Termite Inspection & Treatment: What Happens

Termites aren't like ants or spiders — they don't just annoy you, they eat the structure of your home, often without any obvious sign until damage is significant. Here's what actually happens when you call someone out.

What happens during a termite inspection?

A termite inspector checks both the inside and outside of your home for evidence of activity or past damage. Here's the typical process:

1. Exterior check. The inspector walks the foundation perimeter looking for mud tubes (pencil-thin tunnels termites build to travel between soil and wood), wood-to-soil contact points, and moisture issues that attract termites.
2. Interior check. Baseboards, window and door frames, and areas around plumbing penetrations get checked for hollow-sounding wood, blistering paint, or small holes.
3. Crawl space and basement check. These areas are checked closely since they're common termite entry points and are often out of sight in daily life.
4. Attic check. Roof framing and eaves are inspected, particularly in homes with a history of moisture issues.
5. Report. You get a written summary of findings — active infestation, past damage with no current activity, conducive conditions (moisture, wood contact with soil), or no evidence found.

Most inspections take 45 to 90 minutes depending on home size and how accessible the crawl space and attic are. Homes on a slab with no crawl space or attic access may take less time; homes with finished basements or additions may take longer.

What happens if termites are found?

If the inspector finds active termites or fresh damage, the next step is a treatment recommendation — and the right treatment depends first on which kind of termite you have, because the two main groups live differently and can't be treated the same way.

Subterranean termites

These are by far the most common. They nest in the soil and travel up into your home through mud tubes, so treatment works by putting something between the colony and your foundation. They're found in every state except Alaska.

• Liquid soil treatment. A licensed technician applies a termiticide barrier in the soil around and under the foundation, creating a treated zone termites can't cross without picking up a lethal dose. Typically gives several years of protection and usually doesn't require leaving the home.
• Bait stations. Stations are installed in the soil around the perimeter and checked on a regular schedule — often about every 90 days. When activity shows up, bait is added, and workers carry it back to the colony. Slower to wipe out a colony than a liquid barrier, but far less disruptive, and it doubles as ongoing monitoring.

Two subterranean species are worth knowing by name. Formosan termites are an aggressive introduced species across the Gulf South and Southeast — Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, the Carolinas, Texas, Tennessee, plus Hawaii and parts of California. Their colonies can reach into the millions of workers, so damage accumulates much faster than with native species. In southeastern California and southern Arizona, the desert subterranean termite is the main destructive species.

Drywood termites

These live entirely inside the wood they eat and never touch the soil — which means liquid soil barriers and bait stations don't work on them. There's no soil route to intercept. They're found across the southern tier, from the Carolinas through the Gulf Coast and into coastal California.

• Spot treatment. For a localized, contained infestation, a technician can treat the affected wood directly.
• Fumigation (tenting). For widespread activity, the structure is tented and fumigated. This clears an existing infestation but leaves no lasting residue behind, so it doesn't protect against a future one — preventive measures come after.

Which approach fits your home depends on the species, your construction type, and how far the activity has spread. That's a determination for a licensed technician after an inspection, not something to pick in advance — and it's a good reason to ask what species they found rather than accepting "termites" as the answer.

Why does speed matter with termites?

Termites feed continuously and don't take breaks — a colony can be active in a wall or foundation for months or years before visible signs appear. Unlike a roach or ant problem, which is mostly a nuisance, termite damage is structural and can affect load-bearing wood, meaning repair costs climb the longer treatment is delayed.

Homeowners tend to act on termites faster than on other pests, and our own call data shows it. Across 7,799 calls where the pest was identified and we could see how the call ended, 30.3% of termite calls (575 calls) ended with an appointment being booked — one of the highest rates of any pest we measured.

Where you live changes that picture more than it does for any other pest. Termite calls ended with an appointment 38.8% of the time in the desert Southwest, 33.1% in mixed-humid areas, and 32.8% across the Gulf South and Florida — but only 17.6% in the cold northern tier. That's the widest regional spread of any pest in our data, and it lines up with where termites are actually a year-round structural threat. If you're in the South or Southwest, treat any sign of termites as urgent. If you're up north, termites are less common but not absent — a real sign still deserves a real inspection.

If you've seen mud tubes, discarded wings near windowsills, or wood that sounds hollow when tapped, treat it as urgent — book an inspection within days, not months. For general cost expectations once treatment is confirmed, see termite treatment cost.

What are the signs you might have termites?

• Mud tubes running along the foundation, walls, or crawl space — these are the clearest visual sign.
• Discarded wings near windowsills or doors, left behind after a termite swarm.
• Wood that sounds hollow when tapped, or that crumbles or flakes unusually.
• Small holes or blistering in wood surfaces or paint.
• Frass (termite droppings that look like small wood-colored pellets), typically a sign of drywood termites specifically.

Any one of these on its own is worth a call. Multiple signs together mean you should treat it as an active, urgent situation.

How long does termite treatment take, and does it work?

Liquid soil treatments are typically completed in a single day for an average home, though larger or more complex foundations may take longer. Bait station systems are installed quickly but work over a longer timeline — often several months to fully suppress a colony, with periodic monitoring visits after.

Most termite treatments come with a warranty or bond, which can include annual re-inspections and free re-treatment if activity returns during the coverage period. Ask specifically what's included and for how long — see pest control contracts explained for what's standard in these agreements.

When to call a professional

Termites are a structural pest — this is not a DIY situation. Store-bought termite products can kill visible termites without touching the larger colony, giving a false sense that the problem is solved while damage continues elsewhere in the structure. If you suspect termites at all — even from a single mud tube or a handful of discarded wings — get a licensed inspection quickly rather than waiting to see if it gets worse.

Is a termite inspection different from a general pest inspection?

Yes. A general pest inspection looks broadly at common household pests — ants, roaches, spiders, rodents. A termite inspection is a specialized, focused check specifically for termite activity, damage, and conducive conditions, often performed by an inspector with termite-specific licensing or certification.

That distinction matters when you're picking up the phone. Termite work is a specialist trade, and not every pest control company does it. In the same set of calls, 10.6% of people calling about termites reached a company that doesn't handle termite work at all — compared with 3.8% of cockroach callers and 3.8% of mouse and rat callers, since general bug work is available almost everywhere. Before you book, ask plainly whether they do termite inspections and treatment, not just general pest control.

If you're buying or selling a home, you may need both — see pest inspections when buying a home for how that process works.

For related reading, see what to expect during a pest inspection and DIY vs. professional pest control. Browse local providers under termite control or exterminators, or find help near you through cities.

Our guides are informational and general in nature. They are not legal, insurance, financial or real-estate advice. Costs shown are typical published industry ranges and vary by region, property size and severity — always get a quote for your own home.