Two trades, one job: how to sequence the work
A dampwood finding in a Seattle house usually needs two different companies, and the order they arrive in decides how well the money is spent. The pest inspector identifies the species and the evidence; a contractor fixes the water and the framing. Start with the source. That might be a gutter that overflows at a single corner, a downspout dumping at the footing, a failed roof flashing, a bath fan venting into an attic, or grade that sends runoff back under the house. Until that is corrected, the wood in question is not going to dry in a climate this consistently damp. Then open the affected area and see how much section is actually left. Members with significant loss get replaced. Members that are sound but were exposed get borate treatment while access is easy, which is far cheaper than reaching them again later. Only then does the question of soil treatment matter, and only if a subterranean finding is also on the report. Handling them in this order avoids the common outcome of paying for chemicals around a building that is still soaking itself.
What a soil termiticide day involves on a local lot
Expect a working crew for most of a day rather than a quick service call. The first task is clearing a strip along the foundation, which on many properties here means moving planters, hose reels, firewood, and cutting shrubs back so a shovel can reach the wall. A shallow trench then follows the foundation line, and product is placed at the labeled rate as soil goes back in treated layers. Where a walkway, patio, or attached garage slab meets the house, holes are drilled at intervals so termiticide reaches beneath, then patched. Under the house, technicians treat around interior piers and along foundation walls where the report indicated activity. This is the portion homeowners never see, so ask whether it was completed and whether ductwork, low headroom, or standing water blocked any section. Soil conditions matter to the result. Washington State University maps subterranean termites predominantly to loamy soils, and loam takes and holds product differently than rocky ground, which is one reason the company should be asked what it expects on your particular lot.
Borate, foam, and the limits of spot work
Not every finding needs a perimeter job. When damage is confined to a wet area with an identified cause, the sensible package is repair plus targeted wood treatment, and that is a much smaller invoice. Borate is the workhorse. Applied to bare accessible framing, it makes that wood substantially less appealing as food, and it is inexpensive when the crawlspace or wall is already open. Foam handles galleries inside members where activity was found. The limit is reach. Neither product does anything about a soil colony living in the yard, and neither one addresses framing you cannot get to. So spot work is the right call when the inspection has actually bounded the problem, and the wrong call when it has simply not looked everywhere. Ask for the treated members to be listed by location. That list becomes the checklist for the next inspection, and it is the difference between knowing what was done and taking someone's word for it a year later when the crawlspace is closed up again.
Judging a bait program before you commit
A bait program is a multi-year relationship, so evaluate it as one. Ask how many stations are proposed, where they will sit, how often they will be checked, and what the service costs each year after installation. The mechanism depends entirely on that schedule. University of Florida material describes protection lasting four to seven years or longer, indefinitely, as long as the system is maintained, which is another way of saying that unopened stations protect nothing. In Seattle the appeal is practical rather than philosophical. Where a house sits inside continuous concrete, where a crawlspace perimeter is hard to reach, or where landscaping makes trenching destructive, stations get around the access problem that would otherwise drive up a liquid quote. Before signing, ask for the station map and keep a copy. Ask what happens if activity shows up at a station, how quickly the company responds, and whether the agreement transfers if you sell. Then compare the five-year total against a one-time liquid job rather than comparing the first invoices.
Rental property, tenants, and long-wet buildings
Termite work sits with the property owner, and in this climate so does most of what causes it. Gutters, roofs, grading, crawlspace ventilation, and framing are all outside a tenant's control. If you rent, report evidence in writing with photographs and dates, and describe the conditions as well as the insects: where water shows up, which room smells musty, which window sill is soft. That detail speeds up the diagnosis because it points at the source rather than only at the symptom. If you own rentals here, the most valuable habit is an annual crawlspace and gutter check rather than waiting for a call. Tenants notice swarmers, and swarmers mean a colony has been established long enough to produce reproductives. Plan access before work is scheduled. Crews need the crawlspace hatch reachable and the foundation line clear, and a hatch blocked by stored belongings frequently turns into an untreated area on the final paperwork, which is the sort of gap that generates a callback two winters later.
The first year after treatment
The months following the work are when you find out whether the diagnosis was right, and in this climate the first heavy storm is the test. After that storm, walk the property. Check every downspout discharge point, look for new ceiling or wall stains, open the crawlspace hatch and look for water, and revisit the area that was repaired to confirm it is staying dry. Photographs with dates make the comparison easy next year. For a soil treatment, set a reminder for the annual inspection that keeps the agreement active, and keep the treated strip along the foundation clear rather than reburying it under new planting beds. For a bait program, confirm each scheduled visit happened and keep the service records with the original station map. If the house is sold, that documentation travels with it and answers the question a buyer's inspector will ask. And regardless of method, keep doing the gutter and vent work, because in Seattle that maintenance is what protects everything else you bought.