How Often Should I Get My Home Inspected for Termites?

Even if you think you’re completely safe from termites, it’s still important to get regular termite inspections. Neglecting to do so can become a costly mistake if you get an infestation, which ends up being much more costly than investing in routine inspections. To protect your home from termites, it is highly recommended to invest in regular inspections from a professional pest control company.

Can I Inspect My Own Home for Termites?

Even though you should always have a professional pest control company thoroughly inspect your home annually, there are several things to keep an eye out for between visits to lessen your chance of an infestation. Several things to keep an eye out for include:

• Mud tubes: Finding these mud highways in soil near a wood source around your home is a likely sign you have termites.
• Discarded wings: Many swarming termites shed their wings after establishing a new colony, meaning there’s a good chance termites are nearby.
• Excrement: Also known as frass, termite excrement looks like little wood pellets that are the size of coffee grounds.
• Damaged wood: One of the most indicative signs of termites is checking for a hollow noise when knocking on wood in the home.
• Bubbling paint: While this could be a sign of other home damage, it’s certainly reason enough to get a professional who can accurately diagnose the source of bubbling or peeling paint.

Termite Inspections in New Homes

All property owners, whether they live in a new or old house, should invest in regular inspections. Even if you are living in a brand new home, you could still be susceptible to termites. Ideally, all homeowners should get inspected once a year. Older homes do tend to be more at risk for termites, making it absolutely essential to not only stay vigilant about inspecting your home yourself on a regular basis but also get a professional’s opinion every single year.

Professional Termite Inspections

A professional can thoroughly inspect for all of the aforementioned signs of termites in your home, but they are trained to find the smaller, less noticeable signs of termites as well. Enlisting the help of an expert who knows how to check for the earliest signs of termites is essential to keeping an infestation at bay. A clean termite inspection report is a wonderful feeling, but it doesn’t mean you’ll be termite-free forever. Annual inspections can help protect you and your family from ever dealing with the costly expenses of a full-blown infestation.