Termite Control in Vallejo, CA

Why termites love Vallejo homes

Vallejo has a lot of what termites need: old wood, mild weather and moisture off the bay.

Many of the homes around downtown, the Vallejo Architectural Heritage District and St. Vincent’s Hill are Victorians and Craftsman houses built more than a century ago. Old-growth wood trim, wood siding, attics and porches give drywood termites decades of places to settle in. Across North Vallejo and the east side, mid-century homes on raised foundations have crawl spaces where damp soil sits close to wood framing, which is exactly what subterranean termites look for. Mare Island has its own history of wood buildings dating back to the Navy shipyard years.

Add fog and damp air from San Pablo Bay and the Carquinez Strait, leaky gutters, and planters or mulch piled against the siding, and you have a town where termite control in Vallejo is a regular part of owning a home, not a rare event.

The two termites we find in Vallejo

The right treatment depends on which termite you have. Getting this wrong is the most common reason a termite treatment fails.

Drywood termites

Western drywood termites live entirely inside the wood they eat. They need no contact with soil, so they can be in your attic framing, window frames, door trim, eaves and even furniture. They push out tiny, hard, six-sided pellets through small “kick-out” holes, and those pellets pile up on sills, floors and in corners. In Vallejo, drywood termites swarm mostly on warm, sunny days from late summer into fall.

More detail: Termites in Vallejo: drywood vs subterranean.

Subterranean termites

Western subterranean termites live in the soil and travel up into the house through mud tubes on foundations, piers and pipes. They eat along the grain of the wood and leave it layered and packed with soil. They swarm in fall after the first rains and sometimes again on warm spring days. Because they work out of sight in crawl spaces and inside walls, they are often found during a sale inspection rather than by the homeowner.

Dampwood termites and wood rot

Where wood stays wet from a leak, a bad gutter or a sprinkler hitting the siding, we sometimes find dampwood termites or fungus damage (dry rot). Fixing the moisture is part of the fix.

Signs of termites in your home

• Pellets (frass): small piles of sand-like or poppy-seed-like droppings under wood. A sign of drywood termites
• Mud tubes: pencil-width tunnels on the foundation, crawl space piers or garage walls. A sign of subterranean termites
• Swarmers and wings: winged termites indoors or piles of discarded wings near windows and doors
• Hollow or soft wood: baseboards, trim or deck boards that sound hollow or give way when pressed
• Blistered or bubbling paint on wood surfaces
• Doors and windows that start sticking as damaged wood shifts

Not sure if you are looking at termites or flying ants? See Flying termites or flying ants? and Signs of termites.

Termite inspection in Vallejo

Every termite control job starts with a termite inspection. We check every accessible area of the home: the attic, the crawl space, the garage, the exterior wood, the eaves, decks, porches and the foundation. We look for live termites, damage, pellets and mud tubes, and for the conditions that invite them, such as earth-to-wood contact, leaks and poor ventilation.

You get a written report with what we found, where we found it and what we recommend.

WDO inspection for buying or selling a home

If you are buying or selling a home in Vallejo, your agent, buyer or lender will often ask for a wood-destroying organism (WDO) inspection report. In California, only a company licensed by the Structural Pest Control Board in Branch 3 can prepare this report, and every report is filed with the Board.

A WDO report sorts findings into:

• Section 1: active infestation or infection, or damage caused by it. This is what usually gets repaired or treated before closing.
• Section 2: conditions likely to lead to an infestation, such as a plumbing leak or wood touching soil.
• Further inspection: areas that were not accessible, such as a sealed wall or a deck with no clearance.

Tip for buyers: the Structural Pest Control Board can provide copies of inspection reports filed on a property in the last two years. It is worth asking for them before you make an offer. See the Structural Pest Control Board for how to request them.

How our termite control works

Good termite control matches the treatment to the termite, the spread and the house. There is no single answer for every home.

Local (spot) treatment for drywood termites

When drywood termites are limited to a few areas we can reach, such as a window frame, a section of trim or one area of the attic, we treat just those spots. That can include drilling and injecting the wood, foam treatments, borate treatments on exposed wood, or orange oil. You usually stay in your home.

Heat treatment

For some drywood infestations, we can heat a section of the structure to a temperature that kills termites inside the wood. It uses no fumigant, but it works only where heat can reach evenly, so it is not right for every home.

Termite tenting (fumigation)

When drywood termites have spread through the structure, or are hiding where spot treatment cannot reach, tenting is the treatment that reaches every board at once. The house is covered with tarps and filled with a gas fumigant that moves through all the wood, then aired out and tested before anyone goes back in.

Soil treatment and bait for subterranean termites

Subterranean termites are treated where they come from: the soil. We apply a liquid termiticide in the soil along the foundation and around piers and plumbing to create a treated zone, or install bait stations around the house. We also correct what let them in, such as wood touching soil or moisture in the crawl space.

Repairs

Termite-damaged wood often needs to be removed and replaced. We point out what needs repair, and for escrow work the report spells out the repairs and their completion.

Getting ready for termite tenting in Vallejo

If your home needs fumigation, here is what to expect:

• Plan to be away about two to three nights. The exact time depends on the fumigant and the size of the home.
• Food and medicine: remove them or seal them in special fumigation bags (Nylofume bags). Anything sealed in a factory can usually stay; ask us about the rest.
• People, pets and plants out: that includes fish, birds and houseplants.
• Gas service: gas is shut off for fumigation and turned back on afterwards. We coordinate the timing with you.
• Open it up: open interior doors, cabinets, drawers and closets so the fumigant can move through the whole house.
• Outside: trim plants back from the walls and water the soil around the foundation the day before, which helps protect your plants.
• Re-entry: you go back in only after the home has been aired out and tested and the fumigator has cleared it.

Before tenting, you receive the written notices California requires, including which fumigant is used.

How to keep termites away

• Keep soil, mulch and firewood away from wood siding. Leave a gap between soil and any wood.
• Fix leaks, gutters and downspouts that keep wood wet.
• Point sprinklers away from the walls.
• Keep crawl space vents clear so air can move.
• Seal and paint exposed wood. Bare wood is easier for drywood termites to enter.
• Get a termite inspection every few years, and after you see swarmers.

What does termite treatment cost in Vallejo?

Termite treatment cost depends on the type of termite, how far it has spread, the size of the home, the treatment method (spot treatment, heat, tenting or soil treatment), and how much wood repair is needed. Tenting a large two-story house is a very different job than treating one window frame.

We inspect first, then give you a written price before any treatment starts. For more on what drives the price, see Termite treatment and tenting cost in Vallejo and our Vallejo pest control cost guide.

Termite control across Vallejo

We provide termite inspection and treatment in every Vallejo ZIP code:

• 94589: North Vallejo
• 94590: Downtown, the waterfront, the Heritage District and St. Vincent’s Hill
• 94591: East and South Vallejo, including Glen Cove and Hiddenbrooke
• 94592: Mare Island

Nearby, we also serve Benicia, where many older homes face the same drywood termite problem, plus American Canyon and Hercules.

Related services: Rodents in the attic are often found during termite inspections. See Rodent control in Vallejo, Ant control for the flying ants people mistake for termites, and back to all pest control in Vallejo.