Termites in Toms River nearly prevents sale of home - Termite control and removal services in Toms River, NJ

Challenge

I was called to a Toms River residence to perform a termite inspection for a pending real estate transaction. During my inspection, the first evidence of termites was a mud tube in the crawlspace under the family room. Mud tubes are often the first visible evidence of subterranean termite activity. These pencil-width size tubes are made by the worker termites from soil and wood that is cemented together with their saliva and excrement. Termites use these tunnels to travel to and from the nest when foraging for food (the wood in your home!). They use these protective tubes to stay moist underground. Termites are fragile insects that can’t survive for long once exposed to air. The tubes also protect them from predators like ants. Once I found the mud tube, I knew this home had a potential termite problem. Sure enough, while inspecting the garage, I discovered severe damage to the studs behind the sheetrock. 

As is often is the case, the seller had absolutely no idea that he had a termite problem. It came as a complete surprise. Unfortunately, the homeowner must now deal with whatever home repairs are necessary and be able to provide assurance to the potential buyers that there are safeguards in place to protect the home from termite damage in the future. Had this been done earlier, these repair expenses and potential delay of the sale could have been avoided. 

Subterranean termites are the silent destroyers of homes. They can infest homes either from the ground up, going directly into the wood (as is shown in the accompanying picture) or by traveling through mud tubes along a concrete foundation. A single colony can have millions of termites, spreading across half an acre. In the United States, termite damage is estimated to exceed over five billion dollars annually. Unlike wood-boring insects that damage wood, termites actually eat wood as food to build their colonies. Termite damage is especially insidious because termites eat wood from the inside out turing a piece of wood into a hollow shell. Homeowners often don’t even realize that there is a termite problem until there is already significant damage and a loss of structural integrity. The accompanying picture of termite damage to this Toms River residence shows what these insects are capable of.

Solution

Dealing with a termite infestation or preventing termite damage requires the expertise, equipment and applications available only to licensed pest control operators. For any termite control product to work, it must be correctly applied. The most effective ones are limited to pest control professionals. Cowleys will be treating this home with with two different control methods. First, because there is already active termite damage, we will be applying a termiticide, Termidor, to those areas of damage and to the mud tubes. This non-repellent undetectable product is carried back to the nest and transferred to other termites to kill the colony. Second, for prevention, we will be installing a Sentricon termite colony elimination system around the home’s perimeter. Installing these bait stations is like installing an underground protective moat that will block the home from termites. With this one-two combination, any termite problems with this home will be permanently resolved. The buyers will have the peace of mind that they are purchasing a home that does not and will not have any termite issues.