Subterranean Termite Treatment
What Was Done Today & What to Expect
What We Did Today
Inspection — Mud Tubes, Moisture & Wood Damage
We inspected the full foundation perimeter, basement walls, crawl space, sill plates, and any wood-to-soil contact points. We probed exposed wood for hollow areas and documented all mud tubes, moisture sources, and conducive conditions. Subterranean termites require soil contact and moisture — cutting off both is the core of treatment.
Borate Wood Treatment
Applied borate solution (disodium octaborate tetrahydrate) to all accessible structural wood — sill plates, floor joists, subfloor, and rim board. Borates penetrate wood and make it permanently inedible to termites. This is a preventive and curative treatment with no synthetic chemical exposure.
Physical Barriers & Moisture Elimination
Sealed foundation cracks with hydraulic cement. Recommended or installed stainless steel mesh termite barriers at critical penetration points. Addressed wood-to-soil contact areas and grading issues that hold water against the foundation.
Monitoring Stations Installed
Placed in-ground monitoring stations at 10-foot intervals around the foundation perimeter. Each station contains untreated wood that is checked quarterly — if termites feed on a station, we know exactly where activity is and can target treatment. No soil drenching or fumigation needed.
What to Expect
Monitoring begins immediately
Borate-treated wood is protected within 24 hours of application. Monitoring stations take 1–3 months to detect active colonies. Quarterly checks ensure early detection of any new activity.
Long-term structural protection
Borate treatments last the life of the wood as long as it stays dry. Monitoring stations provide an ongoing early warning system. Combined with moisture control, this approach provides permanent protection without toxic soil treatments.
Your Role in This Treatment
- Fix all moisture problems we identified — leaks, drainage, gutters, and downspout extensions. Termites cannot survive without moisture.
- Eliminate all wood-to-soil contact — pull mulch back 6 inches from the foundation, raise stored wood off the ground.
- Do not stack firewood, lumber, or cardboard against the foundation or in the crawl space.
- Keep gutters clean and ensure downspouts discharge at least 4 feet from the foundation.
- Improve crawl space ventilation or install a vapor barrier if recommended.
- Do not disturb monitoring stations — they need to remain in the ground for quarterly checks.
- Report any new mud tubes, swarmers (winged termites), or soft/hollow-sounding wood immediately.
✓ Safe for Family & Pets
Borate wood treatments have extremely low mammalian toxicity — comparable to table salt. No soil drenching, no fumigation, no synthetic termiticides. Monitoring stations contain untreated wood only. All treatments are applied to structural areas, not living spaces.
📞 Call or Text Us If…
You see winged termites (swarmers) indoors, especially near windows in spring · You find new mud tubes on foundation walls or pipes · Wood sounds hollow when tapped · You discover a new moisture problem or leak · A monitoring station appears disturbed or damaged.
What We Don’t Recommend
✗ Don’t let a company talk you into whole-house fumigation — it’s unnecessary for subterranean termites and introduces serious chemical exposure.
✗ Don’t apply liquid termiticide soil drenches around your foundation — they contaminate soil and groundwater and don’t address the root cause (moisture).
✗ Don’t ignore moisture — no termite treatment is permanent if the wood stays wet. Fix the water first.