Certified Home Inspections of Valparaiso, Inc.

Northwest Indiana, Porter County

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Pest Inspection

Termites taking over yard
Termite hill from a real home inspection
Termites eat wood quickly
Termites ate apart and damaged this wood beam
Termite Hill in Backyard

A Wood Destroying Insect and Organism inspection consists of a thorough and in-depth examination of your home or business for:

  • Subterranean Termites
  • Dry Wood Termites
  • Rodents (Rats, mice, racoon, squirrel, birds)
  • Carpenter Ants
  • Carpenter Bees
  • Powder-Post Beetles
  • Wood-Decaying Fungi (Mold)

Only Indiana State Certified WDI inspectors are specially trained and allowed to perform the pest inspection. The scope of the pest inspection normally includes any structure on the property including fences and garages.

Most Common WDI

There are approximately 220 termite species worldwide; 45 are native to the United States. Certified Home Inspections identifies the most common of species in Northwest Indiana, the eastern subterranean termite. This termite has an economical affect on the United States by causing billions of dollars worth of damage annually.

Termites taking over yard

Fun Facts:

  • Subterranean termite colonies nest in the soil, usually near a food source.
  • Termite colonies grow slowly, taking 5 or more years to reach 50,000.
  • Under favorable conditions, the colony can reach several hundred thousand individuals in a decade.
  • Termites build mud shelter tubes on the side of a home’s foundation wall for protection and survival.
  • They use this tube to travel from their colony into your home.
  • Once inside the home they begin feasting on the wood, also known as your structure.
  • These termites take the eaten wood back to their colonies and share it with their family through the regurgitation process.
  • The shelter tubes they build are often mistaken for mud daubers nest.
  • Termites will also enter your home through cracks in a concrete block foundation, under a front concrete stoop, between a void (brick veneer or stone facing), or in the crawl space.
  • Termites can eat a linear foot of wood in no time at all and affect the integrity of your structure.
For More Fun Facts – and a Mold Inspection – Click Here

WDO Inspections

A WDO, wood destroying organism, inspection can be required by the State of Indiana if you are refinancing your home or purchasing a new home. The inspection must be performed 30 days before closing. Please allow enough time in the event a wood-destroying organism is found and treatment is necessary. Certified Home Inspections will perform a complete visual inspection of your home ( includes moisture meter readings, thermal imaging gun photos, and physical probing) to detect the following conditions in the home:

  • Wood Rot and Decay
  • Surface Biogrowth
  • Sap Stain Fungus
  • Lyctid
  • Bostrichid
  • Anobiid
  • Old water damage
  • Only a trained WDO inspector is qualified to identify these conditions 

Certified Home Inspections will deliver to you our results on the State Inspection Form (NPMA-33) with diagrams of the property, photos (if necessary), and any additional documentation to the homeowner, including recommendations. Certified Home Inspections will also offer the client valuable information during the inspection to help assist with preventative measures in regards to the maintenance of your home and prevention of wood-destroying insects and wood destroying organisms. In addition, we offer Mold air testing and surface swabbing for Mold upon request.

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