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Live termites are a real estate agent’s nightmare. But they must be reported if found. Most often they are found outdoors in fence posts or in loose material on the ground. Farmer’s sheds have them too. But they will also come inside a dwelling.

There are different ways to see the termites and basically it is experience that leads the inspector on the trail of where they might be.

Termites love remote areas that do not get disturbed. They seal where they live, warm it and moisturize it so that if they are disturbed they will abandon the site. Termites are not aggressive, even for having soldier termites. They are timid.

Termites also eat to the outside surface, and sometimes only the paint remains of a timber member. So a wavy type look on a piece of timber can help an inspector find their damage.

On the ground, they like the cover of dirt and a piece of timber covered by other pieces, lying in the ground, untouched for years, is the classic piece of termite eaten timber. They can be spotted twenty meters away with fifty percent accuracy that they have been termite infected.