The ExterMetro Blog
Straight answers to the pest questions people actually search — written by the guy who actually does the work.
Termites
Termites: signs, treatment and prevention
What drywood and subterranean termites leave behind, what each treatment actually does, and how coverage works afterward.
Formosan Termites in California: What the Highland Park and La Verne Finds Mean for the San Gabriel Valley
Every confirmed California find with dates (La Mesa to La Verne), how Formosan swarmers differ from ours, the late-May-to-August evening swarms, and how to report a sample.
Termite Fumigation: How It Works, How Long It Takes, and When You Can Come Home
Day by day: tarps, gas, aeration, the 1 ppm clearance and the posted notice; what the fumigant leaves behind and what to do after.
Termites in Walls: Signs, Sounds, and How They Are Treated
Pinholes, pellets at the baseboard, blistered paint and hollow wood; whether termites make noise; and how a wall is treated without tearing it open.
Termite Bait Stations vs. a Fipronil Soil Treatment: Why We Choose Bait for Subterranean Termites
Why we choose bait stations over trenching fipronil around the foundation: the label math, California’s river monitoring and the trade-offs.
Western Drywood Termite (Incisitermes minor): Identification, Signs and Treatment in Southern California
Southern California’s drywood termite: what it looks like, its six-sided pellets, where it hides, when it swarms and how it is treated.
Do-It-Yourself Termite Treatment: What Actually Works in California
What you can do yourself about termites, why store sprays and bait stakes miss the colony, and the point where it is time to call.
Are Annual Termite Inspections Necessary? An Honest Answer for Southern California Homes
Not required by law and not right for every home: when a yearly termite inspection pays off, and when every two to five years is enough.
Flying Termites and Swarmers: When to Worry, and When a Few Are Nothing
Why ten or fewer by an open window is usually nothing, the signs that mean a colony inside, Southern California swarm season and what to do in the first hour.
Can Termites Live in Furniture? Drywood Termites in Beds, Dressers and Antiques
How termites end up in furniture, how to tell, what to do until the inspection, and how a piece gets treated.
The Best Time of Year for Termite Treatment in Southern California
Termites feed year-round; what the seasons change is swarms, inspection timing and fumigation scheduling.
Is Termite Damage Old or Active? How to Tell the Difference
Why damage alone cannot answer it, the checks that do, and what happens on the inspection.
Termite Damage vs. Dry Rot vs. Water Damage
How an inspector tells the three apart, and why each needs a different fix.
Does Orange Oil Work for Termites? What the UC Research Found
What the University of California found when it tested d-limonene as a localized drywood treatment, and what we use instead.
Do Termite Bait Stations Actually Work?
Yes — as a real perimeter program serviced every year. How the bait reaches the soil colony, why slow is the point, and why hardware-store stakes disappoint.
The House Next Door Is Tented for Termites — What It Means for Yours
No, they can't flee the gas to your place — and no, it doesn't protect you either. What that tent really tells you, and the one smart move while it's up.
Do Termites Ever Go Away on Their Own?
What quiet really means, the one case that isn't an infestation, and what waiting costs.
How to Prepare for Termite Fumigation: The Full Checklist
What to bag, what to remove, who to call, and what must happen before you go back in.
Termite Facts and Statistics: What California Homeowners Should Know
The key numbers — damage costs, California species, swarm seasons, colony sizes — every figure sourced.
The Termite Life Cycle: Swarmers, Workers, Soldiers and Queens
Swarmers, workers, soldiers and the queen — how a colony works, and why swarmers mean more than they look.
How Long Does Termite Treatment Last?
What to expect from bait stations, fumigation and spot treatment — and how long protection holds.
How to Prevent Termites: A Homeowner's Guide
The moisture, wood and entry-point fixes that make your home a much harder target for termites.
Are Termites Covered by Homeowners Insurance?
Usually no — why termite damage is excluded, the rare exceptions, and what actually protects you.
Termite Droppings and Damage: How to Identify Them
What drywood frass and termite damage really look like — and how to tell them from sawdust.
Termite Spot Treatment vs. Tenting: Do You Really Need Fumigation?
When a localized spot treatment is enough and when tenting is actually worth it — no tent-first pressure.
Termite Warranty Explained: What's Covered
What a termite warranty covers and doesn't, why it must be in writing, and how our warranty-backed plans work.
Signs You Have Termites — and What to Do
The five signs that matter — wings, pellets, mud tubes, hollow wood — and your first move.
What to Expect During a Termite Treatment
Inspection, your options, treatment day and the warranty — the honest step-by-step, with no tent-first sales pitch.
Termite Swarmers vs. Flying Ants: Which Did You Just Find?
The 10-second ID check for winged insects on your windowsill — and what piles of shed wings really mean.
Do Termites Bite Humans?
Short answer: almost never. Here's what termites can and can't do to you — and what's probably biting you instead.
What Did the Toothless Old Termite Say When He Entered a Tavern?
The answer: "Is the bar tender here?" Here's the joke, why it works, and the real science hiding inside it.
Ants, cockroaches and spiders
Ants, cockroaches and spiders
The valley's everyday pests: what you are looking at, why sprays do not hold, and what works.
How to Get Rid of Ants in the House (and Keep Them Out): The Argentine Ant Playbook
Baits, not sprays: a 10-day plan for Argentine ants, the active ingredients UC IPM rates, where to place baits, and the sealing that keeps them out.
How to Get Rid of German Cockroaches for Good
Why sprays and foggers backfire, and the bait-first method UC IPM recommends, step by step.
Why Ants Storm the House After the First Rain — and What Actually Stops Them
First rain hits, ants pour in. The biology behind it, why spraying backfires, and what actually works.
The Amber Roach at Your Porch Light Is a Turkestan Cockroach
The amber roaches at your porch light are Turkestan cockroaches — the outdoor roach taking over SoCal.
Black Widow or Brown Widow — Which One Is in Your Garage?
The spiky egg sac settles it in ten seconds — how to tell which widow owns your garage, and what to do next.
Tiny Black Ants in the Kitchen: What They Are and How to Actually Win
Why the tiny dark ants picked your kitchen, and why the spray bottle makes it worse.
What Do Baby Cockroaches Look Like — and What Does Seeing One Mean?
How to recognize roach nymphs, tell German from American babies, and what one baby really means.
German vs. American Cockroaches
How to tell them apart by size, color and where they hide — and why each needs a totally different treatment.
Black Widow Spiders in the SGV
Where these venomous spiders hide around the home, how to spot one, and how we keep them away from living areas.
Why Do Ants Come Back After Spraying?
Store sprays make Argentine ant problems worse. Here's the biology behind it — and what actually ends the invasion.
Rodents, fleas and noises in the walls
Rodents, fleas and noises in the walls
Roof rats, mice, the droppings they leave and the flea bites with no pet in the house.
How to Get Rid of Mice in the House: Trap and Seal Together
The quarter-inch rule, how many traps and where, the baits that work, sealing with metal at the same time, and why poison and glue boards backfire.
How to Get Rid of Rats Permanently: Trap and Seal Together
Roofline first, trap and seal together, materials rats cannot chