Margriet Huisman

Well, the termite inspection guy has been. It isn’t good news.

He came just after ten this morning. Took a look around. He confirmed right away that it was termites. He examined the walls and and found a whole bunch of places that they were near enough hollow. He says that if you’ve found termites walking around your home they’ve already done a hell of a lot of damage. It’s very depressing news.

What’s more depressing is the price he quoted. This has come at the worst time. We really can’t afford it. But I guess we don’t have any choice. We’ll just have to scrip and save and find the money some how. The alternative is to let the house just fall down. Which is what would happen if we let the infestation just carry on.

It seems like the companies have us over a barrell. Either we pay their crazy price or the house falls down. Which is why we’ve decided to have a few more inspections done. Get a few different quotes on what it’s going to cost.

On the up side, the kids enjoyed it! The were quizzing the inspector about everything to do with termites and bugs in general. I thought they might have been bothering him, but he seemed like a really nice guy and obviously loved talking bugs. I guess he doesn’t get too many people asking him questions about his job!

We have termites. At least I’m pretty sure we have termites.

It happened this morning. The kids were playing in the hall and I heard Olivia shout, “Mom, there’s are bug on the wall.” I didn’t think anything of it and replied, “Don’t worry, honey, it won’t hurt you,” and carried on. Then, a couple of minutes later, I heard another shout, “Mom, there are lots and lots of bugs.” She sounded quite scared.

I went into the hall and sure enough there was a big line of bugs up the wall. At first I thought it was flying ants (although I might just have been hoping they were). I knew there was a good chance they could be termites. I looked up the difference online and sure enough, they were termites.

I got a bit panicky. I know they can destroy a whole house if you let them. Worse of all, I knew it was going to be expensive. And it would be disruptive. We’d have to have the whole house fumigated. The whole tent thing.

By the time Jim got home I was in a bit of a state. I was on the verge of tears. But he calmed me down. And convinced me to have some wine! He rang up and ordered a termite inspection. They’ll be here tomorrow. I guess we’ll have a better idea then of how much it’s going to cost to get rid of the damn things.

And I’m worried about all the chemicals that will be injected into the house. It can’t be healthy for the kids.

OK, I’m freaking out again! I’ll just have to sleep on it and hope things don’t seem so bleak in the morning.

What’s that, Jim? More wine? Don’t mind if I do!