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Termites: identification, treatment and cost

How to recognise termite swarms, mud tubes and wood damage, how treatments compare, and what termite control and inspections cost. 14 guides, sourced to extension services and public records.

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Old wooden fence post in damp soilTermites

How Long Do Termites Live? Workers, Queens and Colonies

How long termite workers, queens and swarmers live, how many years a colony takes to swarm, and how long termites survive without water or wood.

October 14, 2026Crawlspace under a house with wooden joistsTermites

What Do Termites Look Like? Workers, Soldiers and Swarmers

Termite workers are pale and rice-sized, soldiers carry big amber heads and swarmers are dark with four equal wings. Sizes for every caste, and what termites...

October 11, 2026Mulch piled against a house foundation beside a downspoutTermites

What Attracts Termites to a House, and What Does Not

Termites find houses by moisture, wood-to-soil contact and buried cellulose, not from across the yard. What the mulch studies show, what triggers swarms, and the fixes...

October 9, 2026Gloved hands drilling a small hole into a concrete patio edge beside a house wallTermites

Tenting Fell, and the Alternatives Did Not Replace It

California fumigations fell by 24,092 from 2016 to 2023; termite baits quadrupled, but borates, orange oil and termite-only liquids did not grow.

October 4, 2026Timber-framed house under construction on a concrete slab with pine trees behindTermites

The Termite Zone Map, and What the Code Actually Requires

Four zones, one real rule, and a local decision. Plus Formosan and drywood termites, which the map ignores, and a $5 billion figure nobody can trace.

September 21, 2026Exposed timber floor joist and subfloor seen from a crawl space under torchlightTermites

Reading Wood Damage: Termite, Carpenter Ant, Beetle or Rot

Soil in the tunnel means termites, smooth clean galleries mean carpenter ants, round holes with powder mean beetles, and no tunnels at all means decay.

September 18, 2026Porch light glowing at dusk against a house wall with small flying insects circling itTermites

Termite Swarm Season: When Each Species Actually Flies

Eastern subterranean termites swarm February to April, Formosan April to July and only after dark. A month-by-month chart by species, and why swarmers indoors mean something...

September 18, 2026Suburban house covered by a fumigation tarpaulin secured with sandbags during termite tentingTermites

Termite Tenting: Cost, Prep and What the Three Days Involve

Tenting costs $1 to $4 per square foot and means leaving for about three days. When it is the right tool, what to prepare, and what...

September 11, 2026Discarded insect wings and debris on a painted windowsill, the diagnostic sign of a termite swarmTermites

Termites vs Flying Ants: How to Tell Them Apart

Three features settle it: waist, antennae and wings. The answer decides between a $275 to $1,600 termite job and a $250 to $500 ant job.

September 5, 2026Worker treating open soil across a house footprint before the concrete slab is pouredTermites

Termite Pretreatment for New Construction: Cost and What to Check

Pretreatment costs $0.30 to $0.75 per square foot, about $600 to $1,500 on a typical home. Two thirds of states require it, and it is not...

August 31, 2026Weathered timber fascia beneath a house eave showing round carpenter bee boreholes with sawdust belowTermites

Carpenter Bees and Wood-Destroying Insects Beyond Termites

Carpenter bee treatment costs $150 to $500, powderpost beetles $500 to $5,000. None of them are covered by your termite bond.

August 31, 2026A folded contract document and pen on a table beside house keys, representing a termite bond agreementTermites

Termite Bonds and Warranties: What They Actually Cover

The bond is the product, not the chemical. Renewal runs $200 to $400. Retreatment-only against damage repair is the distinction that decides its value.

August 29, 2026