Termite and WDI Inspections in Burleson, TX

What a WDI inspection and report cover

The inspector examines the accessible interior, exterior, attic, and any crawl space for live insects, visible damage, evidence of past infestation, and signs of previous treatment. Findings go on Texas's official wood-destroying insect report form, which also lists conducive conditions: features of the property that invite infestation, such as wood in contact with soil or moisture held against the slab. It is a separate service from a general home inspection and operates under a different state license.

That form is the reason to order the WDI report separately rather than assume it is covered. Your general inspector is licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission and can note suspicious evidence, but only the licensed pest professional signs the state form a lender will accept. On a typical Burleson house, most of that inspection happens outdoors, along the strip of exposed slab between the brick and the landscape beds, which is exactly where the conducive-conditions section of the form tends to fill up.

Termites are a real issue in Johnson County

North Texas sits squarely in subterranean termite territory, and the warm climate around Burleson suits them. Subterranean colonies live in the soil and travel into houses through mud tubes they build over foundations and piers. Slab construction does not stop them; they enter through expansion joints, plumbing penetrations, and hairline cracks in concrete. Because termites consume wood from the inside out, a colony can work unseen for a long time, which is exactly why a trained set of eyes at purchase is worth the modest add-on cost.

When a lender requires a termite inspection

Whether a WDI report is required depends on the loan. VA loans commonly require one in Texas because the state is treated as a high-probability area for termite activity. Conventional and FHA loans generally call for a report only when the appraiser or underwriter notes evidence of infestation or damage. Even when nobody requires it, many buyers order a WDI report alongside the general inspection because it screens a structural risk the general inspection is not licensed to certify. Ask your lender early what your loan requires so the report is in hand well before closing deadlines.

Ask that question during the option period, not later. The VA requirement in particular turns up regularly around Burleson, where households moving through the Fort Worth area use the benefit often, and a report ordered late is a report that arrives after your right to terminate has already expired. The practical move is to book the pest professional in the same phone session as the general inspector, so both reports land while you can still act on either one.

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What termite evidence looks like

• Mud tubes about the width of a pencil climbing foundation walls, piers, or plumbing penetrations.
• Wood that sounds hollow when tapped, or blistered and rippled surfaces on trim and paint.
• Discarded wings on windowsills and thresholds, left behind after a spring swarm.
• Small piles of sawdust-like debris, more often a sign of carpenter ants tunneling in wood.
• Soft or crumbling wood at baseboards, door frames, and window trim.

Most of that evidence lives at the ground line on a slab-on-grade Burleson house. Mud tubes climb the exposed concrete between the brick and the soil, which is why inspectors want a clear strip of foundation to look at and why heavy mulch or a raised planter bed against the wall is a problem in its own right. Discarded wings show up on windowsills after a spring swarm. Inside, the tells are subtler: paint that ripples on a baseboard, trim that gives under a thumb.

If the report finds termites or damage

An active infestation is treatable, and treatment is a routine transaction item in this part of Texas rather than an automatic deal breaker. The larger question is damage. Typical resolutions include the seller treating and repairing before closing, a price adjustment or credit that funds the work after closing, or further evaluation when damage appears to reach framing or other structural members. If the damage looks structural, bring in a qualified professional to scope it before you commit, and put whatever the parties agree to in a written contract amendment.

Two Texas mechanics shape how that plays out. Your leverage lives inside the option period, the negotiated window when you can still walk away, so a finding that arrives late leaves you renegotiating without the ability to terminate. And a seller who already knew about an infestation or prior structural damage should have listed it on the Seller's Disclosure Notice, which makes that notice worth rereading the moment a WDI report comes back with findings.

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Keeping termites out after you close

• Keep soil, mulch, and firewood from touching siding or the slab edge, and preserve a visible strip of foundation.
• Fix plumbing leaks and dripping faucets promptly; steady moisture is the strongest attractant.
• Keep gutters clear and route downspouts away from the foundation.
• Trim shrubs back so the slab perimeter stays open and inspectable.
• Consider periodic professional inspections or an ongoing monitoring plan, especially in neighborhoods with known activity.

Those habits pay a second dividend in North Texas. The same discipline that keeps termites out, water routed away from the slab, gutters clear, beds pulled back off the foundation, is the discipline that protects a slab sitting on expansive clay. One walk around the house each season covers both jobs, and the moisture you are managing is the thing both problems feed on.

How Clay Soil and Drainage Affect Your Foundation

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Loan program and lender inspection requirements reflect general practice as of 2026 and vary by lender and loan type. Confirm what your loan requires with your lender.