Subterranean termite control for houses in West Blocton and the rural country around it, from inspection through colony-level treatment.
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Termite control means finding where subterranean termites are feeding, then treating the soil and the colony that feed them, not only the damaged wood. Eastern subterranean termites live underground and travel up into wood through mud tubes. A technician inspects the foundation, sub-floor and perimeter, recommends a method and checks the result afterward.
Termites are the pest that does the most lasting damage to houses in West Blocton and across the rural part of Bibb County. The species here is the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes. It lives in the ground, travels up into wood to feed, and works out of sight for long stretches before anyone notices.
Termite control is not one product put on one board. The job is to find where the termites are getting in and feeding, decide how to reach the colony underground, and then check that the treatment is still working.
Phones are answered 24/7, and a visit the same day happens only when a technician is free. No arrival time is promised. The price is confirmed on site before any work starts, because the size of the building, how it was built and how much of the foundation can actually be reached all change what the job involves.
A homeowner should not spray a general pesticide or a liquid termiticide into the soil around the foundation, or into wall voids, without a technician's advice. Some liquids repel termites, so a spray applied in the wrong place can push them into a new spot and make the colony harder to reach. Do not break open mud tubes, and do not disturb a swarm more than necessary. Keep firewood, mulch and soil away from the foundation, and call a technician when the signs point to termites.
The technician walks the full perimeter and looks at the foundation, piers, sill plates and any wood in contact with the soil. Where the sub-floor can be reached, it is checked too. Mud tubes, damaged wood and damp spots are marked, and concealed areas that cannot be reached are noted as such, because a termite may be feeding where no one can see.
Workers and winged reproductives look different from ants, and the technician confirms which termite is present before choosing a method. This matters because a method suited to one species may not suit another, and because a flying insect near a window is not always a termite at all.
There are two common routes. A non-repellent liquid can be applied in the soil so that termites pick it up and carry it through the colony by grooming. Bait stations can be set in the ground and checked on a schedule. The technician explains which route fits the building, the layout of the ground and how much access there is, and why a spot treatment alone usually will not be enough.
The work concentrates where the soil meets the structure: along the foundation, around piers and at the points where termites come up into wood. Where a gap or a wet spot is making the approach easier, the technician notes it, because an open path to wood gives the colony a route back in.
Bait stations are checked on a set schedule, and a treated house is re-inspected when the agreement calls for it. The technician leaves a written record of what was found and what was done, so the next visit starts from facts rather than memory.
The price depends on the building and on how much of it has to be treated. The technician confirms it on site, and it is explained and approved before any work starts.
The main factors are the size and footprint of the building, whether it sits on a crawl space, piers or a slab, and how easily the sub-floor and the full perimeter can be reached. Outbuildings included in the job add to it, and so does a property that sits well out of town, where travel is a real part of the day.
Not by itself. A swarm is how a colony disperses winged reproductives, and it does not on its own show that the building is infested.
Subterranean termite swarmers appear in the spring, and the sight of them near a window or a porch light is alarming for most people. Extension guidance describes eastern subterranean swarmers as generally flying in the daytime, which is one way to tell them apart from the night-flying insects that come to lights.
Because the colony lives underground and feeds from many points at once, so treating one damaged area reaches only a small part of it.
A colony of subterranean termites is spread through the soil, with feeding tunnels reaching into the wood at several places around a house. A treatment that touches the wood at one spot can kill the termites working there and leave the rest of the colony untouched. The colony then continues to feed, and the next damage often appears somewhere else.
Formosan subterranean termites are established in Alabama and spreading inland, but whether a given property has them cannot be told from the road.
A national extension guide says Formosan subterranean termites are established in Alabama, and that they form very large colonies. They are a different animal from the native eastern species, with different swarming habits, and that difference is why identification is the technician's job. A homeowner cannot tell the two apart by looking at a damaged board or a mud tube.
A few things, none of which is a diagnosis. They help the technician start from better information.
Walk the outside of the house and look at the foundation, the piers and the wood near the ground. Note where any mud tubes run, where the wings were found and when the swarm was seen.
A liquid is applied in the soil around the foundation, the piers and wherever the ground meets wood. A non-repellent liquid is the type that termites do not avoid, so they walk through it and carry it back to the colony. Houses with crawl spaces and piers concentrate the work under the floor, and the technician needs access to the full perimeter to do the job properly. Shrubs, stored material and paved edges can all limit what can be reached.
Stations are placed in the ground around the house and checked on a schedule. When termites find a station, they take bait back to the colony, which is the point of the system. Bait works only when someone keeps checking it, and a station that goes unchecked for a long time tells a homeowner nothing. The technician can explain whether bait fits a particular house or whether a liquid treatment will do more.
When a technician finds wood that has been weakened, the finding goes into the written record. Stopping the colony and repairing the wood are separate jobs. Structural repairs are usually done by a carpenter or builder, and the technician can say which boards or joists need attention and whether the damage looks old or recent. Repairing wood without stopping the colony leaves the termites free to keep feeding.
Most of the houses a technician sees around West Blocton are older frame houses and farmhouses, many of them on piers or vented crawl spaces. Manufactured homes on acreage are a large part of the housing across Bibb County, and newer slab houses are mixed in on the county edges.
The river bottoms and the wooded country around the town keep the ground damp for much of the year, and the summers are hot and humid with mild winters. Termites here do not stop for a season, so the work is continuous rather than a spring and autumn job.
Many rural properties sit a long way from the nearest town, so a technician's travel time is part of the price and of the planning. Phones are answered 24/7, and the visit is booked when a technician is free. The price is explained and approved on site before any work starts, so the homeowner knows what the work involves before anything begins.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent termite control, send the form and we'll call you back.
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Soil treatment and bait-station options for subterranean termites, with the checks that keep either route working after the first visit.
What a termite bond is, how Alabama's termite-contract rules shape it, and the questions to ask before signing for reinspection.
The Official Alabama Wood Infestation Inspection Report: what it records, who can issue it and what it cannot find.
How damp under-floor space feeds wood decay and draws termites, roaches and spiders, and what a technician checks under the house.
Pest pressure in West Blocton does not stop for winter.
A termite swarm is a normal dispersal event in which winged reproductives leave an established colony to start new ones.
The Official Alabama Wood Infestation Inspection Report is the written record of visible active or previous infestation by wood-destroying organisms, set out in Alabama Administrative Code Rule 80-10-9-.18.
Look for mud tubes on the foundation, discarded wings near windows and wood that is darkened, blistered or soft. Hollow-sounding boards are another sign, though the sound alone does not identify the insect. A swarm by itself is not proof of an infestation. A technician confirms the presence of termites by identifying the insect and inspecting the wood and the soil around the structure.
Usually not. Extension guidance says spot treatments alone usually do not work against this species, because the colony lives underground and feeds from several points. A single damaged board is often a sign of more feeding nearby, and the technician will look at the surrounding structure before recommending a method. A spot repair to the board does not stop the colony from feeding.
The wood can be replaced, but that is a separate job from stopping the colony. Replacing boards without treating the termites leaves the colony free to keep feeding on the new wood. Structural repairs are usually done by a carpenter or builder, and the technician can say which parts need attention and whether the damage appears recent.
Treatment lowers the chance of a return by reaching the colony and keeping the soil and the access points treated and checked. No one can promise that termites will never come back, though. Regular checks, such as bait station checks or a re-inspection when the agreement calls for one, are how a return gets caught early rather than after the damage has spread.
Phones are answered 24/7. A visit the same day happens only when a technician is free, and no arrival time is promised. The price is confirmed on site before any work starts, so the first conversation covers what the house looks like and what the visit will involve.
No. Treating an active problem is one job, and a termite bond is a contract that sets out what is covered after treatment. Alabama's rules for termite contracts include a waiver form that the owner must sign before treatment where a required treatment cannot be done in some area. The termite bond page explains what to read in a contract and what to ask.