Tips and Tricks: 5 Tools to Help Ensure a Thorough Termite Inspection

Here are five tools to help ensure a thorough termite inspection:

1. Handheld methane detectors can sense the methane gas termites produce. Insert a probe into the inspection area, and an alarm will sound if the level indicates a termite infestation.
2. Infrared cameras detect temperature differences between termites and the surrounding environment, even behind walls or in other difficult-to-reach areas.
3. Acoustic detectors can monitor a termite’s signature chewing signal. Note, however, that false positives can occur with this tool.
4. Optical borescopes consist of a rigid or flexible tube with an eyepiece on one end and an objective lens on the other. A hole must be drilled into a wall to insert the scope, but it shows how vast the termite damage can be without removing an entire wall.
5. Termite dogs signal when they encounter certain odors. This helps locate termites in inaccessible areas quickly.

Nicky Gallagher is technical services manager for Syngenta Professional Pest Management in North America.