I often have buyers see houses with termite tents on them and get scared. My advice to them is not to worry, it is routine maintenance. Every house in Southern Florida has termites at some point. They are not the subterranean termites you hear about up north that will eat the house. It would require decades of untreated termite infestation to cause structural damage. Luckily, there are many visible signs of termite activity in a home in the Florida Keys. I told my clients that part of owning a home in Southern Florida is tenting it every 5-10 years. Think of it along the same lines of painting the house up North. If you lived on the ocean in New England you would probably have to paint your house every 5 to 10 years. Same idea with tenting for termites in Southern Florida.
Tenting is a fumigation process where the termite company will place tarps, the “tent” over the entire structure and release a fumigants throughout the structure. This fumigant will get into every crevice and crack throughout the structure where termites may tunnel and live killing and eliminating them. This fumigant can also be deadly to people too. The termite company will completely secure the house, lock the tents on in place warning signs around the entire property. Any people or pets must be out of the house during the tenting process which takes 3 to 5 days. After the fumigation process, the termite company will remove the tent and open all windows and doors to let the house air out for a few hours. At that point it is safe to return to the house. The termite companies and manufacturers of the fumigant claim that it is safe to come in the house and live every day life without wiping up or even washing your dishes. That very well may be the case but personally I go on the safe side and wash everything down before returning to normal life in my home.
Tenting your home is a pretty simple process. I make a vacation out of it and go out of town for the days I can’t be in the house. Sometimes I’ll get a hotel locally and play tourist vacationing in Key West. If you’re out and about looking at homes to buy in the Florida Keys and see tents on some of the houses, don’t be alarmed, it is a normal part of homeownership in Southern Florida.
Gary McAdams, PA
Realtor and Notary Public
Barbara Anderson Realty
Key West, Florida
