Termites are ubiquitous in soils pretty much throughout the US, and
their presence on your property isn't any more meaningful than the
presence of dirt. (Yes, there are fewer termites the farther north
one goes, but they've been found infesting buildings in Canada, so...)
The trick is keeping them out of your house.

The easiest way to do that is to simply have the house treated and
placed under a renewable warranty with a reputable pest-control firm.
Then it's their problem. THe alternative is to have the property
inspected every year and be prepared to spend the money for treatment,
and whatever repairs are necessary, when the termites are found.

Given that most of the susceptible portions of your house are
inaccessible to a visual inspection, you might consider one of the
technologies some of the other posters have suggested. Technology, as
has been noted, is no substitute for competence, and none of the new
technologies are any better than the guy using them. The microwave
device is very sensitive to your hand movements, and will also read
right thorugh the wall to whatever movement is behind it, for example.
And moistrue meters actually measure conductivity, so they can be
fooled by salts in the wood or on the surface of whatever you're
measuring. I've always been suspicious of the termite-sniffing dogs,
but there's some good academic research (finally) going on with them
right now, and it looks like a well-trained dog, properly maintained
and handled, can find temrites by scent even in hidden locations. You
still have to decide whether to open the walls for a look, etc. I
wouldn't go opening walls and ceilings just to have a look without
evidence of a possible infestation.

My "common sense" advice would be to go ahead and have the place
treated. You already know that termites are foraging very close to
your house. You have construction features that are vulnerable and
can't be inspected. Get some bids, talk to a few operators, and
figure out whether the peace of mind is worth the price.

Good luck,
C
http://dpr.clemson.edu
http://www.structuralpestexpert.com

JoeD wrote in message link.net...
Hi,

I have a wooden house in the NYC area. I know that there are termites in
the neighborhood.
My next door neighbor discoverd some in his house, 2 years ago and had
his house treated professsionally along the house but a month ago while
doing basement renovations, his guy found a large number of them in the
basement ceiling and as far up as the 2nd floor .
I have so far found no visible evidence of termites in and around my
house (mud trails, wings, waste material). I only have 1 small opening
in my basement ceiling exposing my beams.
I had 2 exterminators do a free examination but neither saw any visible
evidence and din't push their services.
other neighbor across the street who had termites if I don't see any
evidence then don't worry.
The guy who is repairing the damage in my next door neighbor's house
said, unless I open small sections of the ceiling along the edge to look
for any evidencel, I really won't know. By the way, he is a friend of my
neighbor and also declined to do the work as he was much too busy.

I know there are termites near my house because in preparation for the
exterminator's visit, I cleaned under the back porch and I found 1 piece
of old 4/4 lumber with some termites. There were a number of other
pieces but they did not appear to have any.

Should I begin to do some exploratory work on my basement ceiling or as
my other neighbor said, don't worry about it.

Would love some common sense advice.

Thanks in advance

Joe