Termites eat wood, and can consequently cause great structural damage to your home if left unchecked. A typical homeowner's insurance policy does not cover destruction caused by termites, even though they cause over 1 billion dollars in damage to homes throughout the United States each year. Our inspection and treatment program can help you understand the threat of termites, and take the necessary steps to protect your home.
Termite Inspections You can’t assume your home is termite-free just because you’ve never seen them – they only swarm once or twice a year, and you might miss it! We thoroughly inspect your home or business, looking for the tell-tale signs of termite infestation. Some of the things we look for are:
- Mud tubes built for traveling above ground
- Damaged or hollow-sounding wood
- Pinholes in drywall or wood
- Small piles of sawdust or pellets
- Piles of small wings
- Fungus damaged wood
- Water intrusion
- Water leaks
- Other specific termite indicators
We offer inspections for Real Estate transactions and the average home owner with concerns.
Our service area is San Mateo County and sometimes other areas close to the county line. Please call us for more information.
When you call and talk to us to set up a Termite Inspection you should provide the following information:
- Your name and address
- Owners name
- Time and day of inspection desired
- Type of structure to be inspected (house, town house, condo etc.)
- The size of the structure to inspect, including garage (square footage)
- Method of payment (no credit cards please). Payment is due at inspection
- Information of any other inspection to the property that you know of
When we arrive at your property, the inspection begins. We inspect all visible and accessible areas of the property such as; attics, sub areas, garages and inside the house. This inspection takes about one hour on an average size house up to 2,500 square feet. Please limit questions about the property to before and after the inspection. Please keep any dogs close to you during the inspection. This will minimize any aggressive behavior that the dog might have towards strangers.
Your inspection report will be sent to you via e-mail or mail in 1-2 days after your inspection is complete. Your report will have a front page that shows the diagram of the structure and may have numbers in and around the diagram. This indicates the approximate location of any problems or potential problems. The body of the report identifies the problem and gives a recommendation to correct it. You will notice the Section I item, Section II item or Further Inspection. Section I items are an active infestation or infection (termites or fungus damage is present). Section II items are problems likely to lead into a Section I problem and Further Inspections are areas that we feel may be a problem, but are not visible at the time of our inspection. For example: water stains on stucco or sheetrock indicates a water leak that may have caused some fungus damaged to the wood framing. Our recommendation would be to open up an inspection hole to determine the extent of the damage if any and give a recommendation on how to fix it. The last page has the prices that correspond to the numbers on the diagram. This is the page you send us to perform the work. Please sign the bottom, circle the items you wish for us to do and write a contact number. We will then call you to set up a time and date to perform the work.
Termite Facts Termites are extremely destructive. They burrow into wood structures to obtain food. Any wood or cellulose-containing material constitutes termite food, and given time to do so, they’ll eat until nothing is left but a shell. Termites avoid light and air, so they build their colonies where you’re not likely to stumble upon them.
Termite Treatments To control these unwanted pests, we provide an effective treatment plan, which may include:
- Exterior Protection for Subterranean termites - a continuous chemical barrier is created around the exterior of your home or building using Termidor (fipronil), a very effective chemical for controlling Subterranean Termites.
- Fumigation Services for Drywood termites - We provide fumigation services for Drywood termites and wood destroying beetles.
- Local treatments – We also provide local treatments for Drywood termites, Subterranean termites, Dampwood termites and wood destroying beetles.
- Dampwood termites – Dampwood termites are the biggest termite and one of the easiest to control, unfortunately they are associated with fungus damaged wood.
Fumigations Unlike other treatments available, only whole-structure fumigation is proven to eliminate Drywood termites. It spreads into every nook and cranny of a home, penetrating into the pores of wood to reach the air that termites breathe-so termites can’t survive. Tenting your house includes:
- Covering Your Home With Tarps – “Tenting”
After your home has been prepared for fumigation, the fumigator tents it with large tarps, gets the interior ready and seals all tarps.
- Lock Down
All the doors to your home are secured with additional locking devices designed to prevent entry by anyone except the licensed fumigator.
- Releasing a Warning Agent
Once your home has been tented, the warning agent (chloropicrin) is released into the structure. Chloropicrin helps ensure the home is vacated of people and pets prior to fumigation
- Fumigation
Next, fumigant is introduced into the home. The fumigant penetrates deep into the wood to eliminate the target pest.
- Aeration and Certification
When the fumigation is complete, your fumigator aerates your home and uses sophisticated detection equipment to verify that your home has been effectively aerated. Once your home is clear, your fumigator certifies it so your family can re-enter with confidence.
- No Residue Worries
After the fumigation treatment is complete and the gas fumigant is cleared, enter your home with confidence. The fumigant dissipates from the home, without leaving surface residue behind. That means you don’t have to wash your dishes, linens, clothing and other items after fumigation.
