Kansas City Termite Inspection Service since 2003
Termites and other wood-destroying insects can wreak havoc on your home.
Our experienced termite inspection checks your home inside and out for signs of infestation. Mud tubes, hollow wood, discarded wings, cracked paint, or sagging floors—we find it all during our termite inspection.
Regular termite inspections do more than just protect your home; they can also save you money. Many insurance companies offer discounts on homeowners’ policies when you have regular a termite inspection. Proving that your home is termite-free or properly treated, you may qualify for lower premiums.
For reliable and thorough termite inspection services in Kansas City, trust Bulldog. We’re dedicated to professionalism and putting our customers first, ensuring your home remains secure and termite-free. Contact us today to schedule your home inspection + free termite inspection today.
Subterranean Kansas City Termite Inspection
How to perform a Kansas City termite inspection
Termites are found top-to-bottom inside and outside a home.
Carry a flashlight and long screwdriver to tap or poke soft wood.
This is what you’re looking for:
- Shelter tubes (long mud trails filled with termites) coming up from the ground along the exterior of the home
- Discarded wings outside your home
- Mud tubes or damaged wood along the floor and walls of your garage
- Mud tubes and damaged wood at the sill plate, rim joist, and floor joists around your crawlspace or basement
- Mud tubes causing paint to bubble and peel
How to keep termites away from your Kansas City home
- Don’t store wood on the ground
- Create a 1″- 2″ gap between any siding and the soil.
- Keep crawlspace vents open to minimize moisture and humidity.
- Divert water away from your foundation.
- Seal foundation cracks and gaps.
- Keep vines, bushes, and flowers trimmed away from siding.
Termite Damage And Risks
Subterranean termites are considered the most damaging of all termite species and cause a big chunk of the nearly $5B in property damage insects cause each year.
A typical colony can have between 60,000 and 2,000,000 termites and a small colony can eat 2 to 3 feet of 2×4 per year.
Their damage is NOT normally covered by homeowner’s insurance.
What to Do If You Have Termites In Your Home
Buy an anteater (just kidding).
Call a professional pest control company. There’s nothing you can do to stop them since their nest is underground.
The most comprehensive treatment is a combination of both chemicals (to stop them) and bait traps (to keep them away).
The typical cost is $500-$2000, depending on the size of the colony and the type of treatment you choose.
Kansas City Carpenter Ant Inspection
They will usually build nests in dead tree stumps, old firewood, and rotten fence posts.
They get inside homes by crawling through bushes, holes, and foundation cracks; and along power lines and tree limbs.
Inside, you’ll find piles of frass (looks like sawdust mixed with insect parts) sitting in front of small holes in walls, doors, and windows as they ruin the hidden wooden parts of your home.
If you think you have an infestation, play it safe and call a professional pest control company. Treatment for carpenter ants is different from termites so a professional can tell you what you’re up against and help you create a plan to remove them.
Kansas City Carpenter Bees Inspection
This least common culprit is also the least destructive but no less annoying because they look like bumblebees.
What Carpenter Bees Look Like
Carpenter bees look like bumble bees but with smooth abdomens. Bumble bees have a hairy abdomen.
That’s the easiest way to tell the difference between a Carpenter bee and a bumblebee. Also, female Carpenter bees have a stinger, but males don’t.
Inspecting For Carpenter Bees in Kansas City
You’ll see them buzzing around your home. These are not social insects so there won’t be a hive, just a single solitary bee trying to get by.
They also create smooth, round holes the size of a dime in siding, trim, wood posts, fences, and tree branches.
To add insult to injury, Carpenter bee larvae are a food source for woodpeckers.
Carpenter Bee Damage And Risks
They make holes in wood (the average depth is 6” long, but some can be as long as 10 feet), which is never good. If ignored or undiscovered, this can cause structural damage to the wood over time.
Females have stingers but only sting when threatened. Males are territorial and will try to buzz you away, but without stingers, they can’t hurt you.
What Can You Do If You Have Carpenter Bees?
- Insecticide. there’s no need to call a pest control company in a panic. Just treat the hole, don’t seal it, and let the formula do its thing (better yet, follow the directions on the label). After a while, you can seal the hole.
- If you continue seeing them or they keep coming back, call a pro. They’ll help you get rid of them.
- Paint or stain exposed wood. Carpenter bees have been known to avoid treated or painted wood.
- Last, seal open cracks with silicone-based caulking so they don’t have a place to hide.
Kansas City Termite Inspection FAQs
Yes.
Bulldog Professional Inspection Services has been inspecting for wood-destroying insects in Kansas City since 2003. This includes termites, carpenter ants, and carpenter bees.
