EEEK! It’s the attack of the termites!
Posted on Saturday, August 4, 2007
Aardvarks, anteaters and armadillos love termites — for dinner.
The rest of us may provide dinner for the termites in the form of our living quarters and anything else we own made of wood. And if termites do come to dine, it could prove one of the pricier meals you’ve ever served.
Termite inspections are one of the rituals required before closing on a house. Once snug in your new abode, you aren’t required to buy insurance against termites and other wood-damaging or wooddestroying insects, fungi or organisms. But going without termite insurance might not be the wisest decision.
“Let’s put it this way — any house that has not had a termite treatment will have termites at some point,” says John D. Hopkins, urban entomologist at the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and assistant professor at University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He’s contributed to most of the training manuals issued by the Arkansas State Plant Board for those studying for state licenses to apply pesticides.
“Personally, I wouldn’t be without termite insurance,” he says. “If your house has been treated and you have a contract with a reputable company, you should not have an infestation.” Subterranean termites are the species Arkansans need to worry about. Other kinds don’t live here, though Formosans have been spotted as close as Shreveport. Subterraneans live underground because they’ll quickly die without constant moisture. When they damage load-bearing elements, you’ll eventually see sagging walls, leaking surfaces and wood decay.
SIGNS OF INFESTATION Several signs may point to termites in your home. Winged swarmer termites inside your house, emerging from beneath your foundation or adjoining porches and patios means it’s likely the building is infested. Termites build protective mud tubes about the diameter of a pencil, sometimes thicker, extending up foundation walls, support piers, sill plates, floor joists and such, as paths between the colony and your structure — their food. If there are no creamy-white workers inside, your building still may be infested, since termites often abandon one tube for another.
Termite-damaged wood is usually hollowed out along the grain with bits of dried mud or dirt inside the hollows.
Rippled or sunken traces behind wall coverings can mean termite damage.
Termites are sneaky and infestations can go on for years before being detected. This is partly because they usually leave intact the outer surface of exposed wood such as baseboards.
BUYING A HOME The current owners of a house you’re about to buy may already have a termite insurance contract. Usually it’s with the same company doing the pre-closing letter of clearance and attachments required by lending institutions. In reality, it’s not so much a letter as a specified form and diagram of the building filled out after an inspection. The buyer may be able to assume the contract from the seller. “If for any reason you’re considering a house for which you are unable to get a termite insurance contract, you might want to reconsider buying it,” Hopkins says.
CHOOSING A COMPANY Terminating termites isn’t a do-it-yourself job unless it’s a small problem like a mailbox post or sandbox, experts say. Professionals are trained and tested and have the equipment to inspect and treat a house. When choosing a termite control company, there are steps to find a reliable one. First, don’t rush, particularly if a company tries scare tactics to get you to sign a contract instantly. Get inspections and bids from two or three companies so you can compare contract inclusions, services and treatment methods. Second, “Don’t fall prey to somebody who comes along and offers a cheap deal,” Hopkins says. Be especially wary of anyone who comes uninvited and offers to provide a free inspection.
The use of most termiticides is restricted by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and pesticide manufacturers (and thus the state ) to companies and technicians licensed by the Arkansas State Plant Board who have undergone training and tests. Check how long the company has been in business. Membership in state or national professional associations suggests it’s established and has access to the latest technical information and training. Ask for and call references. The company must specify in the contract which products it will use; you may want to look them up.
Earlier products were repellent rather than lethal to termites foraging in the soil. Now, materials like Premise (imidacloprid ), Termidor (fipronil ) and Phantom (chlorfenapyr ) kill termites as they tunnel into the treatment zone. Termites already inside die, with no replacements from the colony where the queen breeds. The other main type of treatment is baiting. Cylindrical stations are installed below ground in the yard. They contain a bait of termite food like wood or cardboard containing a slow-acting lethal termiticide. The workers eat the bait and share it with the colony, eventually killing them all. Be sure a contract says that if termites return after the initial treatment, the company will retreat the areas at no additional charge.
Some companies’ contracts cover the repair of damage occurring subsequent to their treatment, though dating onset can be difficult, notes Scott Bray, manager of the commercial pest control section within the Arkansas Plant Board.
The termite control company must submit a copy of the contract, including a graph-paper diagram of your building, showing the location of visible damage, active or previous infestation, and an outline of work needed to prevent, control or eradicate termites and other structural pests. They should also point out conditions that will need to be corrected such as crawl spaces inaccessible for inspection and treatment or wood siding so close to the dirt it’s inviting infestation. The bid will show the cost to initially treat the house using termiticides and to bring conditions up to minimum standards outlined in the Arkansas Pest Control Law. “This is where the pest control operator makes his money,” Bray says. “Once he issues the contract and takes your money, if he missed anything or a technician didn’t come through and do what he was supposed to, then it’s up to him, not you.” You might want to join each company representative during the inspection, then scrutinize and compare each contract and diagram.
If the bids are all over the board, ask each company to go over inclusions and costs. Contracts can be difficult to understand. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS If you find infestation but have no termite insurance, some companies will fix the damage after treating the area or house. Others will treat only, but will mark the damaged area on your house’s graph and exclude it from future coverage. If you then repair the area and want insurance, have the treatment company return to inspect the area and indicate repairs on the graph so that it will be covered, Bray says.
The most common complaint Bray sees is confusion about the cause of damage found by a property owner. The homeowner may think it’s from termites, while the company says it’s from water. Or there’s a dispute over whether the damage is old or occurred during this company’s contract. The Plant Board can reinspect or get information from previous treatment records and graphs to try to get answers.
Another common gripe comes at contract renewal time when a technician leaves a tag on the doorknob saying the annual inspection was completed. Or appears not to have come at all. “I think every property owner should be there when the inspection is done and go along with the technician,” Bray says. “You can call and make an appointment. Shoot for the 30 days before the contract is up.” If you want more information on Arkansas pest control laws and regulations or on what, exactly, licensed termite-control companies and applicators are tested on, visit www. aspb. ar kansas. gov / plant _ structural. html. Look under Plant Board Circular 6 and Study Materials: Class 1 Structural Pests. It’s hard going, but even a browse provides an idea of what companies and technicians are supposed to be doing. Call the Arkansas State Plant Board at (501 ) 225-1598.
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