Tiny Termites: The Hidden Threat to Your Property

Did you know that there are termites in Tiny Township? Most of the people who have them may not want to talk about it – it’s not exactly the best thing for property values. But they are here. 

And termites really don’t care how many people ignore them – they are still going to chew their way through properties until they become impossible to ignore. By then, they are likely to have done thousands of dollars worth of structural damage to your home or cottage. 

Sure, it can be fixed. Although some pest control companies will insist it must be carpenter ants because “we don’t have termites in Tiny,” those of us who have seen and/or treated them know they are here. 

What does that mean for you?

It means that if you’re building or renovating a property anywhere within Tiny {and beyond, in my opinion; they do, after all, fly!) it makes a great deal of sense to think about protecting your new project from wood-destroying insects, which includes wood boring beetles, carpenter ants, and termites. 

For about the cost of one ant job, you can have years – decades, even! –  of protection. There are two times at which treatment can and should be considered. Before pouring, one can treat the ground to prevent termites from being able to move in. And, at the final framing stage – before insulation and walls – it is so, so easy to protect the interior wood. Either treatment can prevent a great deal of future aggravation. The best approach, however, is to do both. 

It’s worth doing even if you’re only concerned with ants – but even more so when there are termites in an area. 

Carpenter ants are generally spotted much quicker and do less damage. They forage outside, dump their garbage and dead bodies inside, and they’re only building cavities for nesting; they’re not actually eating your house.  

Termites, on the other hand, do not show themselves. It can take years before you start to notice small holes; bubbling paint; doors and windows that don’t fit quite right; or other subtle signs. Unless you see actual mud tubes, you might not even realize you have a problem until it is far too late. 

Of course, there’s treatment – but as usual, we Canadians don’t have all the options that people in other countries have. Treatment can easily run into hundreds, even thousands, of dollars – and then there’s still the damage to be fixed. 

Prevention is many times cheaper than treatment, especially when it comes to termites! 

The fact that we have Tiny termites also means that if you are buying a property anywhere in the area, you should ask the builder or owner you’re buying from whether the property has been protected from wood-destroying insects. Ask for proof – a certificate? Receipt? 

If not, it might be worth considering asking for a specific inspection for potential pest problems. 

At the absolute least, when looking at properties, look under rocks and/or logs.  Take pictures of any insects you don’t recognize and find out what they are. If you don’t happen to have a pest control tech on hand, ChatGPT is quite good at identification. 

A history of carpenter ants or termites shouldn’t be a deal-breaker. In many cases, those will be the homes that have been treated and protected from future infestations.  What would be a deal-breaker, for me, is no pre-treatment, especially if there was insulation foam anywhere at all.  Not a chance! Presumably, I’d be able to treat my own – and even so, I still would not even consider buying. 

Protecting your property is so much cheaper than dealing with wood-destroying insects and the damage they can cause. Seriously!! Why would you not?!