Nobody wants to fumigate. The only time it’s not a hassle is when the home is vacant, like between renters or during a sale. Otherwise, you have to bag everything consumable, let strangers inside your home, find a place to stay, board your pets, risk damage to your roof and vegetation, and contribute a hefty cloud of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. So, what can you do to avoid this?

1. Maintain a Full-Structure Termite Warranty
   One of the best ways to prevent fumigation is by investing in a full-structure termite warranty that includes annual inspections and any necessary local treatments. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. In fact, if I were to write an article titled How to Increase the Need for Fumigation, one of the key points would be to bury your head in some blankets and hope for the best. With termites, it’s not if they’ll show up, it’s when.
2. Call a Professional if You See Something Unusual
   If you don’t have a warranty and notice anything strange, call a professional immediately. Addressing termites early is much cheaper than letting the problem escalate. What could be a simple local treatment can turn into an expensive wood repair job. For example, if you spot termite droppings coming from a tiny hole in your wall, don’t just cover it with tape. The droppings may stop temporarily, but the termites will just find another spot to push out their droppings.
3. Maintain Your Home
   Preventative measures go a long way. Fix any plumbing leaks, clean your gutters regularly, avoid over watering plants near your house, and ensure your roof is in good condition to prevent excess moisture. Termites thrive in moist environments, so reducing moisture buildup is crucial. Some termite inspectors focus on moisture issues, and with good reason—where there’s moisture, there are likely termites too.
4. Look Into Alternative Treatments
   If you find evidence of termites and don’t have a warranty, consider calling companies that offer alternative treatments. Larger companies often prefer fumigation because it’s quick and efficient, but many smaller firms specialize in spot treatments and preventative borate applications. These treatments are more targeted and less invasive.
5. Borate Treatment
   Consider having all the exposed wood in your attic, garage, and crawl spaces treated with borates. Once the wood is treated, termites can’t consume it. Swarming termites can access these areas through vents, but a single borate treatment can offer protection indefinitely. Since borates are derived from a mineral, the treatment is permanent, provided the area remains sheltered from the elements. If you spot termite wings in a properly treated attic, you can rest assured that most of the termites will die before they can infest.
6. Avoid DIY and Orange Oil
   While termite companies that use orange oil often claim it’s an alternative to fumigation, it’s not as effective as people think. Orange oil and over-the-counter termiticides don’t offer lasting protection—termites can avoid the scent, the treatment doesn’t stay in the wood, and it only kills termites on contact. The best termiticides are undetectable to termites and they don’t kill on contact. You want termites to get into the treated wood and have the time to spread the treatment throughout the colony. Plus, they provide long-term protection by staying in the wood for up to ten years.
7. Be Brave
   Some inspectors, especially those from larger companies, may suggest that you can’t be sure what’s happening inside your walls. While that’s true (you’d have to tear down drywall to know for certain), if you’ve had regular termite inspections and haven’t seen a swarm inside your home, the odds are in your favor. Termites spread by swarming, and the wood inside your walls is just as inaccessible to swarming termites as it is to inspectors. If you’ve been proactive, the wood in your walls is likely fine.
8. Choose Your Approach
   At the end of the day, it’s your decision. If you want to avoid fumigation and are willing to accept that dealing with termites requires ongoing effort, you’ll be just fine. For some, regular fumigation is a fact of life. They choose to handle the costs and disruptions every ten years or so, but they don’t worry about termites between treatments. This approach might be easier for some than constantly monitoring the situation.

At California Termite, we cater to both types of homeowners. Whether you want the peace of mind that comes with a full-termite warranty or prefer to take a more hands-on approach, we’re here to help make it happen.