Before a termite inspection, clear safe access to the agreed rooms and external areas. Make roof hatches and subfloor entrances reachable without entering those spaces yourself. Gather earlier reports and treatment records. A trained technician checks accessible areas for termite evidence and risk conditions. The report should record areas that could not be inspected.
TL;DR
- Access sets the limits of the inspection. Locked rooms, stored goods, low subfloors, insulation, unsafe roof spaces, furniture and finished wall cavities all reduce what can be checked.
- Your notes change the recommendation. Where signs appeared, the property's termite history and any building changes all shape what we suggest next.
- The technician looks for shelter tubes, discarded wings, hollow or soft timber and bubbling paint. Moisture and soil touching timber get flagged as risk factors.
- Found live termites or fresh mud while clearing access? Leave it intact, don't spray it, and call.
- A good report lists findings, recommendations, photographs where necessary and every area that couldn't be inspected.
What should you do to prepare for a termite inspection?
Prepare in two parts: open up access, then gather what you know about the property. Access means the technician can reach the roof void, the subfloor, every room, the garage and sheds, and can walk the whole outside wall line. What you know means where and when you saw signs, known leaks, building changes and any earlier termite paperwork. Both decide how much of the property gets checked and what we recommend afterwards.
Access checklist
- Unlock every room, the garage, sheds and any cupboard where plumbing comes up through the floor. Pipe entry points get close attention.
- Clear a path to the manhole and move stored boxes away from it.
- Clear the subfloor entry. On a highset home, move stored items back from the subfloor edges, stairs and timber details so they can be seen.
- Pull furniture and stored goods back from the walls where you can.
- Make the outside wall line walkable. Move firewood, stored timber and boxes off the walls, and tie back dense shrubs planted hard against the house.
- Tell the technician if a meter or fuse box is inaccessible. Leave electrical enclosures closed and keep clear of wiring.
- Leave mud, damaged timber and any termite activity exactly as you find it.
Records checklist
- Where and when you saw signs: mud tubes, wings, soft timber, bubbling paint or live termites.
- A rough sketch of the house and yard with those spots marked. It doubles as your action plan for cutting termite risk once the report is in.
- Known moisture problems: leaking pipes or taps, air-conditioner drip lines, blocked or broken gutters, missing roof tiles and water pooling near the house.
- Building changes: additions, new paving, and garden beds or planters built against the walls.
- Earlier termite reports and any treatment or termite management system paperwork, with dates.
We start with a simple question: what have you seen at the property, and where is it happening? Your notes answer it before we arrive. Termite history, paving, garden beds and nearby timber all change the recommendation we make after the inspection, so a folder of old paperwork saves guesswork on the day.
Which areas does a termite technician check?
At Insight Termite & Pest Solutions, a termite inspection covers the accessible areas of the property: subfloors, roof voids, interiors, exteriors and the ground around the foundations. We use thermal imaging and moisture detection tools to identify termite activity, damage, moisture problems and risk factors. Accessible is the working word. A space that's locked, packed with stored goods, too low to enter or unsafe to walk can't be fully checked, and the report should record it as a limitation.
| Area | What the technician checks |
|---|---|
| Subfloor | Accessible timber members, supports and surrounding areas for termite evidence. Obstructed or unsafe areas remain inspection limitations. |
| Roof void | Shelter tubes, water leaks, wood rot and damaged timber. Sagging or unusually soft roof timbers, and gaps or leaks in the roof. |
| Inside the house | Door and window frames, skirting boards and timber floors, sounded or probed with care so finished timber isn't marked. Blistered paint, stains on walls or ceilings, raised or split floor coverings and every spot where plumbing comes through the floor. Doors and windows that stick. |
| Outside walls and foundations | Shelter tubes coming up from the soil on the house, garage and other structures. The top of the foundation where floor meets wall, slab cracks and expansion joints, gaps where pipes and services enter, and meter boxes set into walls. |
| Garden and surrounds | Soil touching timber, such as fences, stairs, trellises and posts sunk into the ground. Mulch, woodpiles, stumps, landscape timbers, planters built against the house, earth-filled patios and timber splashed by pool water. |
The building type changes where the time goes. Older homes, additions, paved areas, slab edges, subfloor spaces and difficult side access can all change the recommended approach. Highset homes may have accessible subfloor edges, stairs, stored items and timber details that need checking. On a slab home, the technician works the slab edge and any cracks or expansion joints, where degraded foundation material can let termites through.
