Termites are un-invited guests no one wants in their home. Who would want some small, silent bug eating away at their walls and foundation? No one.

Termites are known as the silent destroyer. The name is apt because termites can eat away at your home quickly, and do so without immediate, noticeable damage. That’s a scary thought.

Termites. The bane of property owners everywhere. They're active all year long, are found in 49 states, and cause an estimated $5 billion in property damage yearly. The best way to avoid potentially catastrophic damage is to be proactive. That includes scheduling a yearly inspection, and becoming familiar with the signs of termite activity.

Termites can be a huge problem that can require a lot of time and money to reverse. For that reason, prevention may be the key to keeping termites out of your home. However, taking the DIY approach may not be for everyone. It can require chemicals and other applications that are may not be easy to apply. So can you prevent termites yourself? We explore that question, and your options below.

If you’re a real estate agent, you may be wondering if you have to have a termite inspection. The answer is without a doubt, yes. As a real estate agent, it’s your responsibility to both the buyer and the seller to represent a house that is infestation free. Whether you represent the buyer or the seller, it’s important to your job to have happy customers who love their home. No one can feel the love in a house infested with termites.

We choose the words in our blog headlines carefully, and using the term “control” was a deliberate choice today. Why? Because termites can never truly be eradicated. There are billions of termites out in the natural world, and we’ll never get them all. Why would we even try? A termite in the woods does you no harm. It’s only when they get a little closer to the home that we have to worry.

Termites. These are the creatures that, although small, can create thousands of dollars of damage to your home. They work from the inside out, and worst-case scenario, can make your house collapse on top of itself. However, this process isn’t quick, and with an inspection can be detected quite easily. Nevertheless, the lack of inspection gives way to destruction by these pests, and will require more money to fix than the actual cost of getting a professional to look over the structure of your home. Regardless, there are ways you can self-check your home to see if your house is subject to a termite infestation.

Evolution is a funny thing – that’s an interesting way to start a blog about termites and ants, isn’t it? But today we’re discussing the alarming similarities between these two tiny insects. And how else can you explain this outcome? That’s evolution. Centuries or millennia ago, ants and termites may have had a common ancestor. And now; we’re faced with two different critters who look the same, but act remarkably different.

In boxing, there are so many weight classes that it can be difficult to compare boxers – how can the power of a welterweight match that of a light heavyweight? Therefore, we use the phrase “pound-for-pound” to describe boxers in relation to one another. So if a boxer is considered “pound-for-pound” the best, he’s the best boxer in the world, regardless of weight.

Reading stories about the rising cost of living in San Francisco always makes my head spin – how could it cost so much just to live somewhere? We don’t have those kinds of problems here in Bakersfield. While San Franciscans will pay thousands of dollars for tiny apartments, you get plenty of breathing room for a fraction of the cost here. And we have crazy amenities here like “pools” and “backyards.”