Question:
“Gary, do all homes have to be tented for termites before you buy them?”
Answer:
No. It depends on a few things:
1. What does your contract say?
There’s no law that says a home must be free and clear of termites when it’s sold. Most people buying a home expect it to be and put that in the contract. But if you don’t put it in, it won’t happen.
2. Does the home actually have termites?
Many homes have no termites.
3. What kind of termites?
“Drywood” termites, the kind that fly in swarms, are usually killed by tenting. But “subterranean” termites, which mainly live in the ground and in “mud tubes,” are killed by injecting poison in the ground.
4. Where are the termites?
If you have drywood termites in isolated, accessible areas, often a less expensive “local treatment” can be done instead of tenting.
5. What about alternative methods?
There are other legitimate options to kill drywood termites when a local treatment isn’t sufficient. The ones I’m familiar with are freezing, microwaving, and (believe it or not) electrocution.
