To All,

Since my basement is unfinished, I think I will begin removing small
sections (approx. 18" by 8") to look for hidden evidence.
One of the exterminator said he could do an onsite examination for $75.
I will call him to find out what he actually does. Am I wasting my money
if he does nothing but spend the time looking for visible evidence. Can
he spot something very obscure that I would have missed (mud trails,
wings, waste material).
Thanks for all of your advice.

JoeD wrote:

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