Drywood Termites and Tent Fumigation in Parkland

• Small piles of six-sided pellets that feel gritty when rolled between fingers
• Tiny round holes, about 1 to 2 millimeters, in trim or furniture
• Wood that sounds papery when tapped with a screwdriver handle
• Swarmers or shed wings near windows and lights in spring and early summer
• Blistered or warped wood surfaces, which UF calls a sign of an advanced infestation

If the damage is limited to one door frame or one piece of furniture, a local treatment may handle it. UF lists options like injecting termiticide into the wood, replacing the damaged piece, and heat. The catch is that drywood colonies can be in more than one place, and some spots are hidden behind drywall or up in the roof.

When the infestation is spread through the structure, UF says only fumigation or whole-structure heat will reliably reach it. That's the tent you see on houses around Broward from time to time.

For fumigation, the crew covers the house with tarps and releases a gas fumigant inside. You, your family and your pets leave for the duration. UF says exposure with sulfuryl fluoride usually runs six to 18 hours, and occupants are out for at least several hours up to a few days. The fumigator will give you a prep list covering food, medicine, plants and anything else that needs to come out or be bagged.

Fumigation leaves no residue in the wood. That means it kills the termites present, but it doesn't stop a new swarm from starting a colony later. Ask the provider what they recommend afterward.

Pellets mean drywood. Mud tubes and dirt-packed galleries mean subterranean. Sometimes a house has both. The treatment is completely different, so the inspector should tell you which one they found. For the soil-dwelling kind, see subterranean termite control.