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newSchoolWorks.com › VoTechWorks › Agriculture, Environment & Public Service › Pest Control Technician › Termite and Wood-Destroying Organism Identification, Inspection, and Control › Lesson 2
AGR-PEST78-04 · Lesson 2 · 7 clock hours · demo

Termite and WDO Inspection Procedures and Report Writing

Objective. Students will perform a complete WDO inspection of a mock residential structure following a systematic inspection sequence, correctly using all standard inspection tools, and produce a written inspection report that captures all planted evidence items at 100% detection rate.

⚠ Pending professional review

This lesson, its worked examples and its practice questions has not yet been verified by a licensed professional in the field or by a certification or approval body. It is a study draft and may contain errors. Do not use it as instructions for work on a job site or on live equipment. Always follow your instructor, your supervising professional, and current official references and regulations.

VoTechWorks program approval and accreditation are still in progress. Credentials are issued only by the certifying bodies named in each program, after their own exams.

Why Inspection Procedure Matters

A WDO (Wood-Destroying Organism) inspection is a systematic, documented examination of a structure to find evidence of termites, wood-destroying beetles, wood-decay fungi, and similar organisms. The word systematic is key. Inspectors who jump from zone to zone miss evidence. A repeatable sequence—performed the same way every time—protects the homeowner, protects you legally, and forms the foundation of every treatment recommendation you will ever write.

In most states a licensed pest control technician must follow a state-approved inspection protocol and produce a written report on a compliant form. Learn the sequence now; the credential exam will test it, and the law requires it on the job.

Standard Inspection Sequence: Head to Toe

Work from the outside in, then from the bottom up. A widely used sequence is:

1. Exterior perimeter — Walk the entire foundation line. Look for mud tubes on foundation walls, damaged wood at grade level, wood-to-soil contact, and moisture conditions (poor drainage, buried wood debris).

2. Crawl space — Enter carefully. Inspect sill plates, floor joists, subfloor sheathing, piers, and girders. Mud tubes running up piers or foundation walls are a primary subterranean termite sign.

3. Interior ground floor — Check expansion joints, door frames, window sills, utility penetrations, and baseboards. Probe suspect areas.

4. Attic — Inspect rafters, sheathing, and any wood near roof penetrations. Look for frass (termite or beetle excrement), exit holes, and staining from moisture.

5. Exterior wood features — Eaves, fascia boards, deck ledgers, and wood fences or trellises attached to the structure.

Document as you go. Do not rely on memory.

Using Inspection Tools Correctly

Flashlight (minimum 200 lumens): Aim light at a low angle (raking light) across wood surfaces to reveal surface irregularities such as bubbling paint or slight depressions that indicate galleries beneath.

Steel probe or flathead screwdriver: Sound wood by tapping lightly with the handle, then probe suspect areas with the tip. Hollow sounds and easy penetration into solid-appearing wood indicate internal damage. Use light, controlled pressure—excessive force destroys evidence and can damage uninfested wood.

Rubber mallet: Used for sounding larger structural members. A dull thud compared with the crisp ring of sound wood signals hollowing.

Pin-type moisture meter: High moisture content (generally above 19% in wood) promotes decay fungi and attracts certain WDOs. Place pins perpendicular to the grain and read the display. Record the reading and location on your form.

Telescoping inspection mirror: Allows you to see around pipes, behind obstructions, and into confined spaces without repositioning your body. Keep the mirror clean; a foggy mirror is useless in a dark crawl space.

Recognizing Evidence

| Evidence | Likely Organism |

|---|---|

| Mud tubes on foundation | Subterranean termites |

| Frass (pellets, like fine sawdust or sand) near wood | Drywood termites or wood-boring beetles |

| Exit holes (round or oval) in wood surface | Wood-boring beetles |

| Stained or discolored wood, soft spongy texture | Wood-decay fungi |

| Damaged probe points, galleries following grain | Termites (subterranean or drywood) |

Recording Findings in Real Time

Fill in your inspection form as you move through each zone—not after you leave the structure. Include:

Accessibility limitations must always be noted. If you cannot inspect an area, you cannot certify it as free of WDOs.

Writing the Homeowner-Ready Report

A WDO report has two audiences: the homeowner (or buyer) and any reviewing authority. Write in plain language. Avoid jargon like "CWC" without spelling it out. A good report includes:

1. Property address and date

2. Inspector name and license number

3. Scope of inspection (areas inspected and areas not inspected, with reasons)

4. Findings organized by zone

5. Recommended corrective actions (e.g., eliminate wood-to-soil contact, treat active subterranean termite infestation, repair moisture source)

6. Signature and statement of limitation — an inspection is a snapshot in time and does not guarantee future infestation

Use location language that a non-specialist can picture: "the north crawl space, beneath the master bedroom" rather than "zone 3."

