If you live in Palm Bay, Eau Gallie, or anywhere else in Melbourne, FL, you probably already have heard the horror stories.
Termites chewing through an entire wooden subfloor in a matter of a few years. A deck completely obliterated by termites gnawing their way to the top. Thousands of dollars in termite damage, most of it not covered by homeowners insurance.
Here in Florida, our unique blend of warm temperatures, humidity, and an abundance of wooden homes makes our area a perfect buffet for termites.
We know the stakes all too well. Brevard County termites don’t take summers off. In fact, that’s when they thrive. But don’t panic! With the right termite control strategy, we at Orange Pest Control can help protect your home and provide peace of mind.
What Are the Warning Signs of Termites?
Termites do most of their damage exactly where you can’t see it: inside wall studs, under baseboards, beneath the subfloor. By the time damage shows up on the surface, a colony has usually been working for a year or longer. We tell Melbourne homeowners to check a handful of specific spots every few months instead of waiting until something looks obviously wrong.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Protecting your Melbourne property starts with understanding signs of termites, scheduling regular inspections, and acting fast with termite treatment solutions when needed.
What are the Common Signs of Termites?
Termites are sneaky, and they can hide in plain sight. However, there are some red flags that all homeowners should look out for, including:
- Mud tubes running along the foundation, porch supports, or crawl space walls
- A hollow sound when you tap on trim, deck boards, or wood furniture
- Discarded wings scattered near windowsills after a spring or summer swarm
- If paint on drywall or trim starts bubbling for no clear reason, check underneath before blaming it on humidity
We’ve pulled soft, hollowed-out wood from decks near Wickham Park that looked completely solid from a few feet away. That’s the kind of damage most homeowners insurance won’t touch, and it’s usually further along than it looks from outside. Older homes built before the 1990s tend to have less termite-resistant wood in the framing, so if your house falls in that range, it’s worth being a little more cautious about how often you check.
What Happens During a Termite Inspection?
A termite inspection isn’t a quick walk around the yard. We’re checking spots most homeowners never think to look, and part of the job is knowing how older Melbourne homes hide problems differently than newer construction near Viera and Suntree. A house built in the last decade has different weak points than one built forty years ago, and we adjust the inspection based on that.
What We Check Inside and Out
- Foundation, siding, and roofline for mud tubes or damaged wood
- Attic beams and crawl spaces for active colonies or old damage
- Moisture around windows, plumbing, and AC units, since damp wood draws termites fast
- Prior treatment records, if you have them, so we’re not repeating work that didn’t hold up
Termite swarms in Florida cluster mostly around spring and early summer, though inspection calls come in year round here. If you want the full breakdown by season, we cover it in when termite season really starts in Florida. Most inspections take under an hour unless we find something that needs a closer look, and we’ll walk you through exactly what we found before we ever talk about treatment.
Which Termite Treatment Is Right for You?
Not every termite problem calls for the same fix. A single mud tube on a porch post is a different conversation than an active subterranean colony working under a slab foundation, and the treatment plan should reflect that difference instead of defaulting to whatever’s easiest to sell.
Comparing Bait, Liquid, and Wood Treatments
- Bait stations placed around the perimeter, which draw termites in and eliminate the colony over several weeks
- Liquid termiticide applied to the soil to build a barrier termites can’t cross
- Wood treatments for new construction or additions, applied before termites get a chance to move in
- Ask about a retreatment warranty; most of ours cover a return visit if termites show up again within the term
If you’ve noticed something that looks like pellet droppings near your baseboards, that’s typically drywood activity rather than subterranean, and it changes which treatment we’d recommend. Drywood colonies live inside the wood itself, so bait stations built for subterranean species won’t do much good there. That distinction alone changes the whole plan.
How Much Does Termite Protection Cost in Melbourne?
Termite coverage at Orange isn’t a separate line-item invoice you get hit with after an inspection. It’s built into our Home Protection Plus plan, which starts at $49 a month and covers termites along with the other common household pests we see across Brevard County. Want rodent protection folded in too? Home Protection Elite runs $59 a month and adds that on top of everything Plus already covers.
What Comes With the Termite Bond
- Annual termite inspections for as long as you stay on the plan
- Free retreatment if termites show up again, no extra charge
- Repair coverage for termite damage up to $1 million under the bond
- Mosquito add-on service available if you want to bundle that in as well
Our base Home Protection plan runs $39 a month, but it’s built for general household pests and doesn’t include termite coverage. The jump to Plus is a small monthly difference for a plan that adds a termite bond most one-time treatments simply don’t offer. A mature colony can eat through close to a pound of wood a day, so it’s worth having that inspection and bond in place before a small problem turns into a five-figure repair.
Protect Your Melbourne Home This Season
Termite season in Brevard County doesn’t wait for a convenient time, and neither should you. If you’ve spotted mud tubes on the porch, a hollow deck board, or wings by the window, call us before the next heavy rain sends termites looking for a drier way in. We’re at 321-340-3205, and we can usually get someone out for an inspection within a couple of days.