In fact, the hammer is one of the most used tools in any home. Abraham Maslow, the great psychologist, said,

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

Perhaps that’s true, but it would sure be hard to accomplish much around the house without this basic tool. For everyday tasks, you'd keep a small 7- to 10-ounce household model in your kitchen tool drawer and a midsized, 14- to 16-ounce version in the garage tool kit. Depending on your needs, you may also want a large carpenter’s hammer for jobs like deck building or wall framing. Though hammers are simplistic in theory, there are many new hammer technologies on the market, ranging from those with tuning forks in the handle, which cut down the reverberation on your arm, to $200 contractor models made with titanium heads.Read more...

If you have termites you very probably have subterranean termites. There are other kinds but, they're not nearly as common in the US. You'll have to check the links at the end of the page to learn about them. This discussion applies only to subterranean termites.  This page may help you tell which kind of termite you have, but it didn't seem too helpful to me.  If you decide you have drywood termites go here.

Subterranean termites live in underground colonies (nests), that maybe 5 to 10 feet below the surface. They're only about 1/8 inch long yet, the workers forage hundreds of feet, traveling underground,surfacing periodically, searching for food (wood) to feed the colony. Read more...