A woodworm survey is a reading of timber, not a hunt for holes. Holes are the exit wounds of beetles that have already left, and a house can be full of them with nothing living in it. What a competent surveyor is establishing is whether there is an active infestation now, what species it is, how far it extends, and what made the timber hospitable in the first place.
Telling active from historic
Fresh emergence holes have clean, light coloured edges and are accompanied by bore dust, a fine gritty powder that collects below and reappears after it is cleared. Old holes darken and the dust does not return. Because emergence is seasonal, a survey in late spring or early summer sees the most evidence, and one in midwinter may have to rely on other signs and a return visit.
Species matters more than most owners expect
Common furniture beetle is the usual finding in British houses and is treatable. Deathwatch beetle in structural oak, or house longhorn in softwood in the areas where it occurs, are different problems with different remedies and different urgency. A survey that names no species has not looked closely enough to price the work honestly.
The moisture question
Beetle infestation follows damp timber, so an active outbreak is normally telling you about a leak, a blocked underfloor vent, a bridged damp course or condensation in a cold roof. Treating the wood without fixing the water is a course of antibiotics without stopping the source of the infection, and it is the commonest reason a treated loft is treated again.
Wood worm in a survey: what the surveyor is actually looking at
Written as one word or two, it is the same thing and the same survey. What the surveyor is reading is not the holes, because holes are permanent and tell you only that beetles emerged at some point, possibly a century ago. They are looking for fresh bore dust below the timber, for holes with clean pale edges rather than grey weathered ones, for the shape and size of the exit hole, which is what identifies the species, and above all for moisture in the timber, because most species need damp wood and will not sustain an attack in a dry roof. A survey that reports holes and recommends a spray without any of that has not been done.
Woodworm specialists near me, and woodworm treatment companies near me: who to call
Most firms that survey for this also sell the treatment, which is not automatically a problem and is a conflict worth naming out loud. If you want an opinion with nothing attached, an independent timber and damp surveyor charges a fee and sells you nothing. If you want the work done, a treatment company will usually survey free and put the cost against the job. Either is reasonable. What is not reasonable is a free survey that finds an infestation in every property it visits, so ask what proportion of surveys end in no treatment, and treat a firm that cannot answer as a firm that never says no.
Woodworm treatment London: why the capital's stock sees more of it
London's housing is overwhelmingly Victorian and Edwardian, with softwood floor joists, boarded floors and roof timbers of an age where an attack has had a long time to happen, and a great deal of it has had a cellar or a ground floor with limited ventilation at some point. That combination is why the capital's surveys report it so often. It does not mean every report needs acting on: the same rule applies as anywhere, which is that an attack in dry timber is usually historic. Where a London property has been recently converted into flats, ask specifically whether the floor void ventilation was kept.
Questions people ask about woodworm survey near me
How much of the house does a woodworm survey cover?
It should cover the accessible structural timber: roof, floors where boards can be lifted, and any exposed joinery. Anything genuinely inaccessible should be listed as not inspected rather than passed silently, so you know what the survey did not see.
Is a survey from a treatment company free?
Usually, and that is fine as long as you read it as what it is. An independent timber surveyor who does no treatment charges a fee and has no stake in the answer, which is worth paying for when the quoted work is substantial.
Will a mortgage lender accept a treatment guarantee?
Often, though what lenders normally want is a report from a suitably qualified surveyor and evidence the work was done to specification. Ask which the lender has asked for before commissioning anything, because the two are not the same document.
What does a woodworm survey cost?
An independent timber and damp surveyor charges a fee for a report that recommends nothing they would sell you. A treatment company will usually survey without charge and set the cost against the work if you proceed. The first buys you an opinion, the second buys you a quote, and knowing which you asked for is the point.