Types of termites

Identification is the first decision and it drives everything after it. Soil dwellers and wood dwellers are treated in completely different ways.

• subterranean

  Subterranean termite

  The termites behind the mud tubes on a foundation wall. They nest in soil, reach the wood from below, live in nearly every state, and work slowly.

  • Southeast
  • Gulf Coast
  • Mid-Atlantic

• drywood

  Drywood termite

  The termites that leave little piles of hard six-sided pellets. They live entirely inside dry wood, need no soil contact, and build up slowly over years.

  • California
  • Florida
  • Gulf Coast

• formosan

  Formosan subterranean termite

  A subterranean termite with colonies in the millions and long-range foraging. That size is why spot-treating where you found them so often fails.

  • Louisiana
  • Gulf Coast
  • Florida