Which parish's termite survey applies to a Broussard house?
The 1999-2001 Louisiana survey lists Lafayette Parish among the places where Formosan subterranean termites are established. Broussard is in Lafayette Parish as well as St. Martin Parish, so a house on the Lafayette side of the city is inside the surveyed area. The inspection does not stop at a parish line on a map. It looks for the species the survey names, wherever the house sits.
For a house whose location is unclear, the inspection starts with the address and the lot and records the parish the property is in. That record is then used for the file, and the termite plan follows from the house itself.
What do Broussard's subdivision homes need?
A slab house has its foundation edge at ground level, and that edge is the most important place to check. Mulch and landscape beds are usually set against the wall, and the AgCenter advice is to keep mulch 8 to 12 inches from the foundation. A bed that is built up to the brick line gives termites a route the inspection will record.
Sprinkler lines, irrigation and downspouts that discharge onto the beds are checked on any lot that has them. Those are the moisture sources the prevention service looks at, because a wet bed against the wall keeps the soil line damp year round.
What about houses on piers near the center?
Houses on piers with a crawl space that is reached through a hatch are checked in full. Those spaces give the inspector direct access to the joists and sill plates, which makes the crawl space check one of the most useful parts of the visit.
Stored wood, boxes and old paper in those spaces are common findings. They are cellulose, and the AgCenter advice to remove wood, cardboard and cellulose from around the home applies. The inspection records what is stored and where, and it recommends clearing the space in a way that does not block the access hatch.
What is the swarm picture for Broussard?
The swarm season the AgCenter dates for Lafayette Parish is late April into June, with the peak in May and June. Broussard calls in those months are most often about a swarm at a porch or a garage light, and the wings are usually found on a step or a windowsill the next morning.
The inspection widens to the trees and stumps in the yard, following the AgCenter advice. A Broussard homeowner who has seen a swarm should keep the wings and note the date and place, so the inspector has the evidence to work from.
How to tell whether a property is in this area
Coverage is checked by the property, and the ZIP code is the quickest way to see whether a home is in the area. Broussard is listed under 70518. If a mailing address names a different town but carries one of those ZIP codes, the property is inside the same area, and the report says so. A property that does not match either way is checked against the distance from downtown Lafayette before a visit is booked.
The closest communities on this list to Broussard are Cade, about 19.7 km away by ZIP centroid, and Youngsville, about 15.4 km away. Milton is about 16.1 km off and Lafayette about 3.6 km. Each of those towns has its own page, with its own swarm and termite notes, and the written record for a property in Broussard is kept on the same plan as a property in any of them.
