| Mold and mildew can occur in your home at almost | | | | behind fascia, soffits or other trim.Make your house |
| any time of the year, if the moisture content of building | | | | less accessible, by avoiding wood-earth contact |
| materials is twenty percent or greater. (You should | | | | around the house and keeping exterior trim in good |
| start to notice mouldy odors.) A good plan of attack | | | | repair. Keep shrubbery trimmed back, remove tree |
| begins with decreasing dampness and increasing | | | | stumps and inspect regularly for shelter-tubes or any |
| ventilation. Maintain a negative slope away from your | | | | signs of damage, especially in dark, unventilated areas. |
| house; and ensure that evestroughing, down-spouts | | | | Pay particular attention to wooden decks and stairs, |
| and drains are free of debris, and properly directing | | | | and areas where the structure rests on the foundation |
| water away from your foundation wall.Wood-decaying | | | | wall, and especially in crawl spaces or any area with |
| fungi attack wet wood, or wood in extremely humid, | | | | an earthen floor. Probe wooden structures with a |
| unventilated areas. They can cause serious damage | | | | sharp tool, as termites often leave no surface |
| to wooden structures. To inhibit rot, remove the source | | | | indications.Look for shelter tubes, seal cracks in |
| of moisture and improve ventilation, the same as for | | | | foundation walls and check where pipes enter exterior |
| mould and mildew. Wet rot is characterized by dark, | | | | walls. Termites swarm to create new colonies closer |
| spongy wood, and members infested with dry-rot | | | | to sources of cellulose; so be on the lookout, especially |
| become brittle and cracked.Subterranean termites are | | | | in the spring, for large numbers of flying insects or |
| found in Southern Ontario and British Columbia, where | | | | discarded wings.If you suspect a colony, especially of |
| they feed on wood and can damage houses. Termite | | | | termites, contact your local environmental agency, or |
| colonies nest underground, foraging for wood to | | | | call a licensed, professional exterminator.Copyright Gil |
| satisfy their appetite for cellulose. Termites can travel | | | | Strachan - All rights reserved.Gil Strachan is a |
| above ground, and often into houses, via shelter tubes | | | | professional home inspector, representing Electrospec |
| constructed of sawdust and saliva. Termites are | | | | Home Inspection Services in east-central Ontario, |
| similar to ants, but with straight bodies and | | | | Canada since 1994. Visit to learn more about home |
| antenna.Carpenter ants and powder-post beetles are | | | | inspections."The Home Reference Book" |
| also common in Southern Ontario. They don't ingest | | | | You can probably find a home inspection for a little |
| wood as termites do, however colonies nesting in | | | | less than what we ask, but you probably won't find the |
| wood can cause considerable damage. Look for | | | | Home Reference Book. A $60 value, this |
| sawdust and frass (excrement) near exit holes in | | | | solutions-oriented reference tool comes free with |
| wood. Carpenter bees are similar in appearance to | | | | every inspection we perform.It's the first tool you |
| bumblebees, and nest in exterior spaces such as | | | | should have around the house! |