Termite treatment options in San Diego County
Tent or no-tent? Drywood or subterranean? The right termite treatment depends on the species and how far the colony has spread. These guides walk the real options by city so you know what your home needs before you pay.
First: drywood or subterranean termites
The species decides the treatment, so it comes first. Drywood termites live entirely inside dry wood above ground, with no soil contact, and leave small six-sided pellets. Subterranean termites live in the soil and build pencil-width mud tubes up to the wood they feed on. A drywood problem and a subterranean problem call for completely different methods, which is why an inspection identifies the species before anyone quotes a treatment.
Tent fumigation for drywood termites
Whole-structure fumigation is the thorough option for widespread or hidden drywood colonies. The home is tented and filled with sulfuryl fluoride gas, which reaches wood in walls and framing a spot treatment cannot. People, pets, and plants leave for about two to three days, and some food gets bagged or removed. Fumigation clears active drywood activity throughout the structure in one cycle, though it leaves no residual to stop a future colony.
Spot and no-tent treatment for localized colonies
When the drywood activity is confirmed, accessible, and limited to one area, a no-tent treatment can work without anyone leaving the house. Options include drill-and-inject foam or liquid, targeted heat, and orange-oil injection into the galleries. These cost less and disrupt less, but they only treat the colonies you can find. Hidden activity elsewhere in the structure can survive, so spot treatment fits a single known colony, not a whole-house infestation.
Soil barriers and baiting for subterranean termites
Subterranean termites are treated at the ground, not with a tent. A liquid termiticide barrier is trenched and applied around the foundation so foraging termites pass through it. In-ground bait stations are the other route, drawing termites to a slow-acting bait that moves back through the colony. Tenting does nothing for subterranean termites since they retreat to the soil, so anyone recommending a tent for a mud-tube problem has the species wrong.
Termite treatment options by city
North Coastal
North County Inland
East County
South County
Not sure which termite treatment you need?
Call for a free inspection anywhere in San Diego County. We confirm the species first.