The Pest Inspection Details to Consider Before Hiring
Having a pest inspection done is an easily grasped concept, but, as it were, the devil is in the details. And pest inspection details can make all the difference between avoidance of buying a money pit and getting stuck with one. The reason for such wide discrepancies in pest inspector expertise and performance is both historical and experiential. In this article we will delve into the details behind this service that somewhat falls between the cracks and explain what one should take into consideration before choosing an inspector to hire.
Historically, the pest inspection service was the bailiwick of pest control operators, or exterminators. Their business is to sell applications of pest treatments, and they usually offered free inspections as a sales incentive. When called upon to do a residential inspection of property for sale, these exterminators were easily influenced by agents to report whatever the agent wanted, and their consequent liability was minimal.
When home inspection service became commonplace, it was natural for these professionals to inspect for pests as well as overall house conditions, but they generally lacked sufficient knowledge of biology to do a decent job. Because carpenter ants, termites, and other wood-destroying organisms can inflict devastating damage that is quite expensive to repair, the situation called for stronger regulation. In Washington State, legislation has resulted in stricter pest inspection licensing requirements, and though both pest control operators and home inspectors still perform pest inspections, their separate responsibilities and liabilities are carefully delineated.
Now, Washington State home inspectors have the option not to obtain the pest inspection license, though few exercise this option because it would curtail their service offerings. But to get both licenses means qualifying with two different agencies and meeting two separate and stringent sets of requirements.
For instance, pest inspectors have to prove that they understand the difference between ants and termites, not only in appearance, but also in their infestation and migration patterns, what their wood damage looks like, what their remains look like, and their habitats. Then there are borers (beetles) and fungi (primarily cubic brown rot). They have to know what treatments are appropriate for each insect species, which species re-infest and which ones don't, and when, as in the case with carpenter ants, truly correcting an infestation problem requires eliminating not only the satellite colony within the house but also the parent colony outside.
The home inspector who doesn't have a pest inspection license is limited in his reporting to general conditions conducive to infestation of wood-destroying organisms. (He can't even identify species if he sees them.) The licensed structural pest inspector, on the other hand, is authorized to look for and report on the presence of infestations, culled from a number of evidential clues, and damage to wooden structural members. His resulting inspection report and diagram must be detailed and comprehensive; it's the client's only way of knowing what he's dealing with and the best approach to remedying the problem, plus it serves as a handy guide to any pest control operators called in.
The customer needs to appreciate the value of the pest inspector's expertise, which is often not that apparent. If he chooses the person with the lowest inspection cost, he might discover too late that he isn't authorized to conduct a complete pest inspection. Then he has to hire another home inspector who is authorized, and pay an additional fee to him, just to do that part (or take the substantial risk of forgoing inspecting for pests altogether). Furthermore, the combined expertise of having both licenses creates an added skill, that of understanding interactions or causal relationships between defects and the ability to bring insight and overall perspective to the house condition.
Historically, the pest inspection service was the bailiwick of pest control operators, or exterminators. Their business is to sell applications of pest treatments, and they usually offered free inspections as a sales incentive. When called upon to do a residential inspection of property for sale, these exterminators were easily influenced by agents to report whatever the agent wanted, and their consequent liability was minimal.
When home inspection service became commonplace, it was natural for these professionals to inspect for pests as well as overall house conditions, but they generally lacked sufficient knowledge of biology to do a decent job. Because carpenter ants, termites, and other wood-destroying organisms can inflict devastating damage that is quite expensive to repair, the situation called for stronger regulation. In Washington State, legislation has resulted in stricter pest inspection licensing requirements, and though both pest control operators and home inspectors still perform pest inspections, their separate responsibilities and liabilities are carefully delineated.
Now, Washington State home inspectors have the option not to obtain the pest inspection license, though few exercise this option because it would curtail their service offerings. But to get both licenses means qualifying with two different agencies and meeting two separate and stringent sets of requirements.
For instance, pest inspectors have to prove that they understand the difference between ants and termites, not only in appearance, but also in their infestation and migration patterns, what their wood damage looks like, what their remains look like, and their habitats. Then there are borers (beetles) and fungi (primarily cubic brown rot). They have to know what treatments are appropriate for each insect species, which species re-infest and which ones don't, and when, as in the case with carpenter ants, truly correcting an infestation problem requires eliminating not only the satellite colony within the house but also the parent colony outside.
The home inspector who doesn't have a pest inspection license is limited in his reporting to general conditions conducive to infestation of wood-destroying organisms. (He can't even identify species if he sees them.) The licensed structural pest inspector, on the other hand, is authorized to look for and report on the presence of infestations, culled from a number of evidential clues, and damage to wooden structural members. His resulting inspection report and diagram must be detailed and comprehensive; it's the client's only way of knowing what he's dealing with and the best approach to remedying the problem, plus it serves as a handy guide to any pest control operators called in.
The customer needs to appreciate the value of the pest inspector's expertise, which is often not that apparent. If he chooses the person with the lowest inspection cost, he might discover too late that he isn't authorized to conduct a complete pest inspection. Then he has to hire another home inspector who is authorized, and pay an additional fee to him, just to do that part (or take the substantial risk of forgoing inspecting for pests altogether). Furthermore, the combined expertise of having both licenses creates an added skill, that of understanding interactions or causal relationships between defects and the ability to bring insight and overall perspective to the house condition.