Virginia homes meet one termite species in practice: the eastern subterranean termite. It swarms from March through June on warm days after rain, it builds mud tubes from the soil to the wood it is eating, and it leaves no sawdust behind. Almost everything a Virginia homeowner needs to recognise, decide and pay for follows from those three facts.
This is general information. Which species is present, how far it has spread, and what a structure needs can only be established by a licensed inspector at the property.
What Virginia actually has
Eastern subterranean termite. Present statewide, and responsible for the overwhelming majority of termite findings in Virginia homes. It nests in soil and reaches wood through shelter tubes or direct soil contact.
Drywood termites. Occasional in southeastern coastal parts of the state. They need no soil contact, build no tubes, and eject six-sided pellets through small kick-out holes. If you are finding dry, sand-like pellets indoors that return after cleaning, this is the candidate.
Formosan termite — not established here. Several Virginia companies list it among the three species homeowners face. As of 2026 the nearest established populations are around Wilmington, North Carolina. It is worth knowing because a quote that invokes the Formosan termite to justify urgency in Virginia is invoking something that is not here.
That last point is the general shape of this section: the widely repeated version and the checkable version differ more often than they should, and the difference is usually where money is.
The sign, and what it is not
| What you find | What it points to |
|---|---|
| Mud tubes on foundation walls, piers, joists | subterranean termites — the Virginia default |
| Discarded wings on a sill, indoors, in spring | a swarm; if they emerged indoors, the colony is in or under the building |
| Hollow-sounding wood, bubbling paint, stiff windows | damage already progressed |
| Sawdust or coarse shavings | usually not termites — carpenter bees, most often |
| Six-sided dry pellets indoors | drywood termites, in the coastal counties |
The fourth row is the one that misdirects people most. Sawdust below a beam in Virginia most often means carpenter bees, and carpenter bees are a wood-destroying insect for reporting purposes — which matters in a sale even though people dismiss them as cosmetic.
The season, briefly
Swarming runs March through June, peaking in spring, on warm days following rain when temperatures rise above roughly 60°F. Eastern subterranean termites swarm in daylight.
A swarm does not mean the infestation started this spring. Colonies produce winged reproductives only after several years. What the season really does is make an otherwise invisible colony visible for a few hours — which is why discoveries, inspector queues and pressure selling all spike at the same time. The full seasonal picture
Three separate bills, routinely confused
This is the single most useful thing to understand before you call anyone.
The inspection produces a document. In a real estate transaction that document is the NPMA-33, and it is what a contract or a lender requires.
The treatment produces a treated structure and a treatment record. It is quoted separately, and a company that has seen the problem will normally quote it for free.
The repair produces an invoice from a contractor, not a pest control document. Where damage is structural, this is frequently the largest of the three — and it is the one nobody quotes at the start.
What treatment costs, by method →
What this means for you specifically
If you own and live in the home
Nothing has to be decided this afternoon. A colony of several years' standing will not become materially worse while you obtain a second quote — and in spring, when demand peaks, an honest company will tell you the same thing.
Your action: book an inspection, keep any physical evidence, and ask for inspection and treatment to be quoted as separate lines.
If you are selling
The standard Northern Virginia contract requires a report dated no more than 90 days before settlement and puts treatment and repair of the damage the report identifies on the seller, with written evidence before settlement.
Your action: get the inspection done early in the contract period rather than against the settlement date. The contract clause →
If you are buying
Virginia is a caveat emptor state. The report you receive records one inspector's visible findings on one day, and the section listing what could not be reached is where your risk sits.
Your action: read the obstructions section first, and ask whether the inspection occurred during swarm season. Reading the report →
If you rent
The structure is the landlord's responsibility through the habitability duty under § 55.1-1220. Your duty is prompt written notice.
Your action: report in writing today with photographs, and keep any wings or tubes you found. Step by step →
If you are a landlord
Termite damage is a structural matter, and a tenant's remedies open from the date of their written notice.
Your action: respond in writing, use a licensed operator, and document every visit. What you owe →
Before you call: what costs what
An inspection and a treatment are two separate services with separate prices, and conflating them is the most common way people end up surprised by a bill.
| Typical Virginia range | What it produces | |
|---|---|---|
| Wood-destroying insect inspection and report | $65–$200 | the NPMA-33 form |
| General pest inspection | often free where the company expects to quote treatment | a verbal or written assessment |
| Termite treatment | $500–$2,000; more where damage is extensive | a treatment record |
| Structural repair | quoted by a contractor, frequently the largest of the three | an invoice, not a pest control document |
What is usually free: a quote for treatment, once a company has seen the problem.
What is usually not: the inspection report used in a real estate transaction, and any visit that produces a document rather than a price.
Ask which applies before you book. A company quoting one figure covering both inspection and treatment is not quoting what a sales contract or a lender requires.
Common misunderstandings
"Sawdust means termites." In Virginia it usually means carpenter bees. The common local termite leaves mud tubes, not frass.
"A swarm means they just arrived." It means the colony is mature enough to produce reproductives — several years, typically.
"No swarm this year, so they're gone." Swarming depends on weather and colony maturity. Absence is not evidence.
"Virginia has the Formosan termite." Repeated by several local companies. The nearest established populations are in North Carolina.
"The treatment quote covers the report." Two services, two prices. A single combined figure is not what a contract or a lender requires.
"Termites are a summer problem." The colony feeds year-round. Spring is when it becomes visible, not when it starts.
What to ask an inspector
- Which species, and what supports that identification?
- Is the activity current, or is this evidence of a past infestation?
- What could you not access on this property, and what would it take to access it?
- What is the cost, quoted separately for inspection and for treatment?
- Does the damage need a contractor, and is that in your quote or not?
- Under what name is your Virginia pesticide business license held?
The fourth question is the one that separates a company selling a service from one selling a decision.
What to have ready before you call
Property address and year built, foundation type, where you found the evidence and on which floor, whether you witnessed a swarm and from where, prior treatment history or an existing bond, and your settlement date if you are under contract.
Frequently asked questions
How fast does damage progress? Slowly enough that a considered decision is affordable, and steadily enough that ignoring it is not. Extent is established by inspection, not by elapsed time.
Is a bond or warranty worth it? It depends what it covers — retreatment only, or retreatment and repair — and what voids it. Ask for the exclusions in writing before comparing prices.
Will treatment stop the damage already done? Treatment addresses the colony. Existing structural damage is a repair question, and a separate bill.
Does a report expire? For a Virginia sale under the standard Northern Virginia contract, the report must be dated no more than 90 days before settlement.
Can I treat this myself? Products for subterranean termites generally require licensed application, and a receipt from an unlicensed operator will not support a tenant's rent deduction or satisfy a sales contract.
Verify before you pay anyone
VDACS publishes an updated list of licensed pesticide businesses weekly, with a public lookup confirming an active Pesticide Business License. Wood-destroying pest control is category 7b under 2VAC5-685-70 — not category 8, which several sites state and which is public health pest control.
Ask which name the licence is held under. The trading name and the licensed entity frequently differ, and a report is worth more when anyone can match the two. How to check →