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TERMITE INSPECTIONS

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A thorough, and professional termite inspection of your home is your best defense against damage caused by termites and other wood-destroying organisms.  Termites cause more than 750 million dollars in damage every year.  That's more than all fires, storms, tornados, earthquakes, and hurricanes combined.  Termites are tough.  Determined.  Highly efficient.  And chances are you'll see no evidence of their work until structural damage has been done.  A trained inspector can spot evidence of even the beginning of an infestation.  This allows you, the homeowner, the chance to correct the problem before it becomes too costly.  Most mortgage companies will require a recent Wood Destroying Insect Infestation Certificate (NCPA-1 Form) as a condition for a home loan approval.  Termite inspections are visual and include the interior and exterior of the property.  If an active colony of any wood destroying insect is found, than treatment will be required as a condition of for the home loan approval.  We at Superior Home Inspectors are licensed and certified by the state of New York Department of  Environmental Conservation (DEC), to perform termite inspections to best of our ability.

We will inspect not only for termites but also do a complete Wood Destroying Insect (WDI) inspection. This termite inspection is a complete inspection which includes not only termites but carpenter ants, powder post beetles, carpenter bees, etc.

MOST COMMON QUESTIONS

What are termites? For simplicity of explanation, termites are wood eating insects that have nests in the ground. They love damp wood and are usually found in the lower part of the house, particularly in the sill plates, which is the first structural section of wood closest to the ground.

Can one see termites? Are they like ants? The average home owner never sees a termite. The simple reason being that the worker termite that eats the wood cannot live in the sunlight and air. To survive the worker termite must: (a) stay out of the sunlight and air therefore they stay in the shelter of the wood, out of sight, (b) they must return to the soil for moisture quite frequently and they do this by building mud tunnels to stay out of sunlight and air. For these reasons, it takes the practiced eye of a professional termite inspector to know where to look and probe the wood to locate the termites and then break open the wood to expose the termites.

Are there any termites in New York? The bad news is, New York has an abundance of termites. The good news is, they can be controlled and eliminated very effectively with proper treatment.

What does the termite treatment involve? The best method to treat termites is with a chemical barrier between the house and ground. The barrier prevents new termites from entering the house and when the ones already in the house return to the ground for moisture they too will perish from the treatment. In other words, there is a very effective method of getting rid of termites but the treatment and repair cost could be expensive.

How much does it cost and who pays? The cost depends on the size of the house and the difficulty of the treatment. For example with a small cape code style house, the treatment cost would range between $750 and $1000. The repair cost is another matter. The repair cost depends on the extent of the damage.

Who pays? Normally the seller of the house pays for both the treatment and repair cost. The reason the seller pays is for a very good reason. I know of no mortgage company that will give a mortgage for the purchase of a house unless it has a clear termite certification from a licensed termite company. The certification must state there there is no termite infestation and if there was any termite damage that it was repaired properly and the company that completed the treatment and repairs gave a one year guarantee to the buyer for both the treatment and repairs.

Good news! Because the mortgage companies insist on a clear termite certification for every mortgage, the damage is kept to a minimum. The average house is resold several times in its lifetime and every time it is sold the termite issue is addressed. This factor keeps termite damage to a minimal level. I am not saying that there are no houses with serious damage but these houses are the exception not the norm.

Advice to first time buyers: Don't lose the purchase of a good house because it has termites. Most houses in New York will have some termite or carpenter ant infestation. Any damage can be repaired to look like new and treat the property against further infestation.

PRECAUTIONS TO AVOID TERMITES

1. Keep water away from the house. Termites love moist wood.
2. Do not store wood on the ground near the house, particularly under the deck or porch. When one stores wood in these areas, they are setting the dinner table for termites.
3. Keep firewood away from the house and only bring it into the house when you are going to burn it immediately. It is very unlikely that termites brought in with firewood will start an infestation because their moisture route to the nest has been broken. If you store firewood in the house you could also bring in a host of other type of insects.
4. Inspect the garage and house foundation for small mud tunnels going from the ground to the wood.

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