Subterranean Termites nest underground and thrive in dark, warm & moist areas of the home. They generally make shelter tubes about the diameter of a pencil to travel from their nest to wooded areas where they eat wood generally below the surface so that the surface and can protect time from, cold, light and dry air. The wood may appear to be solid to the untrained eyed but sounding, probing and evidence of conditions conducive to infestation will lead a good inspector to the visible evidence in the readily accessible areas of a property. This is the scope of a wood destroying insect inspections for real estate transactions. Inspections that require dismantling and more invasive procedures would be part of a treatment plan that would be developed with the owner of the property and the treatment company.

For effective termite prevention and termite control, take away the things most termite species love – wood and moisture. Don’t let water accumulate near your home’s foundation and divert moisture away with properly functioning gutters, downspouts, and splash blocks. And most importantly, eliminate any wood/soil contact by maintaining a one-inch space between soil and any wood portions of your home or other building on your property.

Termite Damage

Powder Post Beetle is a general name and includes many different wood destroying insects. They generally lay their eggs in the wood which hatch at a later date sometimes years in the future. When they hatch the exit by drilling holes in the wood which is the  evidence that inspectors look for first.

Powder Post Beetle Damage

Carpenter Ants do not eat wood for nourishment. They excavate wood to create nests. They are known to keep a main nest outside of the property and then create nests inside of a property as a site to forage from, usually at night, and then return back to the main nest with the food they find.

Carpenter Ant Damage