The question, “Do Sequim homes have termites or pests” does come up quite regularly.  If you’re in California or Colorado, or if you have lived on the east coast all your life where some homes are 200 or 300 years old and where termites are not uncommon, it is a perfectly logical question. 

Do Sequim Homes Have Termites or Moisture Ants?

Tree Ants, Photo Taken With an iPhone

Do Sequim Homes Have Termites or Obnoxious Pests?

In the 18 years I’ve lived in Sequim and practiced real estate law and real estate brokerage, I have only seen one home that had a termite problem.  I have heard rumors of a few other homes that had termites, but clearly we don’t have a major or even significant termite problem.  They are quite rare.  I cannot say that Sequim homes have termites to any significant degree.

Do Sequim Homes Have Termites or Ants?

I sold one other home that had signs of possible “moisture ants,” but there were no ants present.  The key to recognizing any kind of pest problem is damp soil in a crawl space where old wooden beams from the house are resting in the moist or muddy soil.  New homes are not built this way anymore, and most older homes built within the last 40 or 50 years also do not have wooden supports that are touching the dirt in a crawl space.  Concrete pads or steal posts were used to separate the house from the dirt.

We also do not have other pest problems of any significant level.  Rats are not a problem.  We do not have poisonous snakes.  Spiders are not a problem, and we don’t even have poisonous spiders.  [Someone will say we do, but I’ve never seen one, nor do I know anyone who has seen one.  Apparently there was a Black Widow in Sequim, and it bit someone about seven years ago.  That made the newspapers.]  We do have mice, but they are easily eliminated with a couple of mouse traps.

The answer to the question, “Do Sequim homes have termites?” is no, but I recommend that all my clients still hire a professional inspector to do a careful inspection under the house and around the foundation to look for wet or damp soils.  If we find standing water under a house or mud in the crawlspace, we know that even if there are no pests, we still have moisture problems that could be the cause of mold buildup and rotting beneath the house.  Drainage around a house is a bigger issue here than pests.

Of course, none of this negates the need to pay attention to annually spraying for common spiders or ants around a house or on the property.  We do have professionals in the county who keep busy doing that as well as helping people eliminate bee nests or hornet nests on a home or in trees close to a house.

Last Updated on August 2, 2012 by Chuck Marunde