Pest inspections can feel like a huge expense but they’re great investments at preventing future damage or further complications, if there are already pests present. In some cases, they’re required, while other times, they’re optional but a good practice to adopt.
A pest inspection will help you determine whether or not pests are an issue in your current property or if they could be a problem in a potential purchase. This article will explain everything you need to know about pest inspections, including why they’re so important and what they cover.
Types of Pests Your Inspector Will Look For
A pest inspection is a thorough evaluation of your home and property for the presence of insects, rodents, and other pests. This is often required for landlords, businesses, and those selling their property or renting it out as part of their due diligence.
Pests can invade any structure from homes to stores to even trucks, railroad cars, and planes. An owner’s first line of action in successfully controlling, preventing, and clearing pests is through a pest inspection.
Getting one before acquiring or selling a property, and having regularly scheduled pest inspections will help you avoid costly repairs and potential damage to your property. These are some of the most common pests to look out for:
- Termites and wood-destroying insects (e.g., carpenter ants)
- Rodents (e.g., mice, rats and squirrels)
- Spiders
- Cockroaches
- Bedbugs
What Happens in a Pest Inspection in Melbourne
A pest inspection is a thorough visual inspection of the interior and exterior of your home or property. It covers all areas where pests may be entering or living. These areas include:
Bathrooms, utility rooms, and kitchens
Termites can get into the house through the plumbing. The inspector will see if there are any gaps around the outside of pipes or other fixtures that could allow the pests into your home.
Baseboards, door frames, windows, walls, the insides of cabinets and closets
Inspectors will check for gaps around window frames and baseboards, as well as in the walls where pests can hide or go through. They’ll also look for signs of termite damage or droppings.
The garage and attic, or any crawl space
These parts could also develop mud tubes, which are tunnels made by subterranean termites to get from their nests to food sources outside.
The exterior walls of your house
Both sides of the house should be inspected, as well as any trees or shrubs that are close by. Signs of chewing on wood, mud tubes, sand pellets and other signs of subterranean termites should be looked for.
The foundation of your home
They’ll check for damage to wood, mud tubes, and evidence of moisture problems (such as fungus growth). These can indicate termite activity or water intruding into your home’s structure.
The roof shingles on your roof
The inspector will check for any signs that shingles are damaged (such as curling up) or missing altogether. This could indicate that rodents have been nesting in these areas.
Surrounding property and yard
The inspector will check for signs of termite infestations. Termites can be found in mulch, lumber piles, firewood and fallen trees. They’ll also look at your yard for other clues that could indicate a problem, such as mud tubes, damaged shrubs, or dead ants on the ground.
Pest inspectors may use a flashlight to inspect cracks along siding or around doors and windows where subterranean termites often uses the plumbing to enter different parts of your home. They may also use other tools.
Professional pest and property inspections take roughly two hours for an average-sized home and definitely longer for larger properties. Inspectors may also want to check other areas, which you can discuss with them beforehand so you can prepare the place.
When to Get a Pest Inspection
A pest inspection is most commonly recommended when buying or selling a home. This is because it can help protect both parties in the transaction by identifying any potential issues with pests before they become an issue down the road.
It allows the seller or the landlord to address them before they become more serious problems that cost thousands of dollars to fix. If the issues are discovered after the new owners have already been moving into the home or have opened the property for business, this could spin to more problems that could’ve been easily avoided.
Inspections can also be useful when making major renovations or repairs to your home. Certain types of building materials are more likely than others to attract pests like mice and rats, so it’s important to know whether any of these materials are present in the structure. Inspections can also help you spot any signs of damage or wear and tear that may not be immediately apparent.
However, it’s best practice to have regular building and pest inspection, Melbourne owners. Annually is highly recommended for most cases, regardless of whether it’s a commercial or residential area.
The Benefits of Getting A Pest Inspection Done
Pest inspections are a great way to make sure that your home and property are free of pests and any other unwanted critters. The benefits of getting a pest inspection done include:
- It will give you peace of mind. You’ll know that you don’t have any unwanted pests in your home or place of business, which means you won’t have to worry about expensive repairs.
- It clears the property for renovation or construction work. Pests can easily infest your home if there are cracks or gaps in the walls or floors. So it’s important to do a thorough inspection before starting any project.
- It reduces the risk of infestation during renovations or construction. Any openings in the walls or floors will always leave a place at risk of pests. The goal is to minimize and control it as much as possible before any tasks begin until it’s finished.
- It helps protect against potential damage caused by pests like termites and rodents (such as rats). These pests can cause significant damage to your property if left unchecked for too long!
Why You Need Pest Inspections in a Nutshell
Pest inspections are just one part of the proactive approach to protecting your real estate from pests. They’re crucial in protecting consumer health and safety for companies, and creates safe homes for residential owners.
A thorough, pest inspection provides a detailed report – with photographs – of every defect. As well as a complete identification of all pests present within the structure. Book an inspection with dependable building and pest inspectors in Victoria.