Safety During Inspections

Key terms10

WDO (Wood-Destroying Organism)Any organism capable of structurally damaging wood in a building, including termites, wood-boring beetles, and wood-decay fungi; the category inspected and reported under most state licensing programs.
Mud tubeA pencil-width tunnel constructed of soil, wood particles, and saliva by subterranean termites to maintain humidity while traveling between the soil colony and an above-grade food source.
FrassExcrement and debris expelled by wood-destroying insects; drywood termite frass appears as tiny, uniform, six-sided pellets, while wood-boring beetle frass is fine powder.
SoundingThe inspection technique of tapping wood with a probe handle or rubber mallet and listening for a hollow sound that indicates internal galleries or decay.
Pin-type moisture meterAn instrument that drives two small pins into wood and measures electrical resistance to estimate moisture content; elevated readings above roughly 19% indicate conditions favorable to decay fungi and some WDOs.
Raking lightA flashlight technique in which the beam is held at a low angle nearly parallel to the wood surface, causing surface depressions, bubbling, or galleries to cast shadows that make them visible.
Access limitationAny condition—stored belongings, finished walls, locked spaces, or structural barriers—that prevents the inspector from visually examining an area; must be documented on the inspection report.
Inspection reportThe written, signed document produced after a WDO inspection that records all findings by zone, lists inaccessible areas, and recommends corrective actions; required by most state licensing regulations.
Wood-decay fungiFungal organisms that break down cellulose or lignin in wood, producing soft rot, brown rot, or white rot; require sustained elevated wood moisture content to become established.
ProbingUsing a steel probe or screwdriver tip to test wood firmness; easy penetration into apparently sound wood indicates insect galleries or fungal decay below the surface.
In class: Instructor demonstration of a head-to-toe WDO inspection on the school's training structure or a designated practice area: students observe proper use of a flashlight, probe/screwdriver, moisture meter, sounding tool, and telescoping mirror while the instructor narrates each zone inspected (foundation, crawl space, sill plates, subfloor, wall voids, attic, exterior wood), explains access limitations, and shows how to record findings in real time on a standard inspection form · Paired practice inspection: each pair of students conducts a full mock inspection of the same structure after the instructor has placed a set of 10 pre-identified evidence markers (mud tube sections, frass deposits, stained wood, damaged probe points); students use the inspection form to document location, organism suspected, and severity, then compare their completed forms against the master evidence list · Report-writing workshop: students draft a homeowner-ready WDO inspection report from their practice findings, then exchange reports with another pair for peer review against a grading rubric that checks for completeness, accurate location descriptions, recommended corrective actions, and professional language; the instructor leads a whole-class debrief on common errors
Materials: Flashlight (minimum 200 lumens), flathead screwdriver or steel probe, pin-type moisture meter, rubber mallet, telescoping inspection mirror, knee pads, disposable Tyvek coveralls, nitrile gloves, standard WDO inspection form (state-compliant template), clipboard, pencil, evidence-marker set, peer-review rubric, NPMA inspection reference card
Check: Students must locate and document at least 9 of 10 planted evidence items (90% detection) and submit a written inspection report that earns a passing score of 75% or higher on the rubric; any student below either threshold repeats the inspection with a fresh evidence set before advancing

Practice check8

Answer each question, then check it. Nothing is recorded; this is your own practice.

WDO Inspection Procedures
1. During a crawl-space inspection you tap a sill plate with your probe handle and hear a hollow sound. What is the correct next step?
WDO Identification and Biology
2. A pin-type moisture meter reading on a floor joist returns a value well above 19%. What is the primary concern this finding raises?
WDO Inspection Procedures
3. You are inspecting a home and find that the homeowner has stacked boxes against a section of the interior foundation wall, blocking access. How should you handle this on the inspection report?
Report Writing
4. Which description of evidence location on a WDO inspection form is most useful to a homeowner or a follow-up technician?
WDO Identification and Biology
5. Small, uniform, six-sided pellets found beneath a window frame most strongly suggest which organism?
WDO Inspection Procedures
6. What is the primary purpose of using raking light technique with a flashlight during a WDO inspection?
Safety and Personal Protective Equipment
7. During an attic inspection you find pipe insulation that appears to be the original material from a home built in the early 1970s, and you suspect it may contain asbestos. What is the correct action?
WDO Control Recommendations
8. Which of the following recommended corrective actions would be appropriate to include in a WDO inspection report where wood-to-soil contact was observed at a deck post?
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