Termite Treatment Cost: How Prices Really Work
Two quotes for the same house can be $1,500 apart and both be honest. Here's what you're actually paying for, method by method, and how to tell a fair price from a sales pitch.
The short version
Most homeowners pay roughly $1,000 to $3,000 to treat a whole house for termites, depending on the method, the size of the foundation and how hard it is to reach. Inspections range from free to about $200. Many contracts add a yearly renewal of a few hundred dollars that keeps the warranty alive.
On this page
Ballpark prices by treatment method
These are typical first-year ranges reported for a single-family home in national price guides. Your quotes can land outside them, especially for very large houses, hard-to-reach foundations or regions with high labor costs.
Liquid treatments are usually priced per linear foot of foundation, so the bar shows a 200-foot perimeter. Bait and tenting are quoted per house.
The five things that set the price
Termites don't care how nice your house is. The price is driven by how much ground the crew has to treat and how hard it is to get the product where it needs to go.
1. The size of the foundation
Liquid treatments are priced by the linear foot around the foundation, not by square footage of living space. A long, skinny ranch house can cost more than a compact two-story with more rooms. Measure your perimeter before you call, so you can check the math on every quote.
2. What's in the way
Bare soil along a crawlspace is the easy case. Slabs, patios, porches, garages and driveways next to the house all have to be drilled every foot or so and injected, then patched. That labor is often the biggest difference between quotes.
3. The method
A liquid barrier is applied once and protects for years. A bait system costs more to install and is monitored for as long as you keep the contract. Tenting treats the whole structure for drywood termites but leaves nothing behind. Different jobs, different prices.
4. The termite
Subterranean termites are treated at the soil line. Drywood termites live in the wood and need tenting, heat or local treatment. Formosan termites build huge colonies and often get more aggressive treatment. A company quoting without telling you which termite you have is guessing.
5. Where you live
Labor, licensing and competition vary a lot from city to city. In heavy termite country there's more competition, which can help prices, but there's also more demand in swarm season.
How to read a termite quote
Line up every quote in a table like this. If a company won't fill in a row, that's an answer too.
| Line on the quote | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Termite type | Named specifically: subterranean, Formosan or drywood |
| Method and product | The product name, so you can look up its label |
| Areas treated | Whole perimeter or partial? Slabs and patios drilled or not? |
| Linear feet | A number you can check against your own measurement |
| First-year price | Includes the treatment and the first year of warranty |
| Renewal fee | The yearly price to keep the warranty, and whether it can rise |
| Warranty type | Retreatment only, or repair of new damage too |
| Inspections included | How often someone comes back to look |
The yearly renewal is the real price
Most termite contracts come with a warranty, often called a termite bond, that's renewed every year for a fee. Renewals are typically a few hundred dollars a year and usually include an annual inspection. Over ten years, the renewals can add up to more than the original treatment.
That isn't a scam. A good warranty is valuable, especially one that covers repairs. But it means you should compare quotes on the ten-year cost, not just the first check you write. Two things to pin down before you sign:
- Repair or retreatment? A retreatment-only warranty brings the crew back if termites return. A repair warranty also pays to fix new damage, and it costs more. See repair vs retreatment warranties.
- Can the renewal fee go up, and by how much? Some contracts allow increases; get the rule in writing.
Whether a bond is worth it for your house is its own question, answered in what is a termite bond.
A ten-year example
Here's how the math can play out on one hypothetical house. The numbers are illustrations inside the ranges above, not quotes.
| Quote A: liquid barrier | Quote B: bait system | |
|---|---|---|
| First year | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Yearly renewal | $300 a year for 9 years | $400 a year for 9 years |
| Ten-year total | $4,300 | $6,000 |
| Good fit when | Easy access, you'll stay a long time | Lots of concrete, wells or water nearby, you want less chemistry in the soil |
Ask every company for its own ten-year number. The cheapest first year is often not the cheapest decade.
Inspections: free, or not
Many companies inspect for free, because the inspection is how they sell a treatment. That's fine, as long as you treat it as a sales visit and get more than one.
A formal wood-destroying insect report for a home sale is different. It's a legal document on a set form, and inspectors usually charge for it, often around $100 to $200. More in what a termite inspection costs.
Getting a fair price
Do
- Measure your foundation perimeter yourself
- Get three quotes, in writing, on the same method
- Ask which product they'll use and look up its label
- Compare ten-year costs, not first-year prices
- Check each company's license with your state
Don't
- Sign on the day of a "free" inspection
- Accept "termites" without being told which kind
- Pay for a whole-house job when the inspector found one spot of drywood termites
- Let anyone tell you the price is only good today
Questions people ask
How much does termite treatment cost on average?
For a typical single-family home, most whole-house treatments land roughly between $1,000 and $3,000. Liquid barriers are often at the lower end and bait systems in the middle to upper part of the range. Fumigation for drywood termites usually runs higher, often $2,000 to $5,000, and small spot treatments well below it.
Why is termite treatment priced per linear foot?
Because liquid treatments protect the soil along the foundation, and the amount of product and labor depends on how long that line is and how much concrete has to be drilled along it, not on how many rooms the house has.
Is termite treatment worth the money?
If you have an active infestation, yes. Termites don't leave on their own, and damage repairs usually cost far more than treatment. For prevention in a low-risk area, a yearly inspection may be all you need.
How much is a termite bond renewal?
Typically a few hundred dollars a year, depending on the company, the house and whether the warranty covers repairs or only retreatment. Ask whether the fee can rise and get the rule in writing.
Can I treat termites myself to save money?
For small drywood spots, some homeowners do. Whole-house soil treatments for subterranean termites take equipment, product and know-how most people don't have, and many professional products can legally be applied only by licensed applicators. See DIY termite treatment.