We just put in an offer on an 1875 kind-of-Italianate-kind-of-not. It needs a lot of work but the plaster was in terrific shape on the walls and the wood inside was solid as a rock. There had been serious water damage and leaking to the roof, but the floors beneath are unaffected and the exterior appears to be about 12 inch thick brick. I am told the man who built this house used all cedar in a time before a blight destroyed all of the cedar in Western PA. When I mentioned this possibility to my mother she asked about bugs and I told her that surprisingly enough, in an old house standing empty for four years I couldn't recall seeing even a spiderweb though I ran my hands all over the sills and such. She says it probably is cedar because cedar doesn't rot and bugs don't like it.

1) Is this true? Because seriously I would pay the purchase price JUST to have a house that naturally repelled bugs. Living in East Texas and waking up to spiders and scorpions is not my cup of tea.

2) Can you tell from the pics if it is cedar or definitively say it is not? I am just interested to know, it wouldn't affect our decision but it's a question I have and the seller's don't know.