Termite Fumigation and Tenting in Texas Homes
Termite fumigation covers a house with a tarp, or tent, and fills it with a gas that soaks into the wood and kills the drywood termites living inside. The family moves out for two to three days. Fumigation does not treat subterranean termites, which live in the soil, and those are the termites that attack DFW homes.
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How Termite Fumigation Works Step by Step
A fumigation crew treats the whole house at once instead of hunting for each colony. The National Pesticide Information Center's guide to structural fumigation describes a job that follows the same basic steps.
- Before treatment day, you remove or double-bag any food, medicine and pet food that isn't in its original factory-sealed package.
- Everyone leaves the house, and pets and houseplants go too.
- The crew covers the house with tarps and weighs down the edges so the gas stays inside.
- A certified applicator releases the gas, locks the house and posts warning signs.
- After the treatment period, the crew removes the tarps, airs the house out and tests the air before anyone goes back in.
The main gas used on homes is sulfuryl fluoride. It has no color or smell, so crews add chloropicrin, a strong irritant, to warn people away. The house reopens only when air readings fall below the EPA limit of 1 part per million. NPIC also doesn't expect the gas to leave residue on surfaces once it airs out.
What Termite Tenting Kills and What It Misses
Termite tenting targets drywood termites. These termites live inside sound, dry wood above the ground and need no contact with soil. A colony can sit under roof shingles, in eaves or siding, or inside a piece of furniture where nobody sees it. The gas reaches every board at once, and Texas A&M AgriLife's guide to drywood termites calls tent fumigation the most effective treatment for drywood termites in a building.
The same guide points out the weak spot. Tent fumigation leaves no residual protection, so a house can pick up a new drywood colony later. The gas also never touches a subterranean colony, because that colony lives in the soil outside the tent. The table below shows how the two kinds of termites differ and which treatment fits each.
| Feature | Drywood termites | Subterranean termites |
|---|---|---|
| Where the colony lives | Inside dry wood above the ground | In the soil around and under the house |
| How they reach your wood | Winged swarmers fly in and nest in it | Workers build mud tubes up from the soil |
| What they leave behind | Tiny six-sided fecal pellets | Mud tubes and mud packed into damaged wood |
| Where they live in Texas | Heaviest along the Gulf Coast | Across the state, including DFW |
| What treats them | Tent fumigation or treatment injected into the wood | Soil treatment or bait stations |
Why DFW Termites Need a Different Treatment
In DFW, the termites we find in homes are subterranean termites. Their colonies live underground, and the workers reach a slab home through cracks in the foundation or by building pencil-wide mud tubes up the slab edge. A tent over the house would kill the workers inside the walls and leave the colony alive in the yard.
That's why treatment for subterranean termites happens at the soil. One method puts a liquid termiticide into the soil around the foundation, where it blocks or kills termites that tunnel through it. The other method uses bait stations set into the ground around the house. Workers feed on the bait and share it with the colony, and the colony dies off over several months.
Forterra uses the Sentricon bait system because it goes after the colony itself, with no trenching and no drilling through the slab. Our page on how Sentricon bait stations stop subterranean termites walks through how the stations work and how often we check them.
Most DFW homeowners first notice these termites in spring. Winged swarmers usually emerge between March and May, typically on a warm afternoon following rain, and leave shed wings piled on windowsills.
How to Tell Which Termite You Have
The evidence tells the two apart. Drywood termites push tiny pellets out of small holes in the wood, and the pellets collect in little piles below. Subterranean termites leave no pellet piles. They leave mud instead, in tubes on the foundation and packed into the wood they eat.
Swarm timing helps too. Native subterranean termites swarm in daylight in spring. Texas A&M notes that the most common drywood termite in the state swarms at night, in late summer. Catching a few swarmers in a jar gives the inspector something to identify.
An inspection settles the question. A free termite inspection from Forterra covers the slab edge, the plumbing gaps and the wood trim. If you've seen swarmers or mud tubes, start with a free termite inspection rather than a fumigation quote.
Termite Fumigation FAQ
How long do you have to leave your house for termite fumigation?
Plan on two to three days. The exact time depends on the size of the house and how much gas the job needs. You go back inside only after the crew tests the air and clears the house for re-entry.
Can I sleep in my bed after termite fumigation?
Yes, once the crew clears the house for re-entry. The gas leaves as the house airs out, and NPIC doesn't expect residue to stay on surfaces. Follow any re-entry steps your fumigation company gives you.
Can you fumigate for termites yourself?
No. The EPA classifies sulfuryl fluoride as a restricted use pesticide, so only certified applicators can use it. In DFW, the termites in your home almost certainly need a soil or bait treatment instead.
What month are termites most active in DFW?
Spring is the most visible season. Subterranean termites swarm here from March to May, usually after warm rain. The colony keeps feeding the rest of the year, since DFW winters rarely get cold enough to stop it.
