How to Get Rid of Termites

To get rid of subterranean termites, the species behind most US infestations, you need either a continuous liquid termiticide barrier in the soil around the foundation or a monitored bait system that the colony carries back to its nest. Drywood termites, found mainly in coastal California, the Southwest, Florida and the Gulf Coast, are treated differently: with whole-structure fumigation for widespread infestations or targeted spot treatments for small, localized ones. Over-the-counter sprays and foams kill the termites you can see but rarely reach the colony, which is why DIY treatment so often fails. Here is how each professional method works, what a homeowner can realistically do, and how to make your house less inviting once the colony is gone.

Part of our Pest Control guide →

In this guide

1. Step 1: Confirm You Have Termites, and Which Kind
2. Termite Treatment Options Compared
3. Can You Get Rid of Termites Yourself?
4. What to Expect From a Professional Treatment
5. How to Keep Termites From Coming Back
6. Frequently Asked Questions

Step 1: Confirm You Have Termites, and Which Kind

Before choosing a treatment, be sure the problem is termites and not carpenter ants, moisture damage or wood-boring beetles. The common giveaways are pencil-width mud tubes running up foundation walls or piers, swarms of winged insects near windows in spring, discarded wings on sills, wood that sounds hollow when tapped, and tiny, pellet-like droppings below small holes in wood. Our guide to the signs of termites walks through each of these with what to look for and where.

Type	Where in the US	Key signs	Main treatments
Eastern and other subterranean	Every state except Alaska	Mud tubes, soil-packed galleries, spring swarms	Liquid soil barrier, bait stations
Formosan subterranean	Gulf Coast, Southeast, Hawaii, parts of California	Large evening swarms, carton nests inside walls	Liquid barrier plus baits, often both
Drywood	Southern coastal states, Southwest, California, Florida	Six-sided fecal pellets, kick-out holes, no mud tubes	Fumigation or localized spot treatment
Dampwood	Pacific Coast, parts of Florida	Large termites in wet, decaying wood	Remove moisture source and rotted wood

Termites and winged carpenter ants are often confused. Termite swarmers have straight antennae, a thick waist and two pairs of wings of equal length. Carpenter ants have elbowed antennae, a pinched waist and front wings longer than the hind wings. The treatments are completely different, so get this right before spending money.

Termite Treatment Options Compared

Method	Best for	How fast	Typical protection
Liquid soil barrier (non-repellent)	Active subterranean infestations	Weeks to about 3 months	Around 5 years or more, depending on product and soil
Bait stations	Subterranean termites; homes where trenching is difficult	Several months to a year	Ongoing while stations are monitored
Structural fumigation	Widespread drywood infestations	Colony killed in days	No residual protection
Localized spot treatment	Small, accessible drywood colonies	Days to weeks	Only the treated wood
Borate wood treatment	Bare framing, new construction, prevention	Kills termites that feed on treated wood	Long-lasting if kept dry

Liquid termiticide barriers

This is the standard termite treatment for subterranean species. The applicator digs a trench about 6 inches wide and 6 inches deep along the foundation, rods or drills down to the footing, and floods the soil with termiticide so there is a continuous treated zone. Where a slab, patio or driveway abuts the house, they drill holes through the concrete every 12 inches or so and inject below it. A typical home takes several hundred gallons of diluted product.

Modern treatments use non-repellent termiticides, with active ingredients such as fipronil or imidacloprid. Termites cannot detect them, so they tunnel through the treated soil, pick up a dose and carry it back, transferring it to nestmates. Older repellent products such as bifenthrin and permethrin create a zone termites avoid; they protect the house but do not kill the colony and can leave termites trapped inside walls if there are gaps. When applied well, a liquid barrier usually knocks out an active infestation within about three months.

Termite bait systems

Bait systems place plastic stations in the soil every 10 to 20 feet around the house. Each holds wood or cellulose that termites find while foraging. Once they are feeding, the technician adds bait laced with an insect growth regulator such as hexaflumuron or noviflumuron, which stops termites from molting. Workers share the bait through the colony, and the colony slowly collapses.

Baits are a good fit for homes with wells, cisterns or soil types where liquid application is risky, for houses with finished basements or deep slabs that are hard to trench, and for owners who want minimal chemical use. The downsides: it may take weeks before termites find the stations and several months more to eliminate the colony, and the system must be checked on a regular schedule for as long as you want protection. Many pest companies combine baits with spot liquid treatment where termites are already inside.

Fumigation for drywood termites

Drywood termites live entirely inside the wood they eat, with no connection to the soil, so soil barriers and baits do nothing. When colonies are spread through attic framing, walls and furniture, whole-structure fumigation is the only method that reaches all of them. The house is covered with a tarp, sealed, and filled with a gas, most often sulfuryl fluoride, for one to three days. Occupants, pets and plants must leave, and food and medicines must be bagged or removed. The house is aerated and tested before re-entry.

Fumigation kills every drywood termite in the structure but leaves no residue, so it offers no protection against new swarmers. Pair it with inspections and borate treatment of exposed wood.

Spot and localized treatments

When a drywood colony is small and confined to a single board or piece of furniture, a pro can drill into the galleries and inject foam or dust termiticide, or use heat, cold or microwave devices on the infested area. These work only if every colony has been found, which is difficult with drywood termites because they can sit hidden in walls. Spot treatment for subterranean termites is mostly used as a supplement to bait systems.

Borate wood treatments

Borate solutions (disodium octaborate tetrahydrate) soak into bare wood and make it toxic to termites and wood-decay fungi. They are mainly a preventive treatment, applied to framing during construction, to exposed attic and crawlspace wood, or after repairs. Borates do not penetrate painted or sealed wood, and they wash out of wood that stays wet.

Can You Get Rid of Termites Yourself?

Sometimes, but the odds are worse than the product labels suggest. Retail termiticides containing the same active ingredients pros use are available, and some homeowners successfully trench and treat a small, accessible house. The problems come from the details:

• Gaps. A barrier with a single untreated stretch, such as under a stoop or behind a porch, lets termites keep feeding. Professionals drill slabs and treat hollow block walls that DIYers usually miss.
• Volume. Labels call for a specific number of gallons per 10 linear feet per foot of depth. Most DIY treatments apply far too little.
• Hidden colonies. Spraying visible termites in a mud tube or wall void kills the foragers but not the colony, which may be dozens of feet away underground.
• Off-the-shelf stakes. Retail bait stakes are not comparable to professional systems; they are generally too slow and too sparse to control an established colony.
• Warranty. A licensed company provides a written warranty and re-treats for free if termites return. Lenders and buyers often ask for this when you sell the house.

DIY makes sense for prevention (moisture control, removing wood-to-soil contact) and for treating a single small drywood-infested piece of furniture. For an active subterranean or Formosan infestation in your home’s structure, hire a licensed pest control operator. Our pest control guide covers how to vet a company and what a termite inspection should include.

What to Expect From a Professional Treatment

1. Inspection. A full inspection of the foundation, crawlspace, garage, attic and exterior, often with a moisture meter. You should receive a written report and a graph or diagram of findings.
2. Treatment proposal. A good proposal names the product and active ingredient, the method (liquid, bait or both), the linear feet treated and any drilling.
3. Warranty type. “Retreat only” covers re-treatment; “repair and retreat” also pays for damage repairs up to a limit. Read the exclusions.
4. Annual renewals. Most warranties require a yearly inspection and renewal fee to stay active.
5. Second opinions. Termites damage wood slowly, measured in months and years rather than days. You have time to get two or three quotes.

How to Keep Termites From Coming Back

Treatment removes the colony, but the conditions that attracted termites will draw the next one. Most of the fixes are landscaping jobs.

• Fix moisture. Clean gutters, extend downspouts 4 to 6 feet from the foundation, and grade soil so it slopes away from the house at least 6 inches over 10 feet.
• Break wood-to-soil contact. Keep siding, door frames and wooden steps at least 6 inches above the soil. Use concrete or metal post bases.
• Manage mulch. Keep mulch at 2 to 3 inches deep and pulled back 6 to 12 inches from the foundation, leaving a strip of bare soil or gravel. Mulch does not attract termites on its own, but it holds moisture right against the house. Our comparison of gravel vs mulch helps if you want a drier foundation bed.
• Move firewood and lumber. Stack firewood at least 20 feet from the house and off the ground.
• Remove stumps and buried wood. Old stumps, roots and construction debris in the yard are colony starter homes.
• Ventilate crawlspaces. Run a dehumidifier or add a vapor barrier where crawlspaces stay damp.
• Trim plants. Keep shrubs at least 18 inches from walls so you can see the foundation and spot mud tubes during a quick yearly walk-around.