Is Your Termite Report All Wet?

Does rain effect my termite report?

Yes, it can in several ways.  Some of the more obvious ways are standing water in or around the home.  If there is a roof leak and water is pouring out of the ceiling, this will show up on the termite report.  Also, water around the exterior of the house will be on the report as standing water, but can lead to an inaccessible/further inspection call (IA/FI).

Rain or water up against a home can remove and/or reduce the evidence of termites.  For example, a Subterranean termite mud tube can almost get washed away with rain.  This might sound kind of nice from a report stand point, until the termites come back after the home is closed when the buyers move in.  These are not very pleasant calls.

Water stains resulting from rain cause many problems.  The call is EM/WS, Excessive Moisture/Water Stain.   This is a pretty common call, but can be very challenging to deal with.  The home could have a brand new roof that was replaced several years ago.  But if the water stain was never taken care of, it is now your problem to resolve.

We need rain in the desert, but it does effect termite reports.  Just beware that the results from a termite inspection can be skewed from rain, past or present.