Tips to Reduce the Risk of Termites, Increasing Your Sales

At Active Pest Control, we take pride in educating our neighbors, and yours, about pests. To help ensure that our communities are well taken care of, we provide a curriculum for real estate professionals to help identify issues ahead of time and close more deals. Read the class recap below to learn about termite damage, how it can affect home sales, and how to get rid of those pests!

Why are termites such an issue for my clients?

The leading reason that termites can halt a home’s sale is that they cause massive, often unseen, structural damage. Each year, over $5 billion in termite damages are reported — and homeowner’s insurance rarely covers it. In fact, termites damage more structures in the U.S. than fire, floods, hurricanes, and tornados combined.

Timing is another issue. A “swarm” is the most immediate and recognizable way to identify a termite infestation; however, a colony can be established for 4-10 years before the first swarms appear. During that timeframe, the subterranean bugs are eating away at wooden parts (subfloors, door and window casings, wall studs, etc.) By the time swarms appear, much damage has occurred.

What do I look for when considering a home for contract?

Termites thrive in damp, dark places. Issues that can foster those conditions include leaky gutters, decaying eaves, poor ventilation and drainage, wooden structures sunk directly into soil (decks, foundations, porches, etc.), and peeling paint. Inside the home, signs are more subtle such as termite tubes along the baseboard and holes hidden by picture frames.

Can legal action be taken for an infestation?

Yes. To further protect you from liability when taking a house under contract, make sure it receives a comprehensive inspection by a certified company. It is important to understand, and secure an Official Georgia Wood Infestation Inspection Report. 95% of all termite-related lawsuits arise due to improper use of this “Clearance Letter” report.

What treatment method does Active Pest Control recommend?

Our technicians are trained to use the Sentricon™ Termite Colony Elimination System. It works to attract, bait and eliminate a termite infestation. Stations are placed around the perimeter of the home and loaded with a bait cartridge. When termites consume the bait from a bait tube they distribute the product throughout the colony. We believe the “always active technology” of the Sentricon™ System is the most effective way to eliminate termites from your property without causing additional damage to the structure and driving down the home’s overall price.

My property has termites — how do I get the Sentricon™ System installed?

Simply contact Active Pest Control and your authorized service technician will inspect and install the system at your convenience!

The Active Pest Control’ Realtor Education series is led by Ben Satterfield, Assistant Sales Manager for Real Estate and Builder Services. He works with home sellers throughout Georgia to protect families and eliminate pest issues.

A Shakespearean Tragedy For Termites

In neighborhoods and suburbs all across the United States, a Shakespearean tragedy is unfolding every single day due to an advancement in home termite protection call the Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System. This is how the story goes.

In a nearby country, where a stronghold has thrived for several years, new kings and queens are born in great numbers and sent out into the world to establish new strongholds to advance the reach of the kingdom. Many of these kings and queens perish in the journey, but those that survive quickly set themselves to the task of birthing workers to do their bidding. If workers do well, they may rise to the position of a soldier and be given the great honor of protecting the fortress from enemy kingdoms. Most do not. Their lot in life is to toil all their days in the wood mines, never to see the light of day. Their singular task is to bring food back to feed the offspring of the queen, the soldiers, and eventually the queen herself. But their new kingdom is almost immediately in danger.

This new land in which they have chosen to build their fortress belongs to another, more powerful inhabitant. An enemy that knows how to defend its great treasures of wood. An enemy that knows them even better than they know themselves. A trap has already been set.

As workers go out to gather food, they stumble upon a sweet and scrumptious treat they believe the queen will love. Each in turn eats of this wonderful delicacy and takes it back to the fortress and past the soldiers who stand guard, deep into the heart of the stronghold where the babies are.

The workers share this new food with the babies, and the queen is pleased. This wonderful food will make them stronger and help them conquer this new land. But unbeknownst to her, a great betrayal is about to occur.

After the workers have eaten, and the babies have had their fill, this new and amazing food is brought before the queen. She considers it carefully. The workers have eaten of it and they are well. Her babies have eaten of it and they are well. There seems to be no cause for fear. So she takes of it and eats.

Without warning, her workers begin to die, and the colony goes into a panic. Soon her babies begin to die as well. Dark horror settles on the queen. Poison! Poison has found its way into their stronghold! But it is too late. She can already feel it sickening her belly. It is over. Her fortress has fallen. All is lost.

If you have the Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System protecting your home, this is how the story will go for those wood-eating termites when they come to invade your home. Let the tragedy be for the termites. Your home is your castle. If they chose to invade, they bring destruction upon themselves!