The Formosan subterranean termite—one of the biggest fears of any homeowner is the risk of a termite infestation, the costs associated with dealing with termites and termite control, and the repairs that would be necessary because termite damage can be extreme.
But there are measures that you can take to help prevent those unwanted pests and termite activity from a termite colony happening right under your feet without you even knowing. Some of them include getting annual termite control inspections done, eliminating the amount of wood and soil contact, filling cracks in your house, and more.
Out of all of these termite treatments you can take, one of the best ways to try to prevent extreme damage to your house foundation is by having a pest professional or termite inspector—much like what you can find at NeverPest.com—come out and inspect your foundation. By allowing a professional to come out every year or so you can save yourself from having to potentially pay extreme costs associated with the treatment and repairs caused by termites or the need for expensive termite fumigation. Plus, they can give you great recommendations on how to continue preventing termites.
On average, the cost of having a professional come out and perform an inspection for termites is around $150 to $350, but this all depends on the type of inspection you have happen and how big your home is. The first section holds information regarding immediate steps that need to be taken to protect the house and prevent any future pests.
The second part is about any potential problems that may arise because of any pests that may have been found or any problem areas where the risk is higher, meaning seriously high termite treatment costs. Another option that is open to homeowners is deciding if you only want a single treatment contract or an annual contract.
If you chose a single treatment contract, the company would only come out once, usually after a treatment has happened but it can take place if you suspect something is going on. At this visit, the professional will go through and make sure that there aren’t any pests or damage in your house’s foundation.
They will also make a report, like the one listed above, that will tell you about any potential problems or any areas that might have a higher risk of problems arising and what you can do to prevent all of this. This option usually costs about $100 to $250 depending on the square footage of your house.
Some professional pest control companies even offer free termite inspections to customers, as well as other destructive insects. With these free inspections, the company will send out one of their professionals to perform a comprehensive inspection of your home or business to figure out if anything is going on that would potentially be a problem or if treatments are needed.
While these are free, in most cases if you need a legal inspection report filled out, it can cost you about $100. So, while these types of inspections are the great for having a peace of mind that your house is okay, it might be best just to create a contract with a pest control company that you trust and have them come out yearly and make sure that no pesky termites are lurking around.
These may all seem like huge costs for an inspection, but they are totally worth it. According to NeverPest.com, in the long run, it will always be cheaper to pay for someone to come out and inspect your house than it will be to have to pay for the treatment and repairs associated with termites. Another great thing about having inspections take place is that you can learn if your house is at risk for any other pest that could potentially take up housing in your foundation.
If you don’t want to someone else to do your termite inspection for you and you’re pretty sure that you can detect the termites on your own, you can perform your own inspection. This is only recommended if you have a feeling that there might be termites, but you want to be sure that they are there before paying for an inspection. Some of the things to look for when performing your inspection are:
- Wood-color pellet-like feces, these can be associated with drywood termites
- If you see shed wings that look like scales from a fish, these can be a sign of reproducing termites
- Tubes that are found in the wooden beams of your house. These are usually about 6 mm, but can vary, and are signs of tunneling termites
- Tap on the wood of the beam, the more holes that are inside, the hollower the sound will be. This can help you identify where the termites are swarming and making nests
- Damage to wooden structures such as bubbling paint or strange wall coloring
If you see any of these things, the best thing to do is call a professional or find one at NeverPest.com to have them come out and make sure that they are there and help you get rid of them as soon as possible. Always remember that termite identification is always better to have been performed by a professional who has learned how to detect and find the pests than it is for you to do it yourself.