Treatment for subterranean termites that is chosen after the inspection, with the limits of soil-based work stated plainly for the Formosan case.
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Subterranean termite treatment uses soil-applied products, baits and wood treatments, and the right choice depends on where the colony is and how it got in. MSU Extension (2024) cautions that when a colony starts inside a structure from a swarmer that landed on moist wood above ground, traditional soil-based preventive treatments may not work. The treatment is chosen only after the inspection shows where the activity is.
A termite treatment is only as good as the decision that comes before it. The treatment that suits a colony in the soil beside a foundation is not the treatment that suits a colony that started in a sill board above ground, and using the wrong one costs time and money while the wood continues to be eaten. Southaven Pest Control connects Southaven callers with a local technician who inspects the building first and then explains the options.
MSU Extension's 2024 feature on Formosan termites contains a caution that every household in the state should read. When a colony begins inside a structure, it usually starts with a swarmer landing on moist wood above the ground, such as a rotting sill, a damp window frame or a bathroom sub-floor. In that case, the traditional soil-based preventive treatment, which works by building a barrier in the ground, may not reach the colony at all. The treatment has to go to the wood, and the moisture has to be changed.
Calls are answered 24/7 at (855) 974-4733. The technician will ask what has been seen and when, and will arrange an inspection before recommending a treatment. A caller who has already had a treatment should bring the paperwork, because the earlier product, the date and the area it covered change what can be done next.
Keep children and pets away from soil and bait stations, and do not handle bait stations or dig at the foundation before the technician has confirmed the placement. Ask the technician for the label and the re-entry guidance for any product used indoors.
The inspection confirms whether the termites are subterranean, which species they are and where the active galleries are. A treatment recommended without that is a guess, and the household is entitled to a finding before it pays for a product.
Readings are taken at the wood and the masonry around the active area. Where the wood is wet, the colony is likely to stay, and a product alone will not dry it out. The plumbing, a downspout, a leaking hose bib and a poorly drained grade are checked.
If the colony is in the soil and reaches the building through a foundation, a soil-applied product or a bait system may be suitable. If it started in a sill or a wall above the ground, the wood is treated and opened, and soil work is only part of the plan. The technician says which applies and why.
Wood that has been eaten beyond what is safe to leave is replaced or reinforced, and that work is quoted separately. Repairs are carried out by a carpenter or a contractor who is hired by the household, and the report lists the damaged members by location.
A monitoring plan is written down with the dates of the checks and what each check looks for. Bait stations are inspected, moisture readings are repeated and the building is looked at again before the monitoring period is closed.
A soil-applied barrier works where the colony is in the ground beneath the building. It is less reliable where the colony began in a wet sill or a wall above grade, because the barrier does not reach that spot.
A termite colony that starts from a swarmer landing on moist wood above ground does not need to tunnel up from the soil. It is already in the structure. A treated zone in the soil at the foot of the wall does not cross that gap, and the galleries inside the wall carry on. MSU Extension gives this caution as its reason for careful inspection, and it is the reason this page does not promise a soil treatment will cure every case.
The practical lesson is to find out where the colony began. If the wood beneath a bathroom or along a window frame is wet and damaged, the moisture is the problem to solve first, and a soil product on its own is unlikely to be the answer.
A treatment report states the product or method used, the locations treated, the amount and the known limits, and the monitoring plan. It is written before work begins and signed off by the household.
A household that receives a report like this can compare it with another quote and can see whether a second opinion is needed. A report that says only treat the perimeter does not explain where the colony is, and that is a reason to ask again.
Treatment works best when the building and the household change the conditions that let the colony live. The technician can recommend the changes; the household makes them.
Common changes are fixing a downspout that drains against the foundation, clearing mulch and wood debris from the wall, lifting wood steps off the soil, and drying the crawl space. None of them is a termite treatment on its own, and all of them make the treatment last longer.
The technician should also say which changes are not the household's job. Wood replacement, drainage regrading and any structural repair are normally handled by the trades that do that work, and the report names them so the household can get separate quotes.
A product is applied to the soil around the foundation to form a treated zone. It is used where the colony is in the ground and reaches the building from below. The limits are set out in the report, including what it may not reach.
Stations are placed around the building and checked on a schedule. Termites take the bait back to the colony. A bait system suits a building with a colony in the soil and a household that can accept monitoring over a long period.
Treatment goes into the wood and the voids where the colony is active, and the moisture source is removed. This is the method that fits a colony started above ground, the case MSU Extension cautions about.
A soil or bait element and a wood-focused element, with moisture control and repairs. Many active Formosan cases in a building need more than one method, and a combined plan is written with the stages and the reasons for each.
Southaven is in DeSoto County, where MSU Extension reports isolated Formosan collections in the north. Treatment decisions here are made from the inspection, because the same publication says it is not known whether those colonies persist.
A treatment on the Mississippi side is performed by a company that holds the licence the state requires, and the technician should say which licence applies. A building across the line in Whitehaven, Cordova or Collierville is treated under Tennessee's rules, so the paperwork and the licence differ.
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A written inspection for Formosan subterranean termites, the species MSU Extension reports in parts of Mississippi and in isolated collections in DeSoto County.
A survey of the wood and water around a building that gives termites a route in, written for Southaven properties with beds, borders and stored timber.
A swarm check for the wings and insects found in and around Southaven homes, timed to the late April to June window that MSU Extension gives for Formosan swarms.
Sealing entry points at the foundation, the utility penetrations, the doors and the roofline, so that treatments last and swarmers and pests stay outside.
Formosan termite swarms in DeSoto County are most likely from late April through June, usually for a few hours after sunset and often after daytime rain, according to MSU Extension.
Moisture is the condition that makes wood attractive to termites and keeps a colony alive once it starts.
A pest inspection report should say what was inspected, what could not be reached, what was found and where, how each finding was confirmed, what is recommended and why, and when the next check happens.
Standard homeowners policies generally exclude termite and other pest damage, and a policy decides the exact terms.
A treatment protects wood that is sound and untouched by the colony. Damaged wood is repaired or replaced separately, and the report lists which members need it.
That depends on the method and the conditions, and it is written into the plan with a monitoring schedule. A treatment is checked on that schedule, and a change in the moisture or the wood can shorten or extend what it achieves.
No. The inspection comes first, and the treatment is recommended and explained before anything is done. A household is entitled to the report before it decides.