Termites in Richmond's Older Homes: Subterranean vs. Drywood

Two termites, two problems

A lot of Richmond is older wood-frame construction, Point Richmond's hillside cottages and Victorians, the Iron Triangle and Atchison Village bungalows, and the WWII-era shipyard-worker housing, sitting in damp, bay-adjacent soil. That combination draws both of California's structural termites, and they behave very differently.

Subterranean termites live in the soil and build pencil-width mud tubes up the foundation and through slab cracks and plumbing penetrations to reach the wood. Drywood termites skip the soil entirely, living inside dry wood, the eaves, siding, window trim, and attic framing of older homes.

Signs in a Richmond home

Subterranean termites announce themselves with mud tubes on the foundation, garage slab, or crawl-space piers, and with a spring swarm of dark winged termites near windows and lights. Drywood termites drop frass, tiny six-sided pellets like coarse sand, below infested eaves and trim, and leave small kick-out holes.

Either termite can leave blistered or hollow-sounding wood. In an older home, pay attention to the porch and stair posts, the foundation and crawl-space edges, aging siding, and any wood softened by the damp air or a leak.

How treatment differs

Subterranean termites are treated at the soil: a liquid termiticide barrier trenched around the foundation so termites hit a continuous treated zone, plus in-ground bait stations where useful. Drywood termites are treated by extent, localized spot treatment injecting the galleries when the infestation is confined, or whole-structure fumigation (tenting) when it has spread through an older home.

That is why an inspection comes first. A local exterminator confirms which termite you have and how far it has gone, then recommends the least-invasive option that will actually clear it, and flags the moisture and wood-contact issues that invite them back.

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