I had seen them before, in the backyard of one of my parents’ houses. We had a termite infestation, with food provided by a rotted shed and years of deferred maintenance.

We bought the house in March 1982. In those days, lenders insisted on termite reports as a condition of obtaining a mortgage. We had a termite inspection that said that the house was clean and came with a year’s guarantee. I began demolishing the shed in April 1983, and that’s when the termites appeared. My question is: How did the termites know that the guarantee was up?

We called an exterminator who confirmed that we had termites, and for $500 and a five-year warranty, the technician drilled holes in the concrete along the perimeter of the house and injected them with chlordane, a now-banned chemical treatment, designed to keep the beasts away from the foundation and directed instead toward your neighbors’ houses, unless they’ve had treatments, too.

In most states, termite inspections these days are contingencies in agreements of sale, with the lenders leaving execution up to real estate agents. These sales agreements have what are known as woodinfestation clauses, covering termites, carpenter ants, and other woodboring insects.

If evidence of termite infestation is found, the seller is required to pay to have the problem treated. The repair of the damage is then negotiated between the buyer and the seller. Usually the buyer will only walk away from the deal if the seller will not take care of the damage, which often can run into thousands of dollars.

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