Termite Questions to Take to Alabama Cooperative Extension

Why send species questions to the Extension?

The Extension System is the state's university-based service for questions about the land, the pests and the structures on it. Species records and seasonal guidance are best sourced there, and this site does not replace them.

A household in Birmingham that wants to know which termite is in its wall will get a more reliable answer from the Extension than from a pest company's marketing page. The Extension is part of the Alabama land-grant system, and its guidance is written to be checked. That is why this guide points there rather than offering a species name.

This site also does not write a species into its pages for Jefferson County, because no Jefferson County record is on file for it. A page that named one without a source would be a claim the reader could not check, and this site does not make claims it cannot support.

What are the questions to ask?

Eight questions cover most of what a household needs: the species, the swarm season, the signs of damage, the difference between activity and old damage, the soil-line question, the moisture question, the monitoring question and the question about a sale.

Ask first which termite species are recorded in Jefferson County and whether any of them is a subterranean species that lives in the soil. Ask the Extension to say whether a record is county-level, and how old it is, so the household knows how far to trust it.

Ask when the local termite swarms are reported, and whether the swarm is the same across the county. A swarm is a sign that a colony is mature, but it is not a complete calendar, and a household should not rely on it to plan an inspection.

Ask how to tell old damage from current activity. A sound sill with an old exit hole is different from a sill with live mud tubes, and the difference changes the next step.

Ask about the soil and the moisture. Standing water and soil piled against the foundation are the conditions that most often bring termites to a building, and the Extension can explain how to reduce them.

Ask about monitoring. Some households want a device that shows whether termites are present, and the Extension can say what the devices show and what they do not.

Ask, if a sale is involved, what a report should contain. The Extension is not a party to the sale, but it can explain what a careful report covers.

• Which termite species are recorded in Jefferson County, and how old is the record?
• When are swarms reported locally, and are they the same across the county?
• How do I tell old damage from current activity?
• Which soil and moisture conditions most often bring termites to a building?
• What monitoring is useful, and what does it not show?
• What should a careful termite report contain for a sale?
• Which species should a technician be able to identify on the job?
• Where can I check a technician's credentials for the category?

How should a household bring the questions?

Bring the questions in writing, with dated photographs of any signs, the address of the building and a short history of the activity. A specific question gets a useful answer, and a vague one often gets a general reply.

Photographs are the most useful thing a household can bring. A photograph of a mud tube, a frass pile or a damaged sill shows what is there, and the date tells the reader how fast it changed. Keep the photographs with the questions and bring them to the Extension or to the technician.

A short history helps too. Say when the signs were first seen, whether there was an earlier treatment or repair, and whether the grade or the drainage has changed. Those facts shape the answer, and they help the next technician start from the right place.

What does a technician add to the Extension's answer?

The Extension answers the question about the species and the conditions. The technician answers the question about the building: what is attacked, where, and what treatment or repair the findings call for.

A technician who inspects the building writes down the evidence for each finding. That evidence is what a buyer, a lender or a later technician needs, and it is not replaced by a species name. A household that has both the Extension's general guidance and the technician's written findings has the full picture.

The treatment decision follows the findings. A soil-line zone, a bait or a repair of the wood each answer a different finding, and the technician explains which applies and why. The Extension's advice on the conditions still matters, because a treatment that is not matched by drier soil and a sound foundation will not last.

What if the answers do not match?

If the Extension's general guidance and the technician's findings seem to disagree, ask both to explain the reasoning. A difference in answers is often a difference in the question, and a written record helps resolve it.

A general answer about a county may not fit a particular building. The Extension is describing what is usually found, and the technician is describing what is found in the building. Both can be right. Ask each one to say what it has seen, and to show the evidence behind the answer.

If the disagreement is about a treatment, ask the technician to explain the choice in writing, and ask the Extension whether the treatment is consistent with its guidance. A household that keeps both answers on file is better placed for the next decision.

Reading a report from the Extension and from the technician

A general answer from the Extension and a specific finding from the technician are read differently. The Extension describes what is usually found in a county, and the technician describes what is in the building. Both are useful, and neither replaces the other.

When an Extension answer gives a species or a season, read it as a county-level statement, not as a promise about a particular house. When a technician's report gives a finding, read the location, the evidence and the limits. A finding that has evidence written next to it is one the household can check again later.

Keep both on file. A household that is selling a home, or that is dealing with a repair, is better placed with a general answer from the Extension and a dated, specific report from the technician than with either one alone.

Questions by kind of household

The questions change with the kind of building. A house with a cellar asks different things from a flat, and a rental owner asks different things from an owner who lives in the house.

A house with a cellar or a crawl space should ask about the moisture under the floor and the soil beside the foundation, since those conditions are the ones a treatment cannot change. A flat should ask how a shared void is inspected and which neighbors need to be asked for access. A rental owner should ask what the tenant needs to keep clear, and how the record is shared with the manager.

A household that is buying should ask what the report covers, how the limits are stated and whether a re-inspection is needed if the closing is delayed. A household that is selling should ask what the report will say about any earlier repair, and how to present it honestly to the buyer.

Keeping a file over several years

A termite question rarely ends with one visit. Keeping a single file that holds the Extension's answers, the technician's reports and the dated photographs makes the next question easier to answer.

Start a file with the first Extension answer, the first technician's report and the first photographs. Add each follow-up report, each new photograph and each change to the building, such as a repair, a regrade or a new bed against the wall. Dated entries are what a later technician, a buyer or an insurer will ask for, and they are much harder to reconstruct from memory.

Review the file once a year, and check the Extension's current guidance on the questions that matter most to the building. Guidance changes, and a file that is reviewed is more useful than one that is only kept.