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| Termite Inspection Checklist - Residential Premises |
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Termite Inspection Checklist |
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Follow the steps below to inspect your home for evidence of termite activity, infestation and damage.
A professional inspection is recommended if there are areas inaccessible to you or if you find evidence of past or present termite activity.
Use graph paper to make a scaled drawing of your home, noting any areas of damage, signs of termites, or problems that need to be corrected as you go through the inspection. |
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Equipment Checklist - overalls or rugged clothing that can get dirty - screwdriver - good flashlight with fresh batteries - ladder - pencil and graph paper pad. |
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Step 2: Check for Points of Entry |
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Areas where soil comes into direct contact with wood, particularly untreated wood.
Areas where surface water, or perpetually wet soil, contacts or is very near to the structure.
Areas where foundation material has degenerated and become permeable, cracks in slab, and expansion joints in slab.
Check the external foundation walls for mud tunnels.
All wood members in subfloor (if present).
On ground earth-filled patios are a high risk area - inspect external perimeter.
Trellises which touch the soil and are connected to the house.
Flower planters built against the house.
Patio steps in contact with the soil offer a stairway to the home.
Area around heating unit keeps soil warm year round and accelerates termite development. |
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Step 3: Locate Termite Critical Areas |
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Areas that offer food sources - mulch beds - wood piles - Tree stumps - - Landscape timbers - Wood fences - Wood decks or porches - Wooden posts sunk into the ground - Trees & Shrubbery.
Areas that supply moisture - downspouts - water spigots - leaky water lines - air-conditioner drip lines - along sewer lines - any standing water - missing, broken or clogged gutters or roof tiles. |
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Step 4: Search Thoroughly for Termite Activity |
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Exterior - outdoors
Examine the foundation of the house, garage and other structures for shelter tubes coming from the soil.
Pay particular attention to attached porches, connecting patios, sidewalks, areas near kitchens or bathrooms and narrowly confined or hard to see places.
Check the soil moisture around or under the foundation to determine if faulty grade construction creates moist areas adjacent to the structure.
Check window and doorframes and where utilities (air conditioning pipes, gas and electric services) enter the structure for termite infestation or wood decay.
Observe wood eaves and guttering closely for defects that might cause leakage and eventual wood rot.
Inspect behind closely planted dense shrubbery or foliage.
Note particularly any earth to wood contact such as fences, staircases or trellises.
Open and examine any exterior electrical meter or fuse boxes set into the walls, a common point for infestation.
Carefully inspect wood materials adjacent to swimming pools that may be splashed frequently by water.
If the house is of pier and beam construction, thoroughly inspect the area between the floor and the underlying soil (crawl space). Examine the inside of beams, chimney bases, hearths or piers for shelter tubes.
Look carefully at the top of the foundation wall where the floor and wall intersect.
If you find any mud tubes, break a piece off. If it is moist, it is an active tunnel. If, however, it is dried out, it is no longer active. If you come back a couple of days later and the tunnel is rebuilt, that is another sign the tunnel is active.
Interior
Probe or carefully sound exterior patios, doors and window facings, baseboards, and hardwood flooring.
Be careful not to deface finished wood when probing.
Carefully examine any attached earth-filled patios.
Examine all known or suspected joints, cracks, or expansion joints in the foundation and unusual blistering in paint or wall surfaces. Discoloration or staining on walls or ceilings may indicate water leaks, which can decay wood and aid termite infestation.
The inspection should be particularly critical where plumbing or utility pipes enter the foundation or flooring. Check floor coverings for raised or split areas.
Examine inside roof void attic for shelter tubes, water leakage, wood rot or damaged wood.
Search all areas for signs of discarded wings from swarming alates (flying termites). |
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Step 5: Document What You Find |
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Use a graph pad to draw out the layout of your home and yard and designate all things you find in step 2 through 4. This will be your action plan for taking corrective measures to reduce your risk of infestation. |
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WARNING: The NSW Govt EPA Pest Control Licensing is INADEQUATE |
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Be Careful in selecting a Pest Controller • Unfortunately - it is far too easy to get a NSW Govt EPA issued pest control licence and start up a Pest Control business in NSW with little experience in providing safe and effective pest control services • click here for more details.
The NSW Pest Control Licensing system is subject to National Competency Assessment guidelines. Mediocre testing can
be carried by Private Workplace Assessors (not part of TAFE system). The
so called competency assessment can be a combination of oral, written and visual
tests.
Private Workplace Assessors are given
general guidelines in the National Competency Standards but there is no
set standard test or specific knowledge requirements. Once privately
assessed as "competent" then the NSW Govt EPA Pest Control Licensing will issue a pest control licence to the individual. There is no published list of
Private Workplace Assessors..
The System is Inadequate: Some Private Assessors offer a one week course. A person so issued with a pest control licence can set up a Pest Control business (not required to register with EPA Licensing Authority and employ many trainees, using pesticides in people's homes without direct personal supervision.
FUMAPEST Setting the Standard in an industry plagued by fly-by-night operators, FUMAPEST Termite & Pest Control stands out as a well established pest control business with excellent reputation in the market-place.
Same Family Business • Since 1964 • Termite & Pest Control Specialists. |
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FUMAPEST Termite & Pest Control ... services we offer |
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