Termites damage more Australian homes each year than fire, storm and flood combined, and home insurance almost never covers it. The reliable approach is a timber pest inspection every twelve months, from $159, followed by a barrier or baiting program if activity is found. Never spray or break open a live termite trail - it scatters the colony.
- Start by working out what you have
- Signs worth acting on
- The cost of leaving it
- When termites are worst in Sydney
- What you are paying for
- What you should expect to pay
- What this means if you have kids or animals
- DIY or call someone?
- Commercial and common-property situations
- Choosing a pest controller in Sydney
- Warranty and follow-up
- Frequently asked questions
Start by working out what you have
The useful question is not which spray to buy but where the population actually lives. With termites, what you see moving is a small fraction of what is there, and treating only that fraction is why problems come back.
So the sequence matters: identify, locate, treat the source, then close the conditions. Skip a step and you are paying again within weeks.
Key points
- Treat the source, not the sightings: the nest or harbourage is the target.
- Ask what the warranty covers and for how long.
- Early action is consistently cheaper than waiting for certainty.
- Identify the species before treating - the right product depends on it.
How that is done in practice is covered under what the treatment involves.
Signs worth acting on
Before numbers become obvious there is almost always a quieter stage. What to look for:
- Sagging or blistered cornices where a nest has worked up inside a wall.
- A faint musty, earthy smell in a closed room or subfloor.
- Small piles of discarded wings on windowsills after a warm, humid evening.
- Timber that sounds hollow or papery when you tap along it with a knuckle.
- Mud packing visible in the weep holes along an external brick course.
The more of these you can tick off, the longer it has been going on - which affects both the method and the price.
Because the early signs are so easy to miss, the inspection itself every twelve months is the standard advice for Sydney homes.
The cost of leaving it
The financial exposure with termites is unusual because it sits outside your insurance. Repair bills on Sydney homes routinely run into tens of thousands, and the work is structural rather than cosmetic. Activity found at inspection is a manageable job; activity found when a floor flexes is a building repair with a pest treatment attached.
That is the argument for acting on the early signs rather than waiting until there is no doubt.
A technician carrying out an annual termite inspection is looking for exactly these conditions, and documents them whether or not there is live activity.
When termites are worst in Sydney
Termites stay active in Sydney all year, but the warm, humid stretch from October to March is when colonies expand fastest and when alates swarm after rain. Autumn and winter are the better months for inspection work: activity is slower, so evidence sits undisturbed and a technician can read the history of a subfloor more clearly.
That pattern is why timing a treatment well can do more than increasing the dose.
What you are paying for
What distinguishes professional treatment is sequencing, not chemistry. It runs like this:
- Inspect and identify. Work out the species and find where the population actually sits - usually not where it was seen.
- Treat the source. Apply the right method for that species - gel bait, dust, residual, baiting system or trapping - where it does the most work and the least harm.
- Allow the method to run. Expect a timeline rather than an instant result, and avoid adding anything of your own in the meantime.
- Close the conditions. Proofing and maintenance advice specific to your building, which is the part that prevents a repeat.
The work is logged, and if covered pests return inside the warranty period we come back at no charge.
We set out the full process, timelines and warranty terms under the termite control page.
What you should expect to pay
Nobody can give a final figure sight-unseen, but the starting ranges are not a secret. Current rates:
| Service | From | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Timber pest inspection with report | from $159 | Annual check; the report is the deliverable |
| Termite treatment or barrier | quoted on inspection | Depends on construction, soil and extent of activity |
| Flea treatment (internal) | from $160 | Preparation and vacuuming required beforehand |
| Commercial program | quoted per site | Scheduled servicing with documented reports |
| Bed bug treatment (per room) | from $280 | Usually includes a follow-up visit |
Two things worth asking any company: is the quote fixed, and what does the warranty actually cover. Ours is fixed, and general work is covered for six months.
There is a fuller explanation of professional termite control, including what is and is not included.
What this means if you have kids or animals
Fair question, and worth more than a one-word answer. Professional treatment is safe around families and pets because of how it is applied, not because the products are inert:
- Where a household has asthma, allergies or a newborn, the method is adjusted on request.
- You are given a specific re-entry time, usually just until treated surfaces are dry.
- Baits, gels and dusts go into cracks, voids and secured stations - not across open surfaces.
- Products are APVMA-registered and applied at label rates by a licensed technician.
If anyone in the house has a specific sensitivity, tell us when you book - it changes which products we bring, not whether we can help.
That is worth checking before you book anyone, including us - about the team covers our licensing, insurance and how long we have been doing this.
DIY or call someone?
This is worth being straight about, because DIY is not always the wrong answer. It is the wrong answer once a population is established, for reasons that are fairly mechanical:
- Spraying over bait placements makes them unpalatable and wastes the treatment.
- Without identification there is no way to know whether it is working or just scattering.
- Concentrations are lower and residual life shorter than professional-grade equivalents.
- Repellent sprays can split colonies - with ants especially - turning one nest into several.
If you have already tried something and it returned, that is the signal rather than a reason to try again harder.
The rest of what we handle is set out under the full range of treatments we carry out.
Commercial and common-property situations
Once more than one occupier is involved, the job changes shape. The treatment may be similar; everything around it is not:
- Safety data sheets and licence documentation held on site.
- A site plan showing monitored station locations.
- Scheduled servicing rather than reactive call-outs, with visit dates set in advance.
- Treatment of common property - risers, voids, bin rooms, roof spaces - not just individual lots.
- After-hours or pre-opening access so trading is not disrupted.
For a food business in particular, pest records are among the first things an inspector asks for - which makes the documentation as valuable as the treatment.
In a commercial kitchen the same problem becomes a compliance issue, and food-premises pest programs covers the servicing and records involved.
Choosing a pest controller in Sydney
Pest control is licensed work in New South Wales, and the gap between operators is wider than the price difference suggests. Before you book anyone:
- Get the quote in writing, fixed, before any work starts.
- For termite work, ask whether you receive a written timber pest report.
- Check whether a follow-up visit is included or charged separately.
- Ask which method they intend to use and why that one.
- Confirm they hold current public liability insurance.
None of those questions are unreasonable, and the answers tend to sort operators quickly.
Anyone you let into your home for this work should be licensed and insured, and our licensing and insurance sets out ours.
Warranty and follow-up
The warranty on general pest work runs six months. Covered pests returning in that time are re-treated free - no argument, no second call-out fee.
There are limits worth knowing rather than discovering later. The warranty covers the pests treated, not a new and different problem, and it assumes the prevention advice was followed - leaving an open food source or an unrepaired leak is outside it. Termite barriers and baiting systems carry their own separate terms, usually tied to annual monitoring.
It goes on the invoice, so there is no ambiguity about what was covered six months later.
Most of the homes we look after are on a regular residential program rather than calling when something appears.
Common questions
What will treating termites cost?
General pest treatments start from $89 and timber pest inspections from $159. Termite treatments and barriers are quoted after an inspection because the price depends on the construction and the extent of the activity. You get a fixed figure before any work begins.
How often should I have a termite inspection?
Annually is the standard advice for Sydney, and more often for high-risk properties - those with a history of activity, a subfloor that holds moisture, or heavy planting against the walls. Termite damage is excluded from almost every home insurance policy, which is why the annual check is the cheap part.
Are your products safe around kids and animals?
It is safe when applied correctly, which is most of what a licence is for. Baits and dusts go where children and pets do not reach, fish tanks are covered and pet bowls moved. For general treatments you do not need to leave the property.
How long before the treatment works?
Residual treatments start working within hours, but colony and baiting treatments are deliberately slower - the product has to be carried back to the nest. Expect a clear reduction within a week to two, and do not be alarmed if activity briefly rises first.
What qualifications do your technicians hold?
Yes - every technician holds a current NSW pest management licence and we carry public liability insurance. You are entitled to ask any operator for both, and it is worth doing. Ours are available on request.
What attracts termites to a house?
Almost always a combination of moisture and an easy entry point. Leaks, condensation, blocked gutters and irrigation do more to attract pests than untidiness does, which is why spotless homes get them too.
Is there a guarantee on the work?
Covered pests returning within six months are re-treated free. Termite barriers and baiting systems have their own longer warranties, generally conditional on annual monitoring. You get the terms in writing on the day.
How can I keep termites away long term?
Remove the food, remove the water, seal the gaps and keep vegetation off the walls. Of those, moisture matters most - fixing a leak or clearing a gutter prevents more problems than any spray. A scheduled annual service catches anything that slips through.
Sydney pest control, booked today
Licensed, insured and working across 650+ Sydney suburbs. You get a fixed price before anything starts, a 6-month warranty on general pest work, and a technician who explains what they found.