Pest Control When Selling a Home: WDO Reports, Treatments, and Who Pays

A WDO (wood-destroying organism) inspection costs $75–$200 and is lender-required in many transactions, especially VA loans. On the seller side, a $1,200 termite treatment plus a transferable bond is frequently cheaper than the price reduction a bad inspection triggers. Known infestations and past termite damage are disclosure items in most states, and hiding them is the expensive path. Order the inspection early — treatments scheduled close to closing need slack.

The WDO inspection

A wood-destroying organism report is a state-regulated form, not a general home inspection. It documents visible evidence of termites, wood-decay fungi, and wood-boring beetles, plus conditions that could lead to infestation — wood-to-soil contact, excessive moisture, and debris in crawlspaces. Lenders and VA appraisers frequently require one; many conventional buyers order one anyway.

• Cost: $75–$200, sometimes more for crawlspaces with limited access or multi-structure properties.
• Who can do it: licensed inspectors; in most states the inspection function is licensed separately from treatment.
• What it does not cover: damage that is not visible or accessible. Inspectors report what they can see, which is why the report language matters as much as the findings.

See what a termite inspection includes for the full scope.

Seller side: treatment math vs price cut

The instinct is to ignore the report and hope the buyer does not push. That rarely works, because the buyer’s lender may require treatment anyway, and a second report will surface the same findings. The comparison:

A $1,200 treatment plus a transferable bond is often the cheapest line item in the entire transaction. It also gives the listing a clean paperwork package — the report, the treatment record, the warranty, and the renewal terms — which is exactly what a nervous buyer wants to see.

Disclosure duties

Most states require sellers to disclose known infestations and known past termite damage on the property disclosure form. That includes damage that was repaired. The failure mode that costs real money is not the termite; it is the failure to disclose, which can convert a routine repair into a misrepresentation claim after closing. Disclose in writing, attach the report, and let the paperwork do the work.

Buyer side: order your own inspection

When the seller’s paperwork is thin — an old report, no treatment record, a warranty with no renewal receipts — order your own. A second inspection at $75–$150 is trivial against the exposure. The point is not to catch the seller lying; it is to establish the condition of the property on a date you can rely on, with a licensed inspector who answers to your state’s regulatory board.

Ask the inspector to photograph any evidence and to state clearly in the report whether the findings are active or old. “Old damage, no active evidence” and “old damage, active in a second area” are very different negotiation positions.

Negotiation patterns

• Treatment credit vs seller-completed work. A credit is cleaner — no scheduling delay, no arguments about who chose the vendor. But a seller-completed treatment with a transferable warranty is often worth more than the credit, because the bond survives closing and covers the buyer.
• Who holds the bond. Confirm the warranty transfers to you as buyer, in writing, before closing.
• The transfer fee. Nobody budgets it. Bond transfers commonly run $0–$100, occasionally more on third-party-backed warranties. Know the number and put it in the closing documents.
• Section 22 versus Section 1 findings. If a report distinguishes active damage from conditions that could lead to damage, negotiate the active findings first and treat the preventive items as a separate conversation.
• Repair scope. If damage repair is on the table, get a separate licensed contractor’s quote. A pest company’s bond does not pay for carpentry beyond its stated cap.

Timing

Treatments scheduled near closing are a common source of blown deadlines. Some products require a window before re-entry or before a re-inspection can produce a clean report. If the deal has a 30-day close and the inspection report lands on day 18, the schedule is already tight.

• Order the WDO inspection at the same time as the general home inspection.
• If active termites are found, get the treatment scheduled within a week.
• Confirm whether the lender requires a re-inspection or a clean report before funding.
• Collect the treatment record, warranty, and transfer paperwork into the closing package before the final walkthrough.

Pesticide applications follow the product label and state licensing rules, and protected species — bats, certain birds, and wildlife in general — get legal handling only, which can add time to a schedule. Build the slack into the contract dates rather than discovering it five days before closing.