Termites do not knock. They eat wood from the inside out, and they do it in the dark. By the time a wall looks wrong, they have been at it for months. Termites cost U.S. homeowners more than $5 billion a year.
A termite inspection is how you catch them early. Bugmobiles has offered termite inspection in Victoria, TX since 1954. For your home, it is free. Here is what happens when our truck pulls up.
How long does a termite inspection take?
Plan on 45 minutes to an hour. Big homes take longer. So do homes with a crawl space or a full attic.
You do not have to leave. Stay and walk with us if you want. Most people do, and we like it that way. It is easier to show you a mud tube than to describe one later.
We call ahead with a time window. Our techs run Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
What does a termite inspection include?
We hunt for three things: live termites, old damage, and the damp wood that pulls them in. So the visit has two halves. Outside first, then a room by room pass inside. The attic and the crawl space get their own trip.
Our techs carry a probe and a moisture meter. That second tool matters most. Wood reads wet long before it looks wet, and wet wood is where termites go.
Outside your home
We start at the slab. Subterranean termites live in soil and build mud tubes up your walls to reach wood. The tubes are about as thick as a pencil and the same color as dirt. They hide in plain sight.
Out here we check:
- The slab, and any crack running through it
- Mud tubes running up brick or siding
- Wood that touches soil, like fence posts and deck legs
- Door frames, window frames, and trim
- Downspouts, hose bibs, and AC drain lines
- Mulch beds, old stumps, and stacked firewood
Damp soil against wood is a welcome mat. We flag it even when no termites have found it yet. Fixing that one thing is often cheaper than any treatment.
Inside your home
We tap wood and listen. Good wood sounds solid. Wood with termites in it sounds hollow. Soft spots get probed with a small pick.
Then we go room by room. Baseboards and door casings come first. Next we look under sinks and behind the water heater. Leaks feed termites, so we check every place water sits or drips.
Paint that bubbles like a blister is worth a second look. So is a floor that gives a little when you step on it. Our guide on how to identify termite damage in your home shows what these signs look like up close.
The attic, garage, and crawl space
Drywood termites live inside the wood they eat. That puts them in attic rafters and wall studs. They push out small piles of pellets that look like coarse pepper. We look for those piles under and beside beams.
In the garage we check the door frame and the plate along the floor. If your home sits on piers, we go under it with a light.
What does a termite inspection cost in Texas?
Termite inspection Victoria TX pricing is simple. Your home inspection is free. No fee, no hard sell at the end.
Home sales work a bit differently. Lenders ask for an official Wood Destroying Insect report. The tech signs that form and puts his license behind it, so it carries a set fee. Call us at (361) 575-6401 and we will give you the price before we drive out.
Buyers and agents should book that one early. The report has a date on it, and a stale date can hold up a closing. Two weeks of lead time is plenty.
One more thing on cost. Texas licenses termite work through the Texas Department of Agriculture. Ask any company for a license number. A real one hands it over without blinking.
Why South Texas is hard on homes
Termites want warmth and water. We hand them both for most of the year.
Winters here are short, so colonies stay busy long after homes up north have gone quiet. Gulf air keeps the soil damp. Slab homes put framing close to that damp soil. Add one slow leak, and a colony can work in silence for years.
Swarms hit in spring. Often you never see the bugs at all. You see a scatter of small wings on a window sill or a bath tub. Those wings mean a colony is close.
Once a year is the right pace for a termite inspection in South Texas. If your home has been hit before, make it twice.
Older neighborhoods deserve extra care. Many homes here were framed before slab treatment was standard. The wood is dry, the soil is close, and nobody has looked in decades.
Signs you should call before your yearly check
Do not wait for the calendar if you see any of these:
- Wings on a sill, a tub, or a light fixture
- Thin mud lines on the outside of the house
- A door or window that suddenly sticks
- Paint that bubbles or ripples with no water stain
- Floors that feel soft or bouncy in one spot
- Small pellet piles that keep coming back after you sweep
Any one of these is worth a call. All of them get worse with time, and none of them get better on their own.
Drywood or subterranean changes the whole plan
The species matters more than the bug count. Get it wrong and you treat the wrong part of the house.
Subterranean termites nest in the soil and travel up. To stop them, we treat the soil and build a barrier around the slab. Drywood termites nest inside the wood itself, so the wood is what gets treated.
New builds are a third case. The best time to stop termites is before the concrete goes down. We treat the soil first, then the slab pours over a protected pad. You can read how each method works on our termite treatment page.
What you get when we are done
We walk you through it before we leave. Plain words, no lecture.
You get:
- Where we found activity, room by room
- Photos of the spots that matter
- The moisture issues behind the problem
- What treatment would cost, in writing
If your home is clean, we tell you it is clean. You will not get a scare story to close a sale.
How to help us get more done
None of this is required. It just opens up more of the house.
- Clear a path along the garage wall
- Move boxes off the attic hatch
- Leave the side gate open, and pen up the dog
- Pull the bin out from under the kitchen sink
- Point us at any leak you already know about
Tell us the small stuff too. The door that sticks in July. The soft patch by the tub. The dust you keep sweeping up. Those details often lead us right to the spot.
Free termite inspection Victoria TX homeowners can book today
Bugmobiles has guarded South Texas homes since 1954. Our Google rating sits at 4.9 stars across 1,353 reviews.
Call (361) 575-6401 or (800) 626-9329. You can also request service online and a tech will call you back the same day.
If you would rather cover termites and roaches on one plan, look at our residential pest control options.