The termite treatment process is not one procedure. It is two or three, and which one you get depends on what is living in your house. Knowing the difference before a technician arrives makes the whole visit easier to follow, and it makes the recommendation easier to judge.
This guide walks through what actually happens at a Bay Area home: where the technician drills, what goes into the ground or the wall, how long the work takes, and what you need to do beforehand. It draws on how Banner technicians run these jobs across the Bay Area, from the Santa Cruz mountains to the Tri-Valley.
What happens during a termite treatment?
A licensed technician first confirms what you have, because the treatment follows the termite. Subterranean termites get a liquid termiticide placed in the soil next to the foundation. Drywood termites get foam injected into the infested wood, or a three-day fumigation when the activity is widespread.
Step one: the inspection decides everything
Treatment never starts cold. A technician looks for the signs that separate one termite from another, and the main ones are mud tubes and frass. Mud tubes point to subterranean termites. Frass, the pellet-like droppings, points to drywood termites. If you want the full comparison, our guide to subterranean termites vs drywood termites covers how to tell them apart.
Inspections come in two kinds. A limited inspection covers only the area you suspect, and it does not include a full attic or crawl space. A complete inspection covers the entire structure, attics and crawl spaces included. For a buying or selling situation, a complete report is the usual route, and what a WDO inspection includes is worth reading first.
The report also matters for the treatment itself. It lists the findings and the recommended areas, ideally with photos tied to each find, so the technician can walk you through exactly where the work will happen and why. Ask to see each finding on the report before you agree to anything. A clear photo beside each recommended area is a fair thing to expect, and it keeps the conversation about the house instead of about a sales pitch.
Treating subterranean termites: the soil
Subterranean termites nest in the ground and feed on wood, which means the colony is not in your walls. It is under them. So the treatment goes where the colony is. Banner’s termite control service handles this with a soil treatment, either around the whole structure (a full treatment) or only where there is activity (a partial treatment).
On bare soil, the technician digs a trench 8 to 12 inches deep, about 6 to 12 inches off the wall. A power rig and injection rods then place the termiticide in the soil, with the rods set just below the depth of the foundation slab. Each injection point takes under 30 seconds.
Concrete changes the method. Where the infested area is under a slab, walkway, or patio, the technician drills a hole about half an inch across, roughly the size of a penny, every 18 inches until reaching soil. The rods go through those holes, and the holes are plugged with concrete afterward. Repainting or retexturing the surface is the homeowner’s job.
It is an easy thing to get backwards. Tenting a house does nothing to a colony living in the ground underneath it, because the gas never touches that soil. It is also why mud tubes matter so much. When a tube is disturbed, the termites retreat to the nest in the ground, and the ground is where the treatment has to land.
Treating drywood termites: the wood
Drywood termites live inside the wood itself, often in wall voids, window sills, and door frames. There are three ways to treat them, and the inspection report tells you which one fits.
- Local treatment. The technician drills 1/8 inch holes into the infested area, anywhere from 6 to 24 depending on its size, and injects a termiticide foam. The foam works on contact and also through a residual and transfer effect. Drywall holes are plugged with spackle, and exposed wood is filled with wood putty.
- Wall void treatment. Same idea, scaled up. A pressurized foaming machine fills the voids of an entire wall that needs treatment.
- Fumigation. The structure is tented and treated for three days. This suits a building with many infested areas. Banner arranges fumigation through a subcontractor, who also takes the lead on preparing and informing you about that process.
One expectation worth setting early: the residual effect of a local treatment can take up to three months to finish its work. Seeing a little termite activity during that window is normal. It does not mean the treatment failed.
What the Bay Area adds to the picture
Western subterranean termites are active year-round across the region, so there is no off-season to wait out. They readily colonize wood piled against a foundation, so firewood or lumber stacked against the house gives them an easy start. That is true in Oakland and Berkeley as much as anywhere else.
The setting shifts what technicians see. In Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, and Aptos, redwood influence, heavy moisture, and organic debris support termites year-round. Along the coastal fog belt, cool damp air does much the same. Out in the Tri-Valley, around Walnut Creek and Livermore, the summers are hot and dry and the winters cold and wet, but the soil termites below the house stay active through both. Drywood termites are less common than subterranean ones overall, but they turn up in older Peninsula and South Bay homes, from San Mateo down through San Jose.
Fall is a practical time to deal with this. Many homeowners are already thinking about the house ahead of the rains, and the attic and crawl space are easier to check while the weather is still dry. If you are seeing mud tubes or frass now, the common household pests guide is a good place to see how termites fit alongside everything else that moves in this time of year.
How to prepare for the visit
Preparation is short, and it makes the work faster and cleaner.
- Interior drywood work: give the technician a clear 3 feet around the area being treated, and pull furniture and personal items off the wall.
- Exterior soil work: clear 3 feet around the outside wall where treatment will happen.
- Fence lines: a fence line can be treated, but because a fence is shared property, a neighbor’s consent is required.
- Time away: for local drywood treatment you stay in your home. Only fumigation requires you to leave. For a crawl space treatment, plan to stay out of that space for 24 hours, and keep pets away from treated exterior soil for 24 hours. Your technician will tell you when everyone can return to treated areas.
What comes after the treatment
Banner stands behind termite work with a warranty, and it is worth reading its limits plainly. The warranty is retreatment: we re-treat the covered area at no additional cost. It does not pay for repairing damage, it does not cover work done by an owner or their agent, and it does not cover future infestations or conditions that were present but not evident at the inspection. Repairs to framing or finishes belong with a separate contractor.
After heavy activity, a technician may also recommend a quarterly complete inspection during the first year, so any continued activity gets caught early rather than discovered in a wall later. That recommendation comes from the findings, not from a template.
Can you skip the professional?
Honestly, for confirmed termites, not in any way that holds up. The soil work requires a power rig, injection rods, and drilling through concrete at the right depth, and the foam work requires knowing exactly where the colony is in a wall you cannot see into. A shelf product reaches the wood you can see, and the colony is somewhere else. A DIY approach also leaves you without an inspection report, which matters at resale.
What you can do yourself is the prevention side: keep wood from resting against the foundation, fix moisture sources, and keep an eye on crawl space vents. The everyday habits that keep pests from moving in cover the basics. Treatment and prevention work together. The treatment deals with the termites that are there now, and the habits make the house a less inviting place for the next group.
Bottom line
The termite treatment process follows the termite: soil treatment for subterranean, foam or fumigation for drywood, and an inspection first to tell you which. Regular inspections beat reacting after damage appears. If you are not sure where your home falls, the next step is simple: call Banner and book an inspection. A local technician who knows your area will walk the property, identify what is actually happening, and recommend a plan built around your specific home. No upsell. No pressure.