Fredericksburg, TX · Gillespie County · The Texas Hill Country
If you're seeing signs of what might be termites, such as shed wings or winged insects suddenly showing up in one room, give us a call and we'll come out and tell you what you're dealing with. We've been treating Fredericksburg and Hill Country homes for termites since 1979, and every Termidor treatment we do is backed by a five-year guarantee.
Termites are the one pest problem where waiting costs real money. They feed inside walls, sill plates and floor joists for a long time before anything shows on the surface, and by the time it does, the damage is usually well along. You want someone who will find the colony, treat it properly, and stand behind the work.
Hill Country Pest Control has inspected and treated Fredericksburg-area homes for termites since 1979. We start with an inspection of the structure and the ground around it, tell you what we found and what it will cost before any work starts, and treat the colony with Termidor, which comes with a five-year guarantee.
Along with treating active termite infestations in Fredericksburg homes, we can pre-treat new construction to help prevent future termite infestations, and we can inspect houses for buyers, sellers and lenders ahead of closing.
For an active infestation we treat with Termidor, a non-repellent liquid termites can't detect, so they carry it back into the colony instead of avoiding it. Its manufacturer reports complete colony control in three months or less, and every Termidor treatment we do comes with a five-year guarantee.
Schedule a Treatment
If you're building, the best time to treat for termites is while the house is being built. We use Bora-Care by Nisus, applied directly to the wood, concrete and foundation instead of into the soil, so there's no construction downtime and no follow-up treatment once the build is finished. It also protects against carpenter ants, wood-boring beetles and decay fungi, and it's backed by a 30-year limited warranty from Nisus.
Ask About Pre-Treatment
If you're buying or selling a house in Gillespie County, the lender or the buyer will often ask for a wood-destroying insect report before the real estate closing. It's a different job from a treatment, and we recommend scheduling it early rather than in the last week before closing. Call us with the property address and your closing date and we'll get it scheduled. We also inspect commercial buildings.
Call About an Inspection
Every Termidor treatment we do comes with a five-year guarantee.
Inside the house or out, we work out precisely where the termites are getting in and treat that spot directly, so the treatment reaches the colony and the problem doesn't come back.
We've been treating termites in Fredericksburg-area homes since 1979, so we know both species that live here, how each one gets in, and what it takes to get rid of them.
Most Gillespie County homeowners find out they have termites from the evidence left behind rather than from seeing the termites themselves. If you notice any of the following, it's worth having the house inspected.
A large number of what look like flying ants appearing in one room or throughout the house.
Pencil-width earthen tunnels running up concrete, stone or pier blocks. Subterranean termites build them to travel between the soil and the wood.
A pile of identical, discarded wings after a swarm, often on a sill or near a light.
Termites eat wood from the inside and leave the surface intact, so tapping on the wood may sound hollow where it should be solid.
Paint that looks blistered along a baseboard or door frame with no water leak behind it.
Drywood termites push hard pellets out of the wood they live in, and they collect in neat piles underneath.
If you aren't sure what you've found, take a photo and give us a call at (830) 997-5080.
Swarming termites and flying ants look alike at a glance. If you've found one and aren't sure which it is, here's a quick guide to telling them apart. If you're still unsure, give us a call and we'll help you figure it out.
Photo: PumpkinSky, CC BY-SA 4.0
This comparison comes from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service's Field Guide to Common Texas Insects.
There are two types of termites in the Texas Hill Country, drywood and subterranean, and each requires a different treatment. When we inspect, we determine which one you have so the treatment is done correctly and the termites don't come back.
Subterranean termites live in the soil and come up into the house from underneath. To get from the ground to the wood without being out in the open, they build mud tubes across the foundation and piers, and those tubes are usually the first sign you'll see.
Drywood termites live inside the wood itself and don't need any contact with the soil, so they turn up in trim, framing, furniture and roof framing well above the ground. Drywood infestations develop more slowly than subterranean ones.
Photo: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 US
Termite treatment in Fredericksburg follows a simple three-step process, from your first call to a guaranteed treatment.
If you think you might have termites, you're buying a house, or you're building one, give us a call and we'll get you on the schedule.
We start with what you've seen, then look over the structure and the ground around it to find where the termites are actually coming from. Once we know where they're getting in, we can tell you what it will cost to treat it before any work starts.
We treat the colony with Termidor, and the treatment comes with a five-year guarantee.
“These folks are the best! You can’t go wrong with them! Thanks Hill Country Pest Control!”
“They are the best. In every way. A team of knowledgeable, friendly and efficient people.”
“They work hard to get you good results.”
Termite inspections and treatment cover homes across Fredericksburg and Gillespie County. Our service area includes the following towns.
If you don't see your town, give us a call at (830) 997-5080 and we'll tell you if your property is within our service area.
If you have any additional questions, don't hesitate to call us at (830) 997-5080.
A wood-destroying insect report is often required by a lender or asked for by a buyer, though whether it's mandatory depends on the transaction. Call us with the property address and your closing date and we can schedule a termite inspection.
Pest control for termites is separate from our residential pest control plans. It starts with an inspection of the structure and the soil around it, because the visible damage is rarely where the colony is. For an active infestation we treat with Termidor, a non-repellent liquid the termites carry back into the colony. Termidor termite treatment comes with a five-year guarantee.
Look at the waist, the antennae and the wings. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service's Field Guide to Common Texas Insects puts it this way: “Termites have body segments that are similar in width, hair-like antennae and, when present, four wings of equal length. Ants have narrow waists, elbowed antennae and forewings that are longer than hind wings.” A winged subterranean termite is about a quarter to three eighths of an inch long. If you aren't sure, photograph it and give us a call.
Carpenter ants excavate wood to nest in and push the shavings out, so you often find a small pile of what looks like sawdust. Termites eat the wood and leave the surface intact, so the damage stays hidden. Subterranean termites also build mud tubes across foundations and piers, which ants never do. If you're unsure, send us a photo or call and describe what you're seeing. Carpenter ants are covered on our ant control page.
They're pencil-width earthen tunnels that subterranean termites build across concrete, stone and pier blocks so they can travel between the soil and the wood without being exposed. Finding them on a foundation means subterranean termites are active or have been there, and it's worth having the house inspected.
We recommend at least once a year. Termites work slowly and out of sight, and by the time damage is visible it's usually significant. An annual inspection catches a problem while it's still small.
Yes. Both are found in the Texas Hill Country and they get into a house differently. Subterranean termites come up out of the soil, so treatment concerns the ground as much as the structure. Drywood termites live in the wood itself and need no soil contact, which is why they turn up in trim, framing and roof framing. The inspection is how we find out which one you have.
Yes. We use Bora-Care by Nisus for new construction, applied directly to the wood, concrete and foundation instead of into the soil. That avoids construction downtime and the follow-up treatment a soil pre-treat needs once the build is finished. It's backed by a 30-year limited warranty from Nisus, the manufacturer.
It depends on several factors, such as the size of the structure, the species, and how far the infestation has gone, so we need to inspect the property before we can give you a quote. Give us a call and describe what you've found. We'll come out, make our recommendation, and explain what it will cost before we do anything else.
We provide termite inspections and treatment in Fredericksburg and the rest of Gillespie County, along with Stonewall, Harper, Johnson City, Blanco, Llano and Mason. If you're working to a closing date, please give us as much notice as you can.
Give us a call or send us a few details through the contact form, and we'll come out and inspect the property.
