From the category archives:

Termites

Thumbnail image for The Termite Danger Of Stucco And Veneer

The Termite Danger Of Stucco And Veneer

A mans home is his castle or so the saying goes. With that mind picture, it’s easy to think of our fortress as impenetrable. After-all, a castle is built with thick stone walls, a moat that surrounds it and a huge draw bridge that when closed makes an unbreakable doorway. The difference is, castles of [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for The Many Aspects Of The Termite Booster Shot

The Many Aspects Of The Termite Booster Shot

Booster- a happy sounding word that was no doubt coined to inspire confidence or give a ray of hope when customers were looking for success in the face of failure. As long as there’s been termite work there has always been the booster. The booster was really just a retreat that in some cases was [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for Termites In My Brick House? No Way

Termites In My Brick House? No Way

It’s a phrase that’s been repeated thousands of times throughout my career. “You won’t find any termites in my home! My house is made out of bricks!” I hear this most often from over confident homeowners who are selling their homes. They greet me at the door with a look that’s a cross between ‘You’re [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for Ode To Termidor And Proprietary Days Gone By

Ode To Termidor And Proprietary Days Gone By

The old codger dawns his suit, rookie in tow. He says “we got termites under this house but- there’s not much to know.” Gone are the days of the hunt and the skill Gone are the tools like the long rod and drill Expansion joints hidden but no fears for me A simple perimeter trench [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for The 5 Year Termite Trap

The 5 Year Termite Trap

If you’re unfortunate enough to discover your home is infested with termites it can come as a pretty big shock. For most home owners there is no visible clue of what is lurking in the walls but when the living room fills up one spring morning with vast numbers of flying termites people are forced [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for Termite Fallout In Your Bomb Shelter

Termite Fallout In Your Bomb Shelter

If you want to make a termite treater mad- sell a full drill termite job on a home that has a bomb shelter. The two foot thick walls and reinforced concrete make for a lovely morning and afternoon and evening I was never on any of the techs Christmas card lists anyway and promising work [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for The Formosan ‘aka’ Super Termite

The Formosan ‘aka’ Super Termite

Did you know there are an estimated 4000 different species of termites world wide. Different ones have adapted to life in their area of the world and each can pose a real problem due to their different preferences, abilities or places they choose to live. Some live exclusively above ground and need very little moisture [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for The Termite Pretreat Post Test

The Termite Pretreat Post Test

The housing boom was great wasn’t it? In my town during that time we tripped over new customers almost everyday. New homes and communities sprouted up where cows and horses once happily grazed. Older homes got major up grades, palatial estates were suddenly the norm of those with even modest incomes and the art of [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for The Forgotten Termite Bait Station

The Forgotten Termite Bait Station

Are you contemplating the installation of a termite bait system for your home? If so that’s great & I truly hope it works out for you. There are many great aspects to this type of approach and it’s pretty easy to find all those on line or I’m sure your local termite inspector who sells [...]

Read the full article →

The Calm Before The Swarm

The earwig is 6 inches below the soil nestled in a chamber she picked out months ago while the newly crowned yellow jacket bides her time to take the throne huddled beneath the bark of an old stump. The icy air and and piles of snow have put a full stop on the kingdom of [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for Foaming For Termites

Foaming For Termites

The idea of foaming for termite control really took the industry by storm a 10 or 15 years ago. This brand new way of dealing with termites was all the rage and you weren’t considered ‘serious’ about termite work unless you performed this service. All sorts of foam machines hit the market as manufacturers tried [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for The Voice Of Contradiction-But I’ve Got Nothing Better To Do

The Voice Of Contradiction-But I’ve Got Nothing Better To Do

So it’s 2011 and a couple of my goals have come in on time, (imagine that) and some plans that we thought out months ago are in full swing so perhaps this year might be a bit like, well, like it is expected. Basically I’m stepping out of the hands on service and focusing more [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for CYA Your Termite Real Estate Inspection 6 & 7

CYA Your Termite Real Estate Inspection 6 & 7

The termite inspection: It’s given away for free from canvassing salesman just looking for a reason to get in the door. It’s part of the annual renewal process to extend the termite treatments guarantee. It’s comfort to the worried homeowner when a pest tech takes an ‘extra peek’ while performing his routine service and it [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for CYA Real Estate Termite Inspections Series 4&5

CYA Real Estate Termite Inspections Series 4&5

It never ceases to amaze me to hear of companies that charge so little for WDO/WDIR inspections. Hey I even worked for a firm that gave them away FOR FREE. Now I understand about sales strategies using WDO inspections as leads but I couldn’t disagree with this approach more. Leads cost money no doubt but [...]

Read the full article →
Thumbnail image for CYA Your Real Estate Termite Inspections part 2&3

CYA Your Real Estate Termite Inspections part 2&3

Continuing our CYA series for WDO/WDIR inspections, here are two more areas that need to be scrutinized. Make sure to check out the whole series of videos which I tried to keep short but I definitely wanted to hit the main culprits of inspection troubles for our termite inspectors. CYA #1, CYA #4 & 5, [...]

Read the full article →