Insect Damage
There are many types of insect damage and several will be discussed – carpenter ants, carpenter bees, termites and wood borers. Evidence is often seen in the “frass” or fresh wood dust left behind or in holes of various sizes. In all cases, the insects need to be removed (sometimes through extermination) and the damaged wood replaced or residual holes filled. One unsuspected insect damage that is often run into is honeybees forming hives within buildings. These generally do not cause structural damage, but depending on the size of the hive and how to get access to the hives to remove them, siding often has to be removed. For most destructive insects, the buzzing or swarming of the insects seasonally is evidence along with, for termites, generally mud trails. See each entry for insect damage and use this classification if it is too early to determine the exact specie causing the damage. See Carpenter Ants –CA, Carpenter Bees – CB, Termites – TE, Wood Borers – WB.