Home Buyer Beware: Protect Yourself With a Professional Pest Inspection

Home buyers have a lot on their minds when they start to shop for a home. When investigating a potential house, many people hire professionals to inspect the structure, plumbing, and electrical systems to avoid any unexpected expenses. One inspection they may forget, however, is a pest infestation check. Hidden problems can exist even in new buildings and homes that look immaculate.

Take a Look at an Escrow Inspection

Experts offer plenty of tips for homebuyers and homeowners who want to know the signs of pest infestation. These tips can help people make an early detection, but the only guaranteed assurance of a pest-free home is through a professional pest inspection.

Homebuyers that want to check around on their own should watch for certain signs during the home walk-through. Check on floors and in cupboards for specks that could be droppings. Chewed paper or insulation in attics or walls or holes along baseboards can mean rodent problems. Termites may leave sawdust around doorframes, holes in wood and sagging beams.

Check the corners of windowsills for insect bodies, look in the dark corners and recesses of the basement for nests or open areas where rodents could enter. Sneak a look at any mattresses in the home for signs of bed bugs. Any rust-colored marks along the seams of the mattress could mean the critters have set up residence.

Call a Professional Home Inspector

Homeowners need to know for certain if a pest problem once existed and is now gone, or if the home still needs treatment. A professional pest control service is the only resource that can give a genuine answer. An inspection lets the home buyer know what problems (if any) exist and gets them a reliable quote for how much it will cost to make the home pest-free.

Homeowners may have previously treated the home for an infestation but did not invest the time and effort needed to clean up afterward. A pest inspection can reassure the buyer that their dream home is safe, but it can also give them the opportunity to learn more about potential problems in the area.

Knowledge of the types of pests that put the home at risk makes it easier to set up effective preventative programs. Homeowners can choose to have a pest maintenance treatment annually or to have regular inspections during the time they own the home. These services can help to save money because they avoid the cost of repairs later.

Know the Cost

New homeowners may not realize how much it can cost to stop an infestation and clean up the damage. Bed bug extermination services are expensive and severe infestations take time and skill to treat.

Pet-free homeowners may discover they are now living with the fleas left behind by the pets of the previous owners. The service to resolve this concern is relatively cheap, but the cost rises if new pets move in before the fleas are detected. Flea treatments from the vet add up quickly in multi-pet households, and some pets need extra treatment due to allergies from the parasites.

The most concerning pest problem for many is the risk of a termite infestation. A severe infestation in a large home could cost $2,500 or more to kill the bugs. The estimate does not include the repair of any damage to the structure of the home. It could cost thousands more to repair the damage if the pests were well-established in the home.

Call us at Craig & Sons Termite & Pest Control, Inc , to avoid the worry and unexpected expense of a pest problem in a new home. An escrow inspection gives the homebuyer the opportunity to adjust their offer to cover the cost of pest removal and repairs. Contact us today to schedule an inspection.