Termite Inspections – The Health Check For Your Home

Most people ensure their cars are serviced every six months and visit the GP annually, even if they rarely get sick. But how often do you check your home to ensure everything is in good condition? Unfortunately, many homeowners neglect this crucial task, which can lead to costly consequences—especially when it comes to termites.

Homeowners should always have a plan for managing termites since they could destroy their investment, although home insurance does not often cover termite damage. For example, if you live in Brisbane, this is even more important because white ants can cause significant damage within only six months. In Australia, the probability of your home being attacked by termites is 12 times greater than experiencing a house fire.

A comprehensive termite management plan includes regular inspections and installing a suitable termite management system. However, the annual termite inspection is the cornerstone of this plan. These inspections are crucial for detecting signs of termite activity and evidence of damage and identifying conditions around the property that increase the risk of a termite attack.

With numerous pest control companies in Brisbane offering termite inspection services, it’s important for homeowners to understand what’s involved in a thorough inspection. This knowledge ensures they receive a quality termite inspection and effectively protect their home.

What’s Involved In a Termite Inspection?

The termite inspection can be broken down into five key areas;

1. Interior of buildings: Every room must be checked simultaneously, and areas such as kitchens, bathrooms, and laundries should be tested using moisture meters for possible leaks.
2. Subfloor (if present). If access to the subfloor area is possible, the inspector needs to crawl to all corners of the subfloor to inspect supporting structures, flooring timbers, and drainage.
3. Exterior of buildings. Adjacent areas around the home should receive particular emphasis from the inspector. When conducting their inspection, they need to note possible ways termites may gain access into the house, like checking if the soil surface or other structures hide any termite entry point, ensuring whether there are areas with raised moisture content due to watering systems which can serve as a bait for these tiny creatures hence make it favourably for pests.
4. The land around the building needs to be assessed for conducive conditions, such as trees, stumps, timber retaining walls, timber fences, garden beds and any outbuildings/structures. “Termite food” adjacent to the house in the form of plants and wood mulch?
5. Roof space. The inspector needs to get into the roof space and, where space allows, crawl from one end to another, inspecting each timber. The electricity typically needs to be turned off to enter the roof space. The inspector cannot enter the roof space if there are any safety concerns.

How Long Does a Termite Inspection Take?

As you might envision, even an average house takes a significant amount of time to do a detailed termite inspection with all the areas needed (and nobody likes a rushed inspector). The duration of a termite inspection will vary depending on the size of the structure, its construction type and any issues encountered on-site. 

However, it should take at least 2 hours to inspect a standard 3- or 4-bedroom home regularly. If it’s been less than an hour since your termite inspector did the last inspection, you should worry about that. When choosing among companies that perform such services, inquire about their estimate regarding how much they expect it will take – this will tell a lot about whether especially if they are experts or not.

What Tools Does a Termite Inspector Use?

Inspectors of termites use a variety of tools during their inspection. The log typically has two main tools: the “tapper” for tapping wood to check its sound and a knife or screwdriver for probing suspicious areas. A moisture meter is, therefore, an essential item of equipment since it helps to identify places where there might be leakages or dampness behind walls that could indicate possible infestation by termites.

Experts in this field now use motion sensors to determine whether something is always moving. However, even the latest devices sometimes make an incompetent person competent. What a termite inspector needs most are experience, knowledge, and sharp vision; thus, it is advisable to look for someone trustworthy when looking for an examination specialist.

How Do I Know if The Inspector is Qualified?

Once you consider a company to inspect your termites, it’s always wise to ask about their experience. Still, it is also essential to make sure that they show you their license to carry out a termite inspection and have the necessary insurance coverage. Being a customer gives you full rights to access their license and insurance before taking up the quotation they give you.

What’s in a Termite Inspection Report?

In the beginning, the inspection report should indicate that Australian Standard 3660.2 inspection report should indicate that Australian Standard 3660.2 was adhered to during the inspection. The report will contain a classification of the house, details of the inspected areas and those not inspected, and reasons for lack of access. The termite activities seen would also be identified alongside any visual evidence of damage that termites may have caused. More importantly, it’ll list things in and around the house that might contribute to an increase in the risk of attack from termites, such as humidity levels that are too high, leaking pipes, construction faults, heavy soil levels, wood sources, inadequate ventilation; and filthy places where things are stored.

Termite inspection reports are extensive since they encompass various legal terminologies. Therefore, you need to ask the inspector to verbally explain this inspection’s findings and what the next steps could be. In addition, good reports will include supporting photographs to help you understand the findings better.

These visual examinations are termite assessments (though they may be performed using motion sensors and thermal imaging devices); thus, it can only be ascertained with certainty that there are termites inside the walls from such a report if invasive inspection is done. Therefore, it may highlight areas that require more inspection. It will recommend how frequently to conduct future termite inspections and include advice regarding installing a termiticidal control system, which forms another significant part of a holistic approach to dealing with termites.

But a Termite Inspection Can Be More Than That…

One of the most avoided places by nearly all homeowners is the sub-floor and roof void. However, a competent pest controller might detect more problems in your property, such as leaking roofs, building failures, loose wiring, and inadequate plumbing or drainage systems, among others – an actual “health check” on the house. Thus, termite inspections are an excellent investment worth several hundred, which can save you thousands! When was the last time your house experienced a termite inspection? 

Our high-quality termite treatments at Tom’s Pest Control Brisbane are eco-friendly, safe, and comply with the most important Australian standards, making us one of Brisbane’s top pest control companies. 

Our trained and fully accredited professionals provide efficient, high-quality, yet affordable residential and commercial property services. If you’re looking for a pest control company that Brisbane homeowners trust, please call us on (07) 3184 4223 today.