Shelter tubes: Subterranean termites can’t survive without adequate moisture, so they use mud, or shelter tubes made from their feces and saliva to insulate themselves and as means of transporting themselves from underground areas to infested wood. Look for long, discoloured streaks on walls or trim, or insect feces piled up outside of holes in the wood.
Damage: Infested areas indoors can cause wood to discolour or paint to blister and bubble. Outdoors, the insects can often be found if pieces of infested wood are turned over.
si-hollow-spots
Termites eat the cellulose found in wood. If left unchecked, they will devour all the wood, creating visible damage from hollow spots, seen here.
Hollow spots: Termites eat the cellulose found in wood. If left to their own devices, the insects will eventually devour all the wood they have available. Knocking on studs, walls and trim can often reveal hollow spots where the insects have eaten away the wood.
When looking for termites, start in the basement, Reynolds said. “That’s usually where you see them. The way homes are constructed, there’s multiple layers of concrete and wherever there are multiple layers of concrete there are hairline cracks.”
Two common species of carpenter ants found in Canada: (There are others)
Modoc : all black. (Legs may have a rusty red color) One queen in parent nest.
Vicinus : black head, rusty red thorax (mid section) and black abdomen (tail section.) Multiple queens in parent nest.
Most carpenter ant species have other similar characteristics. See digital photos.
Five Sizes : Carpenter ants can be as small as one quarter inch or as large as three quarters of an inch. All sizes can be found in one nest. (See illustration above)
Most Carpenter Ant species establish their initial nest in decayed wood, but, once established, the ants extend their tunneling into sound wood and can do considerable damage to a structure. These species commonly nest in standing trees (living or dead), in stumps, or in logs on the forest floor. Since many houses are being built in forested areas, well established, vigorous colonies are readily available in the immediate vicinity to attack these dwellings. This is especially true when the homeowner insists that the home be built with a minimal removal of trees.
Termites need moisture, ensure proper grading to divert water from the home. Ensure gutters and downspouts direct water from the home. Repair any leaking plumbing
The untrained eye might see the aesthetic appeal of a flower box, but this only invites insects to have access to the foundation. This flower box is constructed of brick and is adjacent to brick fascia on a typical Florida foundation, “Supported slab”. Insects have plenty of entrance ways to the foundation and up structures via cracks and air spaces. There is also a pile of construction wood in the back yard which can serve as nest before entering the home once the nest populates and moves to the house. I would suggest immediate removal of flower box and wood.
Research essay from Library of Inspection articles by Scott Farrer.
Article Title: “Termite Baits”
by Nick Gromicko
Great article on termite baiting. Although an effective means to rid and measure infestation; it has it’s draw backs too. Termites won’t see or smell the bait placed in the ground. They randomly move through the soil. Home owners can install themselves but not as effectively as a licensed professional.
Advantages of this method is the safety towards environment and home.
The wood destroying inspection course was very helpful.
The phot attached showed previous treatment in garage by drill marks. This area did not show any visible evidence of termite at time of inspection. On report I noted previous treatment noted due to termite drill marks, no evidence of termites or wood destroying insects noted.
This essay is about drones and inspections. At this time I do not know any inspectors using drones. Drones can be good for looking at roofs and property by birds eye view. Drones also can take more time up then needed. If the roof is easy to walk on then a drone would not be good at that inspection.
Subterranean termite infestation looks bad. This infestation was found at the at the patio stroage next to the rear exterior wall of the house. Next step, get into the attic and see if the Subs got into the house. Of course they did, 50 % of the truses had Subs infestation. This house was remolded by an investor just to flip it, and after finding that the infestation was so bad the buyer backed out of the deal. Definitely Subterranean and Formosan termite infestation can make more than one deal not go thru.[ATTACH]:shock:[/ATTACH]
I just read the article Termite Baits. Ive seen bait systems around the perimeter of houses. Its not a common treatment and i have my doubts how effective its is. Its looks it takes too long to monitor the infestation and too low to kill the colonies. Subterranean and Formosan termites are too agressive to leave them hanging out for months around a house.
The photo I provided was from an inspection I did this week. The photo shows a mud tube on a basement wall. The mud tubes were located in an area of the basement which had conditions conducive to a termite infestation… The tubes extend upwards towards the subfloor. I examined the tube and saw no evidence of live subterranean termites. Upon further inspection I could find no indication that the home has not been treated for termites. These conditions were noted on my Official Wood Destroying Insect form.
READING AND WRITING ASSIGNMENT: I read the article Home Buyer’s and Seller’s Guide to Radon.
Radon is a cancer-causing, radioactive gas. You cannot see, smell or taste radon. But it still may be a problem in your home. Nearly one out of every 15 homes in the United States is estimated to have an elevated radon level (4 pCi/L or more).The EPA recommends mitigation of the home if the radon level is 4 pCi/L or higher.Choose a radon-mitigation contractor to fix your radon problem just as you would for any other home repair. You may want to get more than one estimate. In my home state of Nebraska radon testing and mitigation companies are required to be licensed by the state.
The image is of wood in contact with water and dirt installed in a crawlspace. Wet Wood constitutes a food source for wood destroying organisms. Wood is especially susceptible to wood rot and Subterranean Termites when it has direct contact with the soils and water creating high moisture content in the wood. This condition is suitable for formation of mud tubes that will enable the termite’s access to the structure. The wood should not be in direct contact with the soil. The standing water/excessive moisture should be remediated to prevent high moisture content that creates an ideal environment for WDO activity
Report Writing in the past or present tense:
As inspectors it is important to write our report based in past tense to prevent misinterpretation. Even though our inspection agreement may have language such as this report is based on conditions at the time of inspection it could still put us at risk in a court of law if we use the present tense such as the Roof is in good condition. A better description may be The roof was or appeared in good condition at the time of inspection. Another example is There was no visible leaking at the time of this inspection but there has not been rain for a considerable time, recommend periodic monitoring for leaking. It is important that we as inspectors use proper reporting and language to protect ourselves from claims and litigation. Using language that is consistent with our inspection agreement greatly helps in avoiding claims and litgation
Termite baits are a commonly used treatment for termites. They involve a treated cellulose type material that the termites enjoy. Once the termites find the bait they begin to take the treated material back to their nest. Overtime this is a effective method for termite control
Termite shelter tubes and subterranean termites observed during my home inspection. Tapping on the structure there was frass coming out of the bottom of the cladding. At the interior the drywall itself was solid. However, the moisture content of the drywall was 30%.
One of the questions I am normally asked when I recommend that a treatment be performed for termites is how toxic is the treatment? I recently had a client who was 5 months’ pregnant pass on buying the home I inspected because a treatment was necessary to rid termites. She was concerned that the treatment was going to impact her child. At times, I find myself mumbling through a response when questions surrounding toxicity are raised.
This course and reference materials has provided me with a better course of action than mumbling through a response. In the future I am going to pull out the documents from this course and walk through the hazards associated with each treatment with the client to better educate and provide him/her with the best course of action.
I performed a mold inspection at a rural home for my client. The area of concern was a crawl space under a recently built room addition to the home. The materials and foundation all appeared as in “like new” condition with vapor barriers installed and new appearing HVAC ducting.
While crawling through the space under the room addition, I found termite tubes well established on joists and sub-flooring as shown in the attached photo of that location. The tubing followed along the joists of at the plywood and down the joists towards the foundation behind the insulation along that part of the wall. Good news, no mold!
Inspection
I don’t actually have a picture of any wood destroying organism damage or evidence of activity. So I put a picture of a likely spot of termite entry. The home pictured here has the wood siding in direct contact with the ground. This is an issue from a wood destroying organism and a moisture penetration point of view. The lack of spacing between the ground and the wood siding could cause a whole host of problems.
