for evidence.

EXTERIOR

 

        

Check out the window and look on top of the stones left of the window.

 Look at the size of the shelter tube on top of the foundation left of the window.

If anybody tells you Termites won’t attack treated wood – show them this picture.

EVIDENCE OF TREATMENT; BAIT TRAPS TO DRILL HOLES.

Drill holes / marks will be ½ to ¾ inch in diameter, spaced about 18 inches apart.

Drill holes in the block foundation wall. No other type of wall gets this treatment.

Older treatments. Drill holes (about a ¼ inch in diameter) typically used to inject Chlordane (poison) to kill termites and powder post beetles. You might see holes like in the pictures below in sill/band boards, joists, wood posts and wood beams. The smaller (1/8" size holes) are caused by Powder Post Beetles.

          

Bait traps used at the exterior.

Doing your own Termite inspection – remember every house can be different. But, you can apply things from this blog to your own house - you might find some suspicious areas. If you do, call a home inspector for a no conflict of interest inspection (most home inspectors don’t treat houses – we just inspect).

Best,

http://www.danawilsonhomeinspectionservices.com/