A home is one of the biggest – and one of the most exciting – investments you’ll make in your lifetime. To protect that investment, it’s important to keep an eye out for pests that could be lurking beneath the surface of your dream home.

During the inspection process, you’ll want to ensure that the home is checked for a variety of pests that are common to the Toronto area. By doing this, you can protect your purchase from costly damage in the future. Below, we’ve listed a few of the most common Toronto-area pests that should be on your move-in checklist.

Termites

As a homeowner, you’ll want to avoid termites at all costs. These pesky creatures can cause extensive damage to your home and leave you with tens of thousands of dollars in repairs.

Termites feed on wood but can also damage insulation, books, paper, and even the filtration systems and liners of swimming pools. They can also cause damage to trees and shrubs on your property. Termites are typically brown or black with a long, unsegmented body. The swarmers have wings.

When purchasing a home, make sure a termite inspection is done by a qualified pest control company. Technicians will know what to look for to find evidence of termites and ensure you don’t have any unexpected trouble when you move in.

Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are named for their nest-building prowess. They create an intricate system of tunnels inside wood for their nests – nests that can include up to 50,000 ants. Carpenter ants are about a quarter-inch long and can be black, red, or brown in color.

An infestation by carpenter ants can be tricky to discover since the only real indication of the problem is the presence of swarmer or worker ants and small openings in the wood that lead to their tunnels.

A qualified Toronto ant pest control expert will know what to look for when it comes to carpenter ant infestation, which is something a normal house inspection may not find.

Powderpost Beetles

Another pest you do not want to purchase along with a new home is the powderpost beetle. These beetles are about a quarter-inch long and black or reddish-brown in color. Powderpost beetles like to lay their eggs on the surface of cracked wood. Once hatched, the larvae then burrow into the surface of the wood.

This type of pest may not get as much attention as a termite, but they can do just as much damage. They will destroy wood and wood products across your home if they begin to infest, causing a great deal of damage that can be expensive to repair.

Carpenter Bees

The presence of bees is normally a good thing – but not when it comes to the carpenter bee. These bees drill holes into wood to create a tunnel to build a nest. They will destroy any type of wood, from trees to eaves to wooden supports for buildings and other structures.

Carpenter bees look similar to bumblebees but have smooth and shiny abdomens instead of yellow, fuzzy ones. The most common signs of a carpenter bee infestation are the smooth, round holes they leave in wood. It’s important to regularly inspect your home and surrounding buildings for these telltale holes so you can catch signs early.

 

Buying a new home is exciting, but you don’t want to buy more than you bargained for To make sure the home is free from pesky pests, it’s essential to have a pest inspection done before moving in by Toronto exterminators.

 

About the Author:

Daniel Mackie, co-owner of Greenleaf Pest Control, is a Toronto pest control expert and a regular guest on HGTV. He is renowned in the industry as an innovator of safe, effective pest control solutions. Mackie and business partner Sandy Costa were the first pest control professionals in Canada to use detection dogs and thermal remediation for the successful eradication of bed bugs. In his free time, he is an avid gardener.