Florida has more termite species than any other state in the continental U.S., with 21 recorded species, at least six of which are invasive. The state’s subtropical climate, high humidity, and busy ports create ideal conditions for termites to thrive year-round. Whether you’ve spotted winged insects near your windows or you’re buying a home and want to know what you’re up against, here’s what matters.
Which Termites Live in Florida
Florida’s termite population falls into a few major groups, each with different habits and risks.
Subterranean termites live in underground colonies and reach your home by building mud tunnels from the soil to the wood. The Eastern subterranean termite is native and found statewide. Two invasive species in this group, the Formosan and Asian subterranean termites, are far more destructive. Formosan colonies can contain millions of individuals and consume wood at a much faster rate than native species.
Drywood termites don’t need contact with soil at all. They fly directly to exposed wood, bore in, and set up colonies inside your walls, attic framing, or furniture. Florida’s native drywood termite and the invasive West Indian drywood termite are both common. Because they live entirely inside the wood they eat, drywood infestations often go unnoticed for years.
Dampwood termites prefer wet, decaying wood and rarely infest sound structures. Florida’s native dampwood termite is more of a forest recycler than a household pest. If you find them in your home, the bigger problem is usually a moisture issue like a leak or poor drainage.
The Hybrid Termite Problem in South Florida
In 2025, University of Florida scientists confirmed something they had been tracking for over a decade: Formosan and Asian subterranean termites are now crossbreeding in the wild and establishing hybrid colonies in South Florida. Researchers first noticed winged termites in Fort Lauderdale that didn’t match the body shape of either parent species back in 2021, and hybrid swarms have appeared every year since.
The first confirmed wild hybrid colony was discovered in a Fort Lauderdale city park in October 2024. Because these termites live underground and inside wood, the colony had likely been there for more than five years before anyone detected it. Researchers believe hundreds more hybrid colonies are already established across urban South Florida. Fort Lauderdale is a known hotspot for invasive termite introduction, partly because recreational boats serve as a major pathway for spreading these species internationally.
What makes this concerning is that lab studies showed hybrid colonies grow vigorously. If hybrids combine the large colony sizes of Formosan termites with the broader wood preferences of Asian subterranean termites, the damage potential could exceed either parent species alone.
When Termites Swarm
Swarming is when winged termites leave an existing colony to mate and start new ones. In Florida, swarm season stretches from early spring into summer, with different species on different schedules:
- Asian subterranean termites: Early March, swarming at dusk. This is one of the first signs of spring in South Florida.
- West Indian drywood termites: April, often attracted to lights at night.
- Formosan subterranean termites: Late April to early May, also at dusk or nighttime.
Seeing a handful of winged insects near an outdoor light doesn’t necessarily mean your home is infested. But if swarmers are emerging from your walls, ceiling, or floor, or you find piles of shed wings indoors, that’s a strong sign a colony is living inside the structure.
How to Spot an Infestation
Subterranean and drywood termites leave different evidence, and knowing the difference helps you understand what you’re dealing with.
Subterranean Termite Signs
The hallmark is mud shelter tubes. These pencil-width tunnels made of soil and saliva run up foundation walls, support piers, or plumbing pipes, connecting the underground colony to the wood above. Check both the outside of your foundation and inside your crawl space. Formosan termites sometimes build mud tubes much higher, on interior walls, ceilings, or exterior soffits and fascia boards.
Other clues include BB-sized spots of dried mud on interior walls or ceilings (pinholes that termites patch when they accidentally break through), sunken or wavy lines under paint or wallpaper where termites have eaten the paper backing of drywall, and odd mud formations sprouting from walls or ceilings in late spring, which Formosan termites build as launch pads before swarming.
Drywood Termite Signs
Drywood termites push their dry fecal pellets out of small “kick-out holes” in the wood. These pellets are tiny, uniform in size, and six-sided. If you find a small pile of what looks like coarse sand or pepper on a windowsill, countertop, or floor, that’s a strong indicator of drywood activity overhead.
In either case, structural problems like sagging floors, a soft spot in a door frame, or a roof that dips where it shouldn’t can signal long-term damage. If you peel back damaged wood and find tunneled galleries with dried dirt inside, termites are the cause.
Treatment Options
Treatment depends on the type of termite. Subterranean and drywood infestations require fundamentally different approaches.
Tent Fumigation for Drywood Termites
Because drywood termites can be scattered throughout a structure in hard-to-reach spots (inside walls, attics, concealed framing), the most thorough option is structural fumigation. Your entire home gets enclosed in a nylon tent, and a gas penetrates every space inside. It kills termites at all life stages, including eggs. The process typically takes two to three days, during which you’ll need to stay elsewhere. All food, medications, and houseplants must be sealed or removed beforehand. You can’t re-enter until the fumigation team clears the home and confirms it’s safe.
Fumigation in Florida generally costs between $1,200 and $4,000, depending on your home’s size and layout. For smaller or localized drywood infestations, spot treatments with foam or liquid products applied directly into the wood are sometimes an option, though they won’t reach colonies hidden in other parts of the structure.
Baiting and Soil Treatments for Subterranean Termites
Subterranean termites are managed from the ground up. Bait systems involve placing stations around your property’s perimeter containing slow-acting compounds that workers carry back to the colony. Over weeks to months, the entire colony is eliminated. Bait systems typically cost $800 to $3,000. Liquid soil treatments create a chemical barrier in the ground around and under your foundation, blocking or killing termites as they try to reach the structure. These two methods are sometimes used together.
Prevention Around Your Home
Florida’s building code addresses termite risk at the construction level. Requirements include preventing hidden termite access through voids behind exterior finishes like stucco that extend to the ground, directing rain gutter downspouts away from foundations to keep soil treatments from washing out, and eliminating wood debris, form boards, and grade stakes left in contact with the ground after construction.
For existing homes, the principles are the same. Keep mulch, firewood, and landscaping timbers away from your foundation. Fix leaks and drainage problems that keep soil or wood moist. Make sure there’s no wood-to-soil contact anywhere on the structure. Seal cracks in your foundation and keep attic vents screened to reduce entry points for drywood swarmers.
Annual professional inspections are one of the most practical things you can do. Inspections in Florida typically run $75 to $150, which is a small cost compared to the damage a colony can do over several undetected years.
Insurance Doesn’t Cover Termite Damage
Most homeowners insurance policies in Florida explicitly exclude termite damage and removal. Insurers classify termite infestations as a maintenance issue, meaning prevention is considered your responsibility. This is true across most major carriers, not just in Florida. The financial burden of treatment and repairs falls entirely on the homeowner, which is why catching an infestation early, or preventing one altogether, saves far more than the cost of regular inspections and preventive treatments.