The coordination checklist, from three weeks out to the day after
Three weeks before: choose the provider and confirm the scope in writing, including exterior, crawl space or slab, all shared spaces, every unit, attic if accessible, and a consolidated report with diagram. Ask how many inspectors will attend and how long they expect to need. Assemble the construction brief. Two weeks before: send written notice to every unit in the form your state and lease require, with a date, a time window and a contact for questions. Offer an alternate window on a second day. Post a notice in common areas as well. Start an access log with one row per unit: notice sent, notice delivered, response, confirmed window, and a blank for the day's result. One week before: follow up with units that have not responded. Confirm keys or escort arrangements. Ask tenants to clear access to water heater closets, under-sink cabinets and ground-floor exterior walls. Confirm the inspector's arrival time and give them the brief. On the day: walk the exterior with the inspector first, then shared spaces, then units in a route that follows the building rather than the unit numbers. Fill in the access log as you go: inspected, partially inspected with reason, or not accessed with reason. Before the inspector leaves, review the log together and schedule the return visit for missed units. The day after: request the consolidated report, cross-check it against your access log and your notes, and ask about any discrepancy. File everything together. Send a short summary to owners or the board if applicable, and send tenants a brief note that the inspection is complete and what, if anything, will happen next.
Briefing the inspector on how the building is built
termites follow construction. The more the inspector knows about how the building was put together, the better the inspection. Your construction brief should cover: foundation type for each building (slab on grade, crawl space, basement, or a mix); whether crawl spaces are shared or divided by unit; where plumbing and electrical chases run vertically through the building; where slab expansion joints and cold joints are, if known; any additions, decks, stairs or patios attached to the structure; exterior features such as planters, irrigation and grade against the wall; and any past termite treatment with dates and locations. If you do not have this information, say so. An inspector can work much of it out, but it costs time. Old plans, prior inspection reports and the maintenance staff's memory are the usual sources. Include tenant complaint history by unit and date. A pattern of swarmer reports on the same side of the building in successive springs points to where a colony is entering. Include moisture history too: past leaks, flooded crawl spaces, roof problems and drainage issues. termites are drawn to moisture, and a leak repaired three years ago may have created a damp sill that is still attractive. Finally, tell the inspector what you need the report for. A routine annual check, a lender-required report for refinancing, and a report tied to a tenant complaint all lead to the same inspection but different emphasis in the write-up. An inspector who knows a lender will read the report will be careful to state access limitations and conducive conditions in the form the lender expects.
Handling findings across units and deciding on treatment
When the report comes back with findings, resist the urge to treat unit by unit. Look at the diagram. Activity in units 2, 3 and 4 along the same exterior wall is usually one colony entering along that wall, and treatment should address the wall, the slab or crawl space beneath it and the adjacent units, not three separate spot treatments. Ask the provider to propose treatment in terms of the building: which sections of perimeter, which slabs to drill, which crawl space areas, and whether a bait system around the whole building makes more sense than repeated liquid treatments in a structure that will be inspected annually anyway. Ask how treatment in occupied units will be handled, what tenants need to do, and what notice is required for pesticide application in your state. Some states require advance notice to tenants before treatment, separate from entry notice. For drywood findings in shared attic framing or in a single unit's trim, the question is whether the infestation is localized. Localized drywood activity can be spot treated; widespread activity across framing may call for fumigation, which in a multi-unit building means vacating every unit for several days and is a major undertaking. Get a second opinion before committing to fumigation of an occupied building. Whatever is decided, update the inspection file. Record the treatment, the areas, the product, the date and the warranty, and note which units were affected. Send tenants a plain-language summary. Then set the next inspection date and, if the building is under a service agreement, note the renewal and reporting terms. Over a few years, this file becomes the building's termite history, and it is what a buyer, a lender or a new manager will want on day one.
What surveys and cost guides say about termite problems
Before you compare providers, it helps to know what independent surveys and published cost guides actually report about termite problems in U.S. homes. None of the figures below come from this site's own customers; each carries its source, date and population so you can weigh it yourself. Homeowners should expect a renewal contract to be part of the pitch: 83% of locations in Pest Control Technology (PCT) magazine's 2025 termite market report (about 145 professionals, 2024 operations) offered annual renewals, which tells you what companies sell, not how many homes are covered. For property owners, the low number is the story: just 32% of U.S. homeowners in National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and Harris Poll research released March 24, 2026, worried about termite repair costs, a stated attitude rather than a damage rate. Nearly half, 48%, of termite professionals said they primarily used a combination of baits and liquid termiticides, per Pest Control Technology (PCT) magazine's 2025 termite market report, a BASF-sponsored Readex survey of about 145 professionals covering 2024 operations; this describes professional practice, not homes infested. In Pest Control Technology (PCT) magazine's 2025 termite market report (a Readex Research survey of roughly 145 pest-control professionals about 2024 operations), respondents reported an average callback rate of 1.8%, meaning few treatments needed a return visit, though this is a self-reported average. If you have been ignoring scratching in the walls, you are not alone: 17% of the 2,000 U.S. respondents in ConsumerAffairs' February 2024 survey of 2,000 U.S. respondents reported taking no action against pests, though the self-reported, pest-and-mold survey offers context, not an infestation rate. Because every figure above has a stated population and date, you can cite it when comparing providers. What none of them can tell you is what your specific property needs; that still takes an on-site inspection.