Termite Control & Treatment

Termite Exterminator Services in Burlington, MA

Also Serving Lexington, MA and Eastern Massachusetts

Termites are a very destructive pest and can wreak havoc on your home or business structures. The Boston area is no stranger to termite problems. A termite exterminator in Burlington and Lexington is always busy. That is why we put our office right nearby. Start your termite control now with a free inspection. The eastern subterranean termite, pictured to the right, is creamy in color. Customers will refer to termites they see (in broken wood or mud tubes) as looking like rice. Termites do not need any pigmentation because they live underground. They eat and digest wood with the aid of single cell protozoa in their digestive tracts. A termite colony may number from 250,000 to several million.

Termites are relentless in their search for food sources because they lack the ability to understand if they face an abundance or shortage of food. For that reason, the workers in the colony are constantly actively searching for new food sources. In an urban or residential environment, it may simply be a new part of the same structure.

In the natural environment, termites unending appetite for cellulose is a tremendous benefit. Termites are essential to the breakdown and recycling of nutrients from grass, processed cellulose like paper and cardboard, roots and wood. This important ecological role intersects with human activity because most structures in New England are made of wood. In addition, they contain large quantities of cellulose derived building materials. For example, the paper on drywall is a food source for termites.

Termite Problem? We Can Help!

Termites are destructive

Damage is not covered by homeowner’s policies

Termites are the single largest destroyer of wood property. They account for $5 billion in property damage each year. More damage to property each year than fire, flood and other damage combined. A termite problem and termite damage is not covered by homeowner’s insurance policies. We offer effective and environmentally friendly methods that eliminate termites and other wood destroying organisms.

Signs of Termites

Common Signs Termites are Present

An interior termite swarm is the most common sign that termites are present. This is an massive invasion of gracefully flying termites called swarmers. Swarmers are reproductive males and females that pair up to mate and create entirely new colonies. Their goal is to survive the flight and avoid predators like birds. Then they find a mate and a sunny patch of soil to procreate and burrow into the soil to begin their colony. The king and queen live for 25 years. From the humble beginning of two insects and a patch of dirt, a colony numbered in the hundreds of thousand individual insects will grow.

Termites or Ants? The difference is the waist, antennae and wings.

Termite swarmers resemble ants, but differ in important ways. Termite swarmers are black, since they are the only termites that will be exposed to sunlight. All other termites are normally in the dark and are cream colored without any pigmentation. They have a pair of equal length long wings that at rest are straight back and go beyond the abdomen. The wings have to fold fully back so they can travel inside the mud tubes.

The termite wing is opaque and appears light gray or silver with a single dark vein along the leading edge. Termites drop their wings quickly after a swarm. Finding wings on the ground often is the only sign of a termite swarm. Ant wings at rest tend to be at an angle from the body and have visible veins. Ants do not drop the wings.

If you examine a termite, you notice a thick waist, like a piece of rice, whereas an ant has a pinched waist. In addition, the termite has antennae that resemble balls or beads strung together, in contrast to the ant that has joints in its antennae resembling a stick with straight sections and elbows.

Black termite swarmers with clear, opaque wings.

This mass of termite swarmers is gathered in a swarm castle in a piece of wood getting ready to emerge.

If you find only the wings, you can easily identify a termite wing by looking for the dark vein along the leading edge of the wing.

Protect Against Termites

Termite Treatments

Termites travel and feed underground. A subterranean termite treatment creates a protective zone around your structure. This protective zone kills not only the termites that forage against your structure but also kills their colony. Termiticides kill this destructive insect. They are placed in the soil adjacent to the foundation to create this continuous protective zone around the structure. Spot treatments, or treating only one area, do not work to control termites.

Termite Baits

We install our bait system around the perimeter of the structural foundation. Termites forage randomly and continuously ensuring the stations are found by termites near the foundation. The bait matrix (or food) is more palatable to termites than the wood in your structure because it contains more of the termite energy source – cellulose – than wood. It is like offering filet mignon in the bait station next to the hot dog stand of your structure.

Termites that consume the bait adjacent to your structural foundation and carry the material back to the colony in their guts. The colony is killed because termites feed each other via trophallaxis. Trophallaxis feeding (you do not want further details about this) ensures the entire colony will share the control material.

Liquid Termite Treatments

Liquid termiticides mixed with water are applied to the soil adjacent to the foundation. In areas where the soil is covered by another material a drill is used to penetrate the material and place the termiticide in the soil. Then the covering material is sealed.

The most common covering material drilled is concrete. Examples of where concrete is drilled includes the basement floor, front steps, garage floor, and capped concrete block walls. After treatment the holes are plugged. Liquid termite treatments, like baits, are not detected by termites. Termites that travel through the treated soil adjacent to your structural foundation pick up and carry the material back to the colony killing it.

Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination and Termite Bait Station installation slide show illustrates the placement and look of a termite baiting system installed outside a home.

Termite Renewals

Termite treatments are not permanent. The behavior of a termite, carefully avoiding light and eating wood materials from the inside, makes it important to inspect structures at least annually for new activity. Our termite renewal makes protecting your home easy. We set up an annual termite inspection at a time convenient for you. We check the inside and outside of your structure for termite activity. After the initial termite treatment, the termite renewal continues the protection.

Our technicians place outside termite monitors against the foundation of your home to detect termite activity in the soil adjacent to your home before they attack your structure. Most important, your renewal includes any update to your termite treatment that is necessary to prevent and cure any infestation. In addition, termite renewals are transferable to new property owners after an inspection and payment of renewal fee.

Greenhow Termite Monitors detect ertmies early.

Greenhow Termite Monitors are placed adjacent to the structure to detect activity before damage is severe.

Our Termite Solutions Include:

Termite Liquid Treatment
We use cutting edge liquid termiticides like Altriset to protect your property. Termites stop feeding from paralyzed jaw muscles after 24 hours from being exposed to Altriset.
The Sentricon System
The Sentricon® System is scientifically designed to eliminate entire subterranean termite colonies — including the queens. Never had a termite problem? We can help you keep it that way.
Termite Consumer Information - Consumer Information Bulletin, Labels, Safety Data Sheets, & Videos
Important state required termite control information.

Don’t Just Take Our Word For It

What our customers have to say about GreenHow:

Boston Local, Cured My Ant Problem

I have kids and pets so I wanted to avoid the crazy chemicals while still getting rid of the ants that had raided the cat food bowl and then made them selves at home in our bathroom. GreenHow was easy to deal with, prompt, and quickly found the source of my ant problem… and got rid of the ants. They are now my pest control company of choice!
– Michael K., Arlington, MA

I now have a go-to exterminator!

They came out very quickly (one business day from when I called), were thorough in their investigation, and gave us an incredibly reasonable quote for pest control for other “guests” that we have like carpenter ants. I was very surprised at their low initial and quarterly costs compared to their high level of service and commitment to using natural products.
– Kathy R., Woburn, MA

Great Service - Super Smart.

Sean Grenhow has without doubt the best of business ethics. He came on time. He was intrepid in finding the problem, did a thorough search, gave me lots of information – and good news- charged me not one penny and left after a good 20-25 minutes. I recommend him and his extremely knowledgeable service wholeheartedly.
– Alexandra H., Newton, MA

Honest and Smart

…the best experience of my life in calling an exterminator. Sean is a great guy. Honest. Avoids toxins. Smart. GreenHow is what you should want to deal with pests.
– Max, Cambridge, MA

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