What is a wood destroying insect report when buying a house?
The short answer
It is an inspection report on evidence of termites and other wood destroying insects in the accessible parts of a property, often required by a lender before closing. It is a visual inspection with stated limitations, and those limitations are the part that decides how much comfort it actually gives you.
Read these three parts first
- The limitations and inaccessible areas. A crawl space that could not be entered, a finished basement, or a garage full of stored belongings all narrow the finding substantially.
- Evidence of previous infestation and previous treatment. Previous treatment is not a red flag in itself; an untreated previous infestation is a different matter.
- Conducive conditions. Wood-to-soil contact, moisture, drainage and debris under the structure are what the next infestation will use, and they are usually listed even when nothing active was found.
What to do with a finding
Treat it as the start of a conversation rather than a verdict. Get a repair estimate from someone independent of whoever would do the treatment, ask whether any existing warranty transfers, and establish who is paying for what before it becomes a closing-week negotiation.
Book it yourself rather than accepting one arranged by the seller, and clear access to the crawl space before the inspector arrives. Both cost little and both materially change what the report is worth.
Also asked
- Is it the same as a home inspection?
- No. A home inspection covers the structure and systems generally; a wood destroying insect report is a specific inspection for evidence of termites and related insects, often by a licensed pest professional, and is frequently required separately by a lender.
Companies whose reviewers name termites
3,152 pest control businesses in the United States and Canada have reviewers who write about termites. Every listing shows the full rating distribution rather than the average, the share that is one or two star, and whether the owner replies.
Read next
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General information about pest problems and about hiring, not advice about your specific property. Pest control licensing, wildlife protection and landlord and tenant law are all set state by state and province by province across the United States and Canada, so your own regulator is the current answer. How we read the data.