Termites exist year round here in San Diego. This means that although you may have had your home fumigated or even received a “termite clearance” when you closed escrow a couple years ago, those darned termites could have come back. In addition to the dry wood termites, there are also subterranean termites that come from a different source, so basically you are never free of the risk of termites.
Many homeowners choose to purchase a pest maintenance contract specific to termite infestation. Lots of companies sell these annual contracts with the option to renew. While they may give you peace of mind, there are a few items to be aware of (that the pest company may not explain):
- These contracts will typically guarantee that your home be maintained as free of wood destroying termites, and not necessarily subterranean termites. If you want the warranty maintenance contract to include subterraneans, be sure to ask the pest company about this and negotiate with them to include this coverage as subterranean termite infestation is almost as common as wood destroying termite infestation, in terms of what I see on pest inspection reports (one passes my desk almost daily).
- When you sell a home, you may get a wood destroying pest report as a proactive measure to be prepared for negotiations once your offer comes in. If you agree to provide what is called a “section 1 clearance,” a certification stating your home is free of wood destroying pests, keep in mind that this section 1 clearance includes not only dry wood termites, but also subterraneans as well as any wood-rot (fungus from moisture is also considered a wood-destroying pest). Most pest companies I have come across will charge you a fee for the inspection report (usually about $75-$120) as this is above and beyond what is included in the annual maintenance contract. Also to note is that your coverage for your annual maintenance contract usually does not include the subterranean termites as already discussed but it also does not include any dry-rot or any wood repairs associated with this dry-rot.
- What if you have an annual maintenance contract and you find dry wood termites, which ARE included in the coverage? This is where you have to be aware of how to work with the termite companies. When you get your initial termite clearance and/or just have the house fumigated as standard maintenance, be sure to check that the pest company took proper protocol to remove or cover any old termite droppings once the pests have been killed. This will be key because when you see new termite droppings, the pest company very well could state that these are simply old droppings (evidence of previous and not active infestation), and they will not automatically call for a new treatment. I see this happen time and again and while sometimes it may be true that this is simply evidence of the previous infestation, it is technically impossible for the pest inspector to tell. In this scenario, I always suggest having the pest company inspect, cover up (again) any old droppings, and schedule them to come out about 90 days later to verify whether there are new droppings or not. If there are new droppings, you then have the information you need to push for a treatment that should be included in your maintenance contract (either local treatment or fumigation if the pest infestation leads to areas that are not accessible, such as shallow recesses of the attic or inside a wall).
I hope you find this information helpful. I work with many pest inspectors and am happy to refer you to a few very reputable companies. Please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] for more information.