It may not be the color of the walls, but the activity behind them that ultimately seals the fate of many real estate transactions this spring. Dr. Bob Davis, chief entomologist with TermiteInstitute.com, the Web’s most comprehensive termite education resource, gives tips to home buyers and sellers to avoid the hidden dangers that can compromise a real estate deal.

Research Triangle Park, NC (PRWEB) April 25, 2006 -— It may not be the color of the walls, but the activity behind them that ultimately seals the fate of many real estate transactions this spring. That according to Dr. Bob Davis, chief entomologist with TermiteInstitute.com, the Web’s most comprehensive termite education resource.

Simply put, a preventative treatment is a whole new level of curb appeal.

While many homeowners are entering the year’s busiest time for selling homes, far too many are preoccupied only with aesthetics, failing to consider the severity of hidden dangers such as termites, observes Dr. Bob. "Surely an ugly color of paint on a wall may turn off a prospective buyer," he says. "But finding a raging termite infestation behind that wall just before settlement could have a far worse consequence – it could kill the deal!"

That’s why Dr. Bob and other real estate and home improvement experts are urging homeowners to prepare their homes for sale by not only having a thorough home inspection, but by taking an additional precaution to ensure that the threat of termites doesn’t even enter the transaction. They are recommending the newest home maintenance trend -- a preventative termite treatment.

The newest must-have is an investment in a professional, preventative termite treatment with one of the newest technologies available—an undetectable liquid," says Dr, Bob. "The ever-present threat of future termite infestation and damage is the catalyst for this trend, especially when you see that termites cause $5 billion in property damage every year," he explains. "There’s no sense in waiting until you get termites to get rid of them, when you can prevent them in the first place, and conceivably raise the value of your home in the process."

Dr. Bob informs consumers that the initial investment in a preventative treatment far outweighs the cost of damage and extra repair time that homeowners incur if termites are actually found during an inspection. It also removes termites from the list of worries that consume a prospective buyer. "Think about a potential termite infestation lurking in porch pillars and shower walls, a shock that can literally come out of the woodwork," he says. "Simply put, a preventative treatment is a whole new level of curb appeal."