It’s not just the characters in The Wizard of Oz that must be on the look out for frightening animals – it’s also certified home inspectors, and their watchfulness during a real estate inspection should also include insects.

Now it’s probably an exaggeration to say that they must watch for animals and insects themselves, but more accurately the signs of their presence, which can point to serious infestation issues in the house. Solid home inspection training will introduce you to a wide range of varmints that can invade a house. 

 In terms of insect infestation, one of the most notorious offenders is the world-famous termite. There is so much to look at with termites, that we’ll devote an entire article in the future to the subject of termites, so we can do their mischief justice. For now, however, we’ll just look at ants, beetles, bees and wasps.

Ants survive in a home when they find a source of moisture. Unlike termites, they don’t eat wood, but often damage the house when building their nests. Little piles of sawdust-like material often point to a nearby nest. Many beetles are a problem too, because their larvae can damage wood; tiny holes in wood are a good indication that beetles are near.

Bees often dig into siding or trim to lay their eggs, whereas yellow jackets build a paper-Mache like nest in the nooks and crannies of the house. The safest way to handle yellow jackets is to spray the nest at night when the colony is dormant.