"I would refer Guardian Home Inspection to all my friends and family. Overall it was a professional experience and the overall quality of the report, including the pictures was was very impressive."
Todd B., Pittsburgh, PA
Our company conducts the most thorough & intensive home inspections available. Most inspections last between 2 1/2 to 3 hours, depending on the size of the home.
All of our reports are filled with color photos and descriptive, easy to read, recommendations and advice. The discovered issues are listed by priority making it easy for both the homebuyer and seller to understand the issues at hand. We take pride in our reports and
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In addition all of our inspectors are covered by Errors and Omissions & General Liability Insurance as required by PA law.
I guarantee you will be satisfied in the knowledge you will gain from the inspection, and confident in your purchasing decision.
1 (877) 321-5501
SERVICES OFFERED:
Jason Boni
Phone: 877-321-5501
Mobile: 724-777-9019
Email: guardianhi@guardian-homeinspection.com
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What do we look for?....In Pittsburgh, we commonly find three types of wood boring insects:
- Eastern Subterranean Termite
The Eastern subterranean termite is the most common and widely distributed termite in the USA, commonly found from southern Ontario, in all eastern states of the USA including Texas.
Pittsburgh, PA is considered a high risk area for termites.
Termites love to live in warm, moist soil. Because we heat our houses in the wintertime, termites will construct underground networks that enable them to eat at these heated restaurants year round.
Termites construct airtight mud tunnels when they have to leave the soil to get to a food source. These mud tunnels are thin (about the size of a cocktail straw). The mud tunnels will be attached to concrete or concrete block walls, over and around metal termite barriers, plastic, etc. Believe it or not, they can actually construct these mud tunnels as free standing structures from the ground to a wood food source!
- Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are very abundant in Pennsylvania, and are common pests in homes and other buildings. The most common carpenter ants are the familiar “large, black ants” that are one-half inch or more in length and shiny black. Other kinds of carpenter ants, however, are as small as one-quarter inch and are reddish brown or two-toned. One consistent characteristic of all carpenter ants is the smoothly rounded outline of the thorax when viewed from the side.
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- Carpenter Ants
- Carpenter Ant Galleries
Carpenter ants do not eat wood but instead construct their nests in wood such as hollow trees, stumps, logs, posts, landscaping timbers, and the lumber used in homes and other structures. Nests are made by chewing an interconnecting series of tunnels and cavities. Wood is removed as coarse sawdust-like material that is pushed from the nest. The sawdust may include other debris such as dead ants, parts of insects and other food.
Carpenter ants found indoors in the winter usually come from nests somewhere within the house. Ants found indoors during spring or summer could be invaders wandering in from outdoors or they may be foragers from a nest in the wall or ceiling. While there is no easy way to determine the source, it does pay to check carefully before making any treatment.
Locating the source of carpenter ants is as important as it is difficult. It is especially difficult if only a few ants are seen at one time. Our best suggestion is to spend time observing ants to see if you can detect a pattern of movement. In spring and summer carpenter ants are more active at night and observations after sunset, with a flashlight on the outside and inside of the house may give an indication of the source. Presence of sawdust is an important clue in locating ant nests.
- Carpenter Bees
Spring is the season when homeowners begin to notice large round holes in their wooden porch trim. The same people just might happen to mention being dive-bombed by a large bumble bee. These two seemingly unrelated events can mean only one thing: carpenter bees.
Carpenter bees are solitary bees, unlike bumble bees which live in colonies underground. Carpenter bees often return to same nest site each year. They typically nest in softwoods like pine. Carpenter bee entrance holes are almost perfectly round and 1/2-inch in diameter. Carpenter bees do not eat wood but only nest in it, feeding instead on pollen and nectar. They usually build their nests only in horizontal wood members, such as roof trim, siding, steps, decks, and porch railings. Nesting by a single pair of carpenter bees will normally cause only cosmetic damage to wood.
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