Termite treatment falls into four main categories: liquid soil barriers, bait systems, whole-house fumigation, and direct wood treatments. The right choice depends on the species you’re dealing with, the severity of the infestation, and your home’s construction. Most homeowners with subterranean termites will choose between liquid barriers and bait stations, while drywood termites often require fumigation or localized wood treatment.
Liquid Soil Barriers
Liquid treatments work by creating a chemical zone in the soil around and beneath your home’s foundation. A pest control professional trenches along the perimeter, drills through concrete slabs where needed, and injects termiticide into the soil. For an average home with 200 linear feet of foundation, initial treatment costs between $1,000 and $3,200 (roughly $3 to $16 per linear foot), with annual renewal fees of $100 to $300.
The most effective liquid products are non-repellent, meaning termites can’t detect them in the soil. Termites tunnel directly into the treated zone, pick up the chemical on their bodies, and carry it back to nestmates through normal contact and grooming. They die either from direct contact with treated soil or from ingesting it while tunneling. Repellent products also protect structures but work differently: they simply redirect termites away from the treated area rather than killing foragers.
One important distinction: liquid barriers generally do not eliminate entire colonies. They protect your structure by killing termites that enter the treated zone, but the colony itself may survive elsewhere in the yard. That said, the protection is long-lasting. Depending on the product used, a properly applied liquid treatment can remain effective for 2 to 15 or more years. The EPA requires manufacturers to demonstrate at least five years of efficacy before a soil termiticide can be registered. Annual reapplication is not standard. Most service agreements call for yearly inspections rather than retreatment, and EPA labeling discourages routine reapplication unless there’s clear evidence of reinfestation or the treated zone has been physically disrupted.
Bait Station Systems
Bait systems take a fundamentally different approach. Instead of creating a barrier, they exploit termite biology to destroy the colony from within. Plastic stations are installed in the ground at regular intervals around your home’s perimeter. Each station contains a monitoring cartridge that gets checked periodically. When termites find a station, the monitoring cartridge is replaced with one containing an active ingredient that disrupts molting, the process termites must go through to grow.
Termites are social insects that share food mouth-to-mouth, a behavior called trophallaxis. When foragers feed on the bait, they carry the active ingredient back to the colony and pass it to other termites, including those that never visit the station. Within weeks of ingesting the bait, termites die when they attempt to molt. This cascading effect can eliminate an entire colony, which is the major advantage over liquid treatments.
The tradeoff is time. In field trials at Texas A&M University, termites took an average of about 5 months to first discover the bait stations after installation. From that point, achieving control of the infestation took another 5 to 6 months on average. Total elapsed time from installation to colony control averaged roughly 10.5 months. During that waiting period, some feeding and structural damage can continue. Initial setup costs run $1,500 to $3,000 for most homes ($8 to $12 per linear foot), and annual monitoring and maintenance adds $300 to $500.
Whole-House Fumigation
Fumigation is the primary treatment for drywood termites, which live inside wood rather than in soil. Unlike subterranean species, drywood termites don’t need ground contact, so soil barriers and bait stations won’t reach them. Fumigation involves sealing your entire home under a large tent, then pumping in a gas that penetrates every piece of wood in the structure.
You and your family (including pets and plants) must leave before the process begins and cannot return until gas levels inside the home drop below 1 part per million, as required by the EPA. Before fumigation starts, applicators release a small amount of a warning agent with a strong odor so anyone accidentally nearby will know the gas is present. During treatment, concentrations inside a typical single-family home range from 1,440 to 3,850 parts per million. Once the tent is removed, the gas dissipates to very low levels within 24 hours.
Plan to be out of your home for two to three days. You’ll need to remove or double-bag all food, medicine, and consumables. Costs run $1 to $4 per square foot. A 1,200-square-foot home might cost $1,200 to $2,500, while a 2,500-square-foot home can run $2,200 to $3,800. Complex rooflines push costs higher because they make tenting more difficult. Fumigation kills the termites present at the time of treatment but leaves no lasting residual, so it does not prevent future infestations.
Direct Wood Treatments
Borate-based wood treatments work as both a preventive measure and a targeted remedy for localized infestations. The active compound is a mineral salt that’s dissolved in water and applied to exposed wood by spraying, brushing, or pressure injection. It soaks into the wood fibers and becomes toxic to termites when they ingest it.
In field studies at the University of Hawaii, borate-treated lumber showed almost no damage after two years of ground-level exposure to subterranean termites, while untreated wood was moderately to severely attacked. Treated samples that did sustain minor nibbling lost less than 1% of their weight. Termites may initially bite into treated wood, but they stop feeding once they encounter the compound.
Borate treatments are most practical in situations where wood is accessible, such as during new construction, renovations, or in crawl spaces. The compound penetrates unfinished wood well but cannot pass through paint or sealant. It’s also water-soluble, which means it can leach out of wood exposed to rain or persistent moisture. For these reasons, borate treatments work best on interior framing, attic lumber, and other protected wood rather than exterior surfaces.
Choosing the Right Approach
Your treatment path depends largely on which termite species is present. Subterranean termites, the most common and destructive type in the United States, nest underground and enter your home from below. Liquid barriers and bait systems are the standard options for these species. If you want fast-acting structural protection, a liquid barrier delivers results within days of application. If your goal is colony elimination and you can tolerate a longer timeline, bait stations are the better fit. Many pest control companies offer both in combination.
Drywood termites, more common in coastal and southern states, live entirely within wood and require a different strategy. Small, isolated infestations can sometimes be handled with localized treatments like borates or injectable foams. Widespread drywood infestations usually call for whole-house fumigation, which is the only method that reaches termites hidden deep inside walls, furniture, and structural timber.
Whichever method you choose, annual inspections are the most important long-term investment. Termite damage is slow but cumulative, and catching new activity early is far cheaper than treating an advanced infestation. Most warranties and service agreements include yearly inspections. The inspection itself is what keeps your home protected between treatments, not routine reapplication of chemicals.