
It is true that 75% of all people asked in a recent survey believe that subterranean termites eat very fast. This is not true. You have time to make an informed decision. Take a week and decide what you will do. Read about treatments and call about Termite Companies. You even have time to spend right here. I'll guide you step by step through this process. Even though it is unsettling to find termites eating the most expensive investment you'll probably ever make, there is no need to hurry. Read thru this web site and save yourself some real aggravation	When you buy or sell a home insist on a Georgia or Alabama Official Wood Infestation Report (Termite Letter) This report relieves the seller of future liablity litigation, short of fraud, and protects the buyer so they are not stuck with a termite infested house. This is an important inspection and should not be taken lightly. The home must be inspected with-in 30 days prior to the closing. The inspection report is not valid after 30 days so if your loan has not closed by then another must be issued. Order your termite letter in plenty of time and with-in the 30 day window of your home closing. Inform your realtor if you have a Termite Guarantee on your home. Then they can have your Termite Company do the inspection so that your Termite Contract can be assumed by the buyer. Making the inspection and handling the paper work for the closing allows your Termite Company to change the guarantee into the new homeowners name. Your Termite Company would be able to provide treatment history and duplicate contracts and work orders for the new owner. Most importantly should termites be found during inspection, your Termite Company would treat free, another Termite Company would want charge you to correct problems. If you don't have a Termite Company you'll need to call one. Some Termite Companies do Free inspections with reports, others charge a fee. Both will most likely send a qualified inspector to do the inspection and make out the report. This picture was taken during a Termite Letter inspection in Phenix City, AL. by Bruce Conners of Knox Pest Control Co. This home has an active infestation of subterranean termites and therefore must be treated and the damage repaired in order to sell through a reputable Mortgage Co. Your liability would be great should you elect to pass this problem on to a new homeowner. When you call a Termite Company to schedule the Official Ga. or Al. Wood Infestation Report you should have this information ready. Your name, phone number, Who you represent, the seller or the buyer. Address of the property. state whether it is occupied or not. Give appropriate phone numbers for the arrangement of the inspection. Tell the Termite Company who to contact should there be a problem. Let the Termite Company know where to deliver the letter, or you can pick it up when the inspection is done. The interior of the home and all rooms must be made available to the inspector. The crawl space door will need to be unlocked. The inspector will be looking for: 5 Wood Destroying Organisms Subterranean Termites Dry wood Termites Powder Post Beetles Wood Borer Beetles Wood Decay Fungus 3 Conditions Conducive to Infestation. Wood to Ground Contact Cellulose Debris in the crawl space Insufficient ventilation in the crawl space. Inspection facts and tips: If a problem is found a solution will be offered. A graph drawing detailing the problem, what is to be done to correct the problem, and how much it will cost, should be left with you for your consideration. You can compare these figures with the other bids you get. Some Termite Companies will allow the charges to be paid at the closing. Only written bids or Estimates should be considered. Only reputable Termite Companies will leave you one. If a Termite Inspector is sure of what he or she has found they won't mind putting it on paper for all to see. (Keep this in mind) Whenever a Previous infestation is found, you must assume some degree of damage was done. Usually a Licensed General Contractor checks to see if replacement or repairs are needed. Tip for buyers, the relationship you start with a Termite Company will most likely be a long one. Even as the buyer you can have some input as to who the Termite Company might be. If your not satisfied with the Termite Company selected by the seller, simply pay the difference in treating price and get the Company you prefer. Remember, the homeowners are trying to sell the home and spend as little as possible on needed termite work. Dirt cheap termite jobs with little or no guarantee can be yours if your not paying attention. Here are some helpful tips on getting your home ready for the inspection. It also tells you from a real-estate brokers perspective just what you might expect during your inspection. Be sure to visit the REMAX Real-estate web site about Termite Letters.

"Where are the termites?" I've never seen one", customer. Subterranean Termites live underground and seldom do anything with out the protection of absolute darkness. They even build tunnels between their nest and their food sources. Since they live in the darkness, they have little or no skin pigmentation, thus they are nearly translucent. The sun acts on them like a micro wave oven does on a hot dog. Ouch, now do you see why they are hard to spot? Unless you know where to look you'll never see them. If you want to locate termites in or around your home read my short article on inspections

Checking subterranean termite damage can be deceptive. Since termites eat from the inside out, the wood could be damaged beneath the surface, and you might not notice it. Look for ripples in the woods surface. Sound the wood with the butt of a screw driver and listen to see if it sound hollow. If you suspect structural damage hire a general contractor to make the inspection. Most realtors know which contractors do these inspections on a routine basis. Pick one of those. Their price won't be so much and they know what they are looking for. All contractors haven't had experience with termites, hire one that has.

After 18 years of putting two and two together I've found the answer. Surprising because it is so simple. Termites don't have eyes so they can't just pop out of the ground and say something like "land ho" or "house ho". They must be extraordinarily blessed with radar or something. Read on and find out how I think termites find your house. We know that southeastern subterranean termite colonies forage for food and moisture every day. The worker termite goes off to work just like we do. His job is to find a food or water source. The colony is growing and they need to find new resources to replace the ones that are being used up. Below the surface of the ground they hunt and periodically they bump into a food source. This food source could be a buried tree root, or fire wood pile, or your home. A food source is a food source, termites don't know the difference between a wood stump in the ground or a wood stud in your wall. They simply know that cellulose is a food source and they need it to survive, so its off they go to work every day. After the termite has bumped into your house he feeds. When he has eaten his fill he returns to the colony leaving a scent trail all the way back. This food source is now marked, so to speak. The other workers in the colony can follow the pheromone trail back to the food source. Once the mother load of food sources (your home) has been found, a slow destructive process begins that costs homeowners in the US millions of dollars each year. The destructive power of the combined efforts of thousands of tiny termites can only be appreciated by seeing "first hand" what damage they can do.