What Is a California Termite Inspection Report?

What is a California termite inspection report?

It is a written record, made on a Structural Pest Control Board form, of what an inspector found in the visible and accessible areas of a building: termites, fungus, dryrot and related conditions. It also gives recommendations for correcting them. It reports evidence, or the absence of evidence, and is not a guarantee about hidden areas.

The formal name is a Wood Destroying Pests and Organisms Inspection Report. The contents of the report are governed by the Structural Pest Control Act and its regulations, which is why reports from different companies look familiar. If you are buying or selling a house in Sacramento, you will probably see one in escrow paperwork. If you are simply worried about termites in a bungalow in Land Park or Curtis Park, you can ask for one as well.

The words that matter most are "visible and accessible." An inspector can only report what can be seen and reached without damaging the building. That means a crawl space with a clear path, an attic with a hatch and open framing. It does not mean the inside of a finished wall. A report that finds nothing is a report that found no evidence in the places it could look, not a statement about the whole structure.

Sacramento Pest Control is not the author of these reports. It connects callers with an independent licensed local pest-control company, and the technician from that company performs the inspection. You can read more about the visit on the termite inspection report service page.

How is the report organized?

Reports are organized into sections. Section I covers visible evidence of active infestation or infection, and further items follow. Findings are labelled Subterranean Termites, Drywood Termites, Fungus/Dryrot, Other Findings and Further Inspection. Areas not inspected, such as window and door frames, decorative trim and roof members, may be flagged for further inspection.

Read the report from the top. Section I lists findings of visible evidence of active infestation or infection. Further items follow. Within the findings, the inspector assigns each one a label, and the label tells you what kind of problem it is and which treatment path it points to. This guide does not try to describe every section of the form, because the exact numbering and wording of lower sections has varied in the examples we could verify. When you receive one, read the form itself and ask the inspector to walk you through each line.

The "Further Inspection" label deserves attention. It is the report's way of saying that something could not be seen or reached, or that a condition suggests the inspector should look more closely once access is opened. Do not read it as a failed inspection. It is information, and it often leads to a short follow-up visit once a panel is removed or a hatch is cleared.

Who is allowed to inspect, and what are the three branches?

The Structural Pest Control Board licenses structural pest work in California, in three branches. Branch 1 is fumigation, Branch 2 is general pest and Branch 3 is termite, meaning wood-destroying pests treated by insecticides or structural repairs, excluding fumigation. Licences are limited to the branch or branches the applicant qualified for by examination.

The Board is part of the Department of Consumer Affairs. Its Branch 1 covers control of household and wood-destroying pests or organisms by fumigation with poisonous or lethal gases. Branch 2 covers household pests, excluding fumigation. Branch 3 covers wood-destroying pests or organisms by insecticides or structural repairs and corrections, excluding fumigation. Business and Professions Code section 8560 is the source for those branch definitions.

There are also three licence types. An Applicator is the entry level, limited to Branches 2 and 3, and cannot inject fumigation gases. A Field Representative is the journey level and secures work, identifies, inspects, bids and contracts for a registered company. An Operator is the highest, and only an Operator may qualify a company as its qualifying manager. Every company must be registered with the Board and designate an Operator as its qualifying manager. In the general pest and termite branches all three licences are issued, so Applicators, Field Representatives and Operators licensed in Branch 3 may conduct termite inspections.

For you, the useful point is simple: the person at your door should hold a licence in the right branch, and the company they work for should be registered. The next sections explain how to check.

What happens after the inspection: filing and fumigation rules?

The address of each property inspected, or on which work is completed, must be reported on a Board form and filed with the Board no later than 10 business days after the commencement of an inspection or upon completed work. If the report recommends fumigation, strict posting, notice and supervision rules apply.

The 10-business-day filing is the company's job, not yours, and it comes from Business and Professions Code section 8516. Failure to file is grounds for discipline. Homeowners rarely hear about it, but it is part of why a registered company's inspections are traceable to the Board.

If the recommendation is fumigation, the rules get specific. Fumigation must be done under the direct, personal supervision of a Branch 1 Operator or Field Representative, who is present during release, the start of ventilation and release for occupancy. Warning signs must read "DANGER--FUMIGATION," show a skull and crossbones, name the fumigant, give the injection date and time, and give the registered company's name, address and phone number.

An Occupant Fumigation Notice and Pesticide Disclosure tells people and animals to vacate, and no one re-enters until the company posts the re-entry notice. Sulfuryl fluoride is a California restricted material and a federal Restricted Use Pesticide. UC IPM says occupants and pets may be out from six hours to a week, and monitored fumigation has the highest success rate. The termite fumigation service page describes the process.

How do you verify a company and what if you disagree with a report?

Use Verify a License on pestboard.ca.gov, which leads to the Department of Consumer Affairs License Search. Choose Structural Pest Control Board in the Board and Bureaus field and search by name, business name or licence number. Questions about a report go first to the company manager, then to the Board.

The Board's Enforcement Unit at (800) 737-8188 can tell you whether a company is registered. The Board's number for questions about cancelled licences is (916) 561-8704. If you have a problem with a report, begin with the company's manager. If that does not resolve it, contact the Board at (916) 561-8708, (800) 737-8188 or pestboard.ca.gov.

Sacramento Pest Control does not print licence numbers on this site, and it can give the licence number of the independent licensed local company on request by phone. That is on the About page. Whatever company you hire, look it up yourself using the steps above. It takes a few minutes.

At the county level, the Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner enforces pesticide law locally under the Department of Pesticide Regulation, registers pest-control businesses annually and receives monthly pesticide-use reports due by the 10th of the following month. That is a separate layer from the Board and covers how products are used.

• Search the company by name on the License Search page after choosing Structural Pest Control Board
• Ask the technician for the licence type and branch
• Ask for a copy of the report and the recommendations in writing
• Raise questions with the company manager first, then the Board

What should Sacramento homeowners do with a report?

Read each finding, ask what "Further Inspection" items would involve, compare any recommendation with a second opinion if it is large, and do not feel rushed. For a Sacramento house with a raised floor or crawl space, ask whether the crawl space was accessible and what part of the structure was not seen.

Sacramento's older neighborhoods are a good reason to read carefully. Curtis Park, Land Park and East Sacramento's Fab 40s were built mostly between the 1920s and 1940s, and homes of that age often have raised floors. Subterranean termites need contact with soil moisture, so the crawl space and the foundation line are where evidence tends to show. Our guide to older Sacramento homes and crawl-space pests goes deeper.

Timing matters too. UC IPM says western subterranean termites swarm on calm, sunny days right after the first autumn rains and drywood termites swarm from late summer into fall, so these are the months when homeowners see wings and call. The Sacramento pest calendar lays the year out. If the report recommends treatment, the technician explains the price and you approve it before treatment starts. For general ranges, see what pest control costs in Sacramento.

To book an inspection, call (855) 974-4733. The phone is answered 24/7, and most calls are scheduled the same day when a technician is available.