Pest control forces homeowners to pick their poison
From Carol Lloyd’s Surreal Estate column today on SFGate,
At the final meeting with my contractor for the proverbial “punch list” of items to be done on our remodel, I pointed peevishly to some sawdust-y stuff on the floor. “Do you think your guys could be a little more careful about cleanup?”The man smirked. “That’s not my guys — that’s termites,” he said, evidently happy to have caught me blaming him for something beyond the scope of his contract. “You’re going to have to tent the place.”
After eight months of construction that practically gutted every room in the house, I blanched at the idea that I had ended up with a house infested with an insect that was devouring my life savings like a bag of potato chips.
According to the National Pest Management Association, termites cause more than $5 billion in damage every year — more than fire and more than any other wood-destroying insect. Every year more than 2 million homes are treated for termites. What’s worse, this plague usually isn’t covered by homeowner’s insurance. And to add insult to injury, here in Northern California we’re blessed with all three species of termites: subterranean, dry wood and damp wood. [more...]
