Sometimes there is confusion as to whether or not you have a termite infestation or not. On one hand the exterminator is telling you he sees evidence like a mud tunnel, some damage or even the wings left behind from a swarm but no live termites. Home owners often get frustrated with this and especially during a real estate transaction because now they’re faced with paying for a job they hadn’t planned on and perhaps even losing a sale from the wary buyer. How can you call it an infestation if you don’t see any live termites running around? Now if you really want to see some raised eyebrows, try telling the resident they have an infestation when all you find is a speck of mud from an exit hole or just one tiny wing on a window sill. “You want me to pay $700.00 for one tiny #@!** wing? Are you CRAZY?”
While life has many gray areas and indeed pest control does too, (try reading a pesticide label twice and come to the same conclusion both times) but the definition for a termite infestation is rock solid. It read as;
Any evidence In, On, or UNDER the structure without evidence of a previous treatment in considered an infestation.
That’s pretty simple and does include things like one tiny wing or a small mud tube that barely creases the foundation wall. While I’m a huge believer in common sense and do not subscribe to knee jerk reactions I do however abide by this rule especially in the world of buying and selling a home. If you’ve hired me to scourer your prospective place to live, your castle, then I intend to find any and every bit of evidence no matter how small. This is my job and at times that miniscule piece of evidence could be the only clue to what you can’t see behind the walls which could be tens of thousands of termites causing more and more damage each day they go undetected and untreated.
As stated, there are so many things in pest control that are left up to the discretion of the operator but signs of termite infestations and whether they should go on the termite inspection report is something that is well defined.