Our inspection is pest and timber pest scope only. It records termite activity, timber damage and the conditions that help termites. Our credentials include Infraspection Institute Certified Thermographer.
What signs of termites does a technician look for?
A technician looks for mud shelter tubes, discarded wings, timber that sounds hollow or feels soft, bubbling paint and doors or windows that start to stick. Shelter tubes are the tunnels termites build to travel between the nest and their food, and they're typically found on foundations and lower walls. Any one of these signs calls for a closer look.
Hollow timber comes from the way termites feed. They eat the inside of the wood and leave the outer layer in place, so a skirting board can look sound and still ring hollow when tapped.
Bubbling paint and stains need more thought. Termites feeding behind a surface can cause the moisture that lifts paint. A plain water leak can stain a wall too, and that leak can decay timber and help termites move in. The technician has to work out which one is going on, and moisture detection is part of that call.
Discarded wings come from flying termites, called alates, after they swarm. Drywood termites leave tiny pellet-shaped droppings known as frass, and finding frass near timber is a strong sign termites are present.
Which conditions make a property more likely to get termites?
Termites are drawn to moisture and to places where soil meets timber. A technician flags soil against untreated wood, wet soil or pooled water close to the building, cracked or permeable foundations, and garden timber such as mulch, woodpiles and stumps near the house. We record these as risk factors, because they shape the advice even when no termites turn up on the day.
Moisture comes from downpipes, taps, leaking water lines, air-conditioner drip lines, sewer lines, standing water, and blocked or broken gutters and roof tiles. Mulch piled high against the walls holds damp against the house.
Soil contact is the other half. Earth-filled patios, planters built against the house and patio steps sitting in soil all give termites a way to the building. Timber fences, decks, landscape timbers and posts sunk into the ground are food sources close to home.
Construction, soil conditions, access, moisture, termite history, paving, garden beds and nearby timber all change our recommendation. Write down the ones you already know about. The report's recommendations then tell you which to change.
What should a termite inspection report record?
The report is the record that matters most after the inspection. Ours sets out findings, recommendations and photographs where necessary. It should also list every area that couldn't be inspected and why, so you know exactly which parts of the property the findings cover.
Ask for limitations to be clearly recorded. A clear result on the rooms we checked says nothing about a locked shed or a roof space too unsafe to enter. If activity is found, the next step is based on the inspection.
Keep your own sketch and notes with the report. Together they give you a plan for reducing termite risk around the property. For help with the wording, see how to read a termite inspection report.
What should you do if you find termites while preparing?
If you uncover possible live termites or fresh mud while clearing access, leave the area undisturbed and don't spray it. Call 0490 304 848 and keep the activity intact for inspection. Clearing stored goods and garden beds can expose termite activity, so know the plan before you start moving things.
Some published DIY checklists tell you to break a piece off a mud tube to test whether it's moist and active. Leave that test for the inspection. Termites build those tubes to travel between the nest and their food, so an intact tube shows the technician where they're moving.
Inspection comes first. Treatment depends on activity, access, construction and risk factors. You can book a termite inspection in Rockhampton or send us the details with the pest, suburb and urgency.
When is a DIY termite check enough?
A DIY walk-around is enough to prepare the property and spot risk conditions. Book a professional inspection when parts of the property are out of reach or you find evidence of past or present termite activity.
The spaces that limit a professional inspection, such as low subfloors, unsafe roof spaces and finished wall cavities, limit a DIY check even more. We bring 10 years of pest and termite experience to every home, rental, business and property inspection, and we cover Gracemere, Rockhampton and Central Queensland.