Beware of Termites
By Susan Stone

Susan Stone

Termite inspectors say that termite infestation is present for many years before the evidence is easily seen, especially in an attic or any other enclosed location. Most home sale contracts today require a "clear" termite inspection report so it is natural to assume that a tented house undergoing fumigation must be in the inspection phase of a sale. It is not common for homeowners to have termite inspections if they are not selling their homes. In Southern California, especially in the San Fernando and Conejo Valley areas, this can be a big mistake.

Unfortunately, I have had personal experience with dry wood termites (not subterranean termites) in my own home and hope that through this article others will be saved the additional expense and inconvenience of having to tent and/or repair later stages of termite damage in their homes.

The first time I found evidence of termite damage in my home was when it was only ten years old. While painting an upstairs bathroom, the painters showed me termite pellets in the ceiling fan cover. I had a termite inspector out and learned that from the amount of damage he found, the wood the builder had installed in the attic most probably had termite eggs which subsequently hatched and created colonies over the years. It normally takes one to one-and-one-half years before there is any sign of termite damage. The patio cover was clear; no sign of termites. We tented the house and I thought I was "safe".

Last month,11 years after my tenting, I asked a termite inspector to check out some of the wood on my patio cover that I thought might have dry rot or termite damage. Sure enough, there was both dry rot and evidence of termites. That damage can be treated locally, and the wood repaired to repel further infestation.

The inspector was not planning to do a full inspection, but since there were termites in the patio cover, I asked him to look at the rest of the house. It turned out that the termites were back in the attic; this time causing even more damage that the first time. I will now need to replace some of the beams. Some of the wood trim in the front of the house has water penetration, which according to the inspector will attract termites when they swarm. He also pointed out areas on my neighbor’s house which had water damage and potential termite infestation. Once the termites find a hospitable place on the outside of the house, it isn’t difficult for them to find their way inside the home since they are so small. Obviously one home’s termites can find their way over to their neighbors’ homes without too much effort, especially in the summertime swarming season. Swarmers, both male and female, can fly short distances from their original colony. It only takes one male and one female to find a friendly environment and establish a new colony.

I know of a few homes in the San Fernando Valley that are framed with light gauge steel and screws rather than wood and nails. This technology is superior to wood to withstand termites (as well as earthquakes and fire) and used quite a bit in Orange County and abroad. Unfortunately it has not caught on much in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Until it does, wood-frame homeowners would be wise to have fairly regular termite inspections to prevent expensive repairs of damage to their homes, as well as to those of their neighbors.

Susan Stone, GRI, has been an Agoura Hills resident since 1982. She has written articles for a number of publications, served on a Real Estate Advisory Committee for the Daily News and has taught homebuyer classes for Bank of America. As a realtor and broker associate with White House Properties, Stone provides real estate and relocation services to and from the San Fernando and Conejo valleys. She is a graduate of Pomona College, Claremont, CA and earned a Professional Designation in Marketing and Merchandising from U.C.L.A. Stone is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese and partners with other agents/brokers for a number of others such as Mandarin, Farsi, Hebrew, Arabic and Japanese.

You can reach Susan Stone at (818) 865-0944, ss4re@aol.com or go to www.susanstone.com.