When you learn that you have termites, you may be wondering how it will affect your ability to sell your home in the future. You may have taken care of the problem and tried to put it out of your mind, but now that it is time to sell, you will need to take a few extra steps to be sure that the sale of your home goes smoothly. Under law you must disclose that your home has had termites in the past, but there are things you can do to help things go smoothly when you are selling.

Show Documentation of the Original Treatment and Findings

You need to keep copies of the initial inspection that showed the termite activity, as well as the treatment that was completed to eliminate the termites. This report can answer questions about the type of treatment that was used, and how extensive the termite damage was to the home. This gives your potential buyer a clear understanding of what the issues were.

Be Prepared to Show Evidence of Repairs

It is important to provide documentation of the repairs that were made. It should show that all of the damage in the initial report was taken care of. You can provide the name of contractor or company that completed the repairs. This gives another layer of transparency which will help your buyer to feel more comfortable about buying the home.

Explain Monitoring and Further Treatments

As part of the treatment, you will receive information on how long the termite treatment will last. You will also need to have continued monitoring done of your property to make sure there are no issues in the future. It is a good to have regular inspections done on your home. Depending on the type of treatment that you had done, you may need continued treatments. You should provide the type of treatment, and you should also give the name of the company that you used to complete this service. Many new home buyers will continue to use the same company, especially if the warranties from the initial treatment carry over.

Schedule a New Inspection

You should schedule a free termite inspection as part of preparing to sell your home. This report will report on any current activity in your home by termites or other wood destroying organisms. If you have had regular treatments and inspections since your original treatment then this report should not show any problems. If it does show an issue, then you will need to have another treatment, and make any necessary repairs.

There are several different termite treatments that can be done to help treat and prevent termites. The type of treatment that is best for you depends on the situation and what types of termites that you have. You should seek a professional opinion and listen to your exterminator to determine the best treatment. However, it is a good idea to understand the basic treatments.

Wood Treatment

One of the treatments is to treat the wood. This is done by spraying the wood with a termiticide. This treatment is good at treating the exterior of the wood, and it can be done on wood that is already in an existing structure as a way to eliminate termites. However, it does not penetrate to the center of the wood, which can still be eaten by termites. Pressure treated wood has the treatment saturate the wood more completely. Pressure treated wood is good to use in outdoor structures like your patio or your fence.

Soil Treatment

Another way to provide a treatment is to treat the soil around your home. Soil treatment is often completed before a concrete slab is poured for a new building. This treatment is mixed and then poured into the ground at a depth of at least thirty inches. The insecticide is mixed with water and it saturates the soil. There is also the option of treating the soil around the exterior of your home once it is built. The treatment will be poured into holes and through a trench that surrounds the home. The holes need to be at least thirty inches deep. There are specific regulations about doing this to protect the environment and it is best to have a professional do it.

Foundation Treatment

This is a very common treatment. Once termites are found in your home, a treatment is applied directly to the foundation of your home. The treatment is effective because termites will pass through it and carry it back to the colony and it will eliminate the queen and then the colony. If the foundation is a cinderblock foundation, the treatment needs to be applied on the inside of each void or hole in the cinder block. This does require drilling into it.

Baits and Monitoring System

The final treatment is done through a monitoring system that installs baits around the property. The baits contain materials that naturally attract the termites. These stations are monitored regularly. If termites are found inside the stations, the cores are replaced with one that contains termiticide. The termites will take this back to the colony and eliminate the colony on your property so that it does not reach you home.

Schedule an Inspection

One of the best ways to protect your home is to schedule regular termite inspections. You should schedule an inspection each year. If you notice signs of termite activity like mud tubes along your foundation, you should schedule an inspection right away. The sooner you catch a termite infestation, the more quickly you can stop the termites from damaging your home.

Termites are one of the insects that cause the most damage to homes around the world. In the United States, they cause billions of dollars in damages each year. Since termites actually chew through the wood, they can weaken the structure of your home and it is important to make repairs as quickly as possible. Here are four yard projects, you can do to prevent your home from developing termites.

Clear Out Old Wood and Stumps

Termites like to eat old wood. If you have fallen trees in your yard or old tree stumps, you are practically sending out an invitation for termites to come into your yard, and when they have finished eating the old fallen trees, your home may become the next target. It is worth the extra effort to clear your home of old wood and branches. This can lower the chances of you having termite activity in your home. You may need to hire someone to come into take care of any stumps in your yard, but you should be able to clear up the rest.

Create a Cement Pad for Firewood

Stacking firewood directly against your home gives termites easy access to your home. They can crawl through it and up into your home. It is best to stack it away from your home. Putting in a cement pad to stack your wood on can add an extra layer of protection. The termites are less likely to find your firewood, and it gives you an additional layer of protection against termite activity. You can also cover the firewood to prevent it from getting termites or other insects in it. Then you do not need to worry about bringing termites in with your firewood.

Replace Old Wood Structures in Your Yard

If you are building any structures in your backyard, you will need to use treated wood. Your decks, sheds, and play structures all need to be built out of treated wood. Treated wood can last up to twenty years, but if your structure begins to show signs of damage it is important to replace it. If you have structures built without treated wood, you need to take steps to begin replacing those structures around your home.

Pay Attention to the Plant Beds Around Your Home

It is important to carefully plan and treat the ground that directly touches your home. Avoid using mulch in the flower beds that touch your foundation. Termites will eat the cellulose in the mulch and then move up to your home. If you have bushes or shrubbery around your home you need to keep it trimmed back so that it does not touch your home. The termites can crawl up the plants and access your home that way

Set Up Monitoring Stations Around Your Yard

There are monitoring stations that allow you to check for termite activity on your property. EcoTek has chemical free monitoring stations that are made up of wood, cardboard and cellulose. They check the stations quarterly and if there are signs of termite activity, they can begin to take the necessary steps to treat for termites. If you notice signs of termites around your home, like long grooves in wood or mud tubes on your foundation, you should contact the experts at EcoTek to schedule a termite inspection and possible treatment.

There are a wide variety of termites in the United States. However, in the southeastern portion, the majority of termites are the Eastern Subterranean termites. These termites have different characteristics than other termites. It helps to understand their habits so you know the best treatment for the Eastern Subterranean Termite. These termites build their colonies underground through a system of tunnels. They rarely have the termite mounds, so it can be difficult to spot one in your yard. These tunnels can extend several feet from the primary nests and allow the works to go and find food and bring it back to the colony. Eastern subterranean termites prefer to eat dead wood. This means they may be eating old trees or tree stumps on your property. They may also go after wood piles, which is why you should never stack a wood pile against your home. They will also eat the wood inside of your home. Since they are eating the wood inside of your home and eating along the grain of the wood, you may not notice them right away. If you do notice damage it will be in long grooves that go with the grain. Other signs that they are in your home include the mud tubes that they build up the side of your foundation until they can reach the wood of your home. These tubes are about the width of a pencil and if you see them, you need to deal with termites right away. Subterranean termite colonies will travel in search of more wood to eat. In addition to sending out winged termites to start new colonies, the entire colony will travel through tunnels to a new food source. Often the queen is carried by worker ants. Termites are quite common in North Carolina and a termite study in 2008 showed that the average property in the state has about ten termite colonies in it. The key is to protect the termites from finding your home and making it their feeding ground. You can do this through several steps such as repairing leaky pipes, but the most effective thing is to monitor your property regularly and have a termite treatment if necessary.

We’ve all hеаrd оf tеrmitеѕ thе реѕkу inѕесtѕ thаt cause $5 billiоn in termite property dаmаgе еасh уеаr. But termites аrеn’t thе оnlу wооd-dеѕtrоуing оrgаniѕmѕ that you hаvе tо wаtсh оut for. Powderpost Beetles will аlѕо tunnеl into thе wood оf your hоmе аnd furniturе. Although bоth pests rеԛuirе рrоfеѕѕiоnаl treatments, it iѕ imроrtаnt tо idеntifу thе реѕt рrоblеm as one оr thе оthеr, аѕ trеаtmеnt options fоr thе twо differ greatly. Bеfоrе wе gеt intо trеаtmеnt орtiоnѕ, it’ѕ bеѕt to fаmiliаrizе yourself with thе рrореr identification оf thеѕе twо wood-destroying organisms. Read more Wood Destroying Organisms that Can Destroy Your Home ›