Termite Treatment Guide: Signs, Costs, and How to Buy It Right

Most homeowners never see a live termite until the damage is done. Watch for the evidence instead:

• Mud tubes — pencil-width dirt tunnels climbing foundation walls, piers, or crawl-space supports. This is the signature of subterranean termites commuting between soil and wood.
• Swarmers and discarded wings — winged termites emerging indoors, or piles of equal-length wings on windowsills. Swarms peak March–May (starting as early as February along the Gulf).
• Hollow-sounding wood — tap baseboards and trim; termites eat from the inside out, leaving a papery shell.
• Frass — tiny, six-sided pellets like coarse sand or coffee grounds, pushed out of kick-holes. This one points to drywood termites specifically.
• Blistered or bubbling paint, sagging floors, tight doors — moisture and gallery damage in later stages.

Flying ants vs termites (the classic spring panic): termites have straight antennae, thick waists, and four equal-length wings; flying ants have elbowed antennae, pinched waists, and unequal wings. Ants are a nuisance (handle them here); termite swarmers mean a mature colony is nearby — book an inspection.

This distinction decides everything: a liquid soil treatment does nothing for a drywood colony living in your rafters, and tenting is overkill for a subterranean problem that a soil barrier solves. Any inspector who quotes a treatment without telling you which type you have hasn't finished the job.

Liquid soil barriers

The crew trenches (and drills through slabs and patios where needed) to apply a continuous termiticide zone around the foundation. Modern non-repellent chemistries kill termites that tunnel through and transfer between colony members. Pros: immediate protection, strong track record, usually the cheapest full-perimeter option. Cons: disruptive to install, and gaps in coverage are invisible until termites find them.

Bait systems

In-ground stations circle the house; termites feed and carry a growth inhibitor back to the colony, which collapses over weeks to months. Pros: minimal disruption, actually eliminates colonies, built-in ongoing monitoring. Cons: slower than liquid, and it's a subscription — the annual monitoring fee is where the real cost lives, so ask for year-two-and-beyond pricing up front.

Fumigation (tenting)

The whole structure is tented and filled with a gas that penetrates every wood member — the definitive fix for widespread drywood infestations. You're out of the house about 2–3 days, with real prep (food bagging, plants, pets). It leaves zero residual protection, so reinfestation is possible; pair it with prevention and inspections.

Start with inspections, not quotes — most major companies, including Terminix and Orkin, inspect for free. Three rules:

1. Get two inspections for any four-figure quote. Termite scopes vary honestly, but a second opinion on type and extent is the cheapest insurance in this industry.
2. Demand the diagram. A real inspection produces a graph of the structure marking evidence locations, damage, and conducive conditions — not just a price on a doorhanger.
3. Verify the license. Termite work requires state licensing: FDACS in Florida, the Texas Department of Agriculture's Structural Pest Control Service, California's Structural Pest Control Board, Georgia's Structural Pest Control Commission — find your state's regulator via the NPIC directory. In high-pressure states, make inspection annual; it's also standard (and often required) at home sale.

A termite "bond" or warranty is the contract that continues after treatment — and it's often worth more than the treatment itself. Two very different flavors:

• Retreatment bond: if termites return, the company re-treats free. This is the common one.
• Repair bond: the company re-treats and pays for new termite damage, up to a stated limit. Rarer and more valuable — this is the one worth paying up for.

What to check before signing: the annual renewal fee (bonds lapse if unpaid), whether the bond is transferable to a home buyer (a live, transferable bond is a genuine selling point), exclusions (many bonds exclude drywood termites or pre-existing damage), and re-inspection requirements. Terminix's termite franchise is the industry's oldest and its bond terms are a core reason it wins termite-first comparisons — see our Terminix review for specifics.

Per Orkin's 2026 Top Termite Cities ranking (treatment-volume based): Miami is #1 for the fourth straight year, followed by Los Angeles, Tampa, Washington DC, Orlando, Houston, West Palm Beach, Dallas, New York, and Atlanta — with Florida holding 6 of the top 20 spots. Florida, California, and Texas are the worst termite states overall. If you own in these markets, annual inspection isn't paranoia; it's maintenance. Check the seasonal calendar for your region's swarm window.