What Happens if Termites Go Untreated

Sometimes, the easiest way to deal with a problem is to simply not deal with it at all. Unfortunately, few scenarios in life allow us to skate by without little to no work on our parts — and finding termites in your home is not one of them. Keep reading to learn all about the importance of dealing with termite damage as early as possible.

Long-Term Damage to Your Home

The biggest reason to deal with termite damage early on? The safety and stability of your home. The absolute worst-case scenario for untreated termite damage is when the colony feeding on and living under or near your home grows and grows to the point where your home is no longer structurally safe to inhabit.

Again, that’s an extreme example. Termites feed on cellulose, an organic compound found in wood. This is why they’re so attracted to homes — the entire skeleton of a building is typically a wooden frame. Outside of the frame to your home, other areas will be at risk: namely floors, cabinets, and even stairs. Your home may be particularly at-risk if the ground floor rests directly on the ground. This provides little resistance for subterranean termites to get to their favorite meal.

The Importance of Termite Inspections

Outside of damage to your home that you could be living and dealing with, termites are also a nightmare for the family hoping to move out of an infested home. Whether or not you’re aware of termite damage when you initially put your home on the market, inspections will find the damage, and you will be held liable for pest control and repairs.

Insurance

Outside the obvious, one of the worst parts of termite damage is that most basic homeowner’s policies won’t cover the cost of repairs. Coupled with the fact that most termite damage is invisible to the naked eye and will therefore go unnoticed until the damage is extreme, and you’ve got an expensive disaster.

Legal Ramifications

According to the law, you must disclose any information about prior termite control or infestations when selling your home. Some property sales happen “as is,” but it’s rare for a sale of a residential home to be completed this way. Failure to disclose this information could lead to legal action, which will cost you an arm and a leg in legal fees, on top of the expenses of finally completing the necessary termite control.

At the end of the day, ignoring termite damage or forgoing the completion of a termite inspection before putting your home on the market may end up only costing you more in the long run. Every year, termites cost homeowners billions of dollars in damages — but with proper prevention and control, you can protect your home from expensive damage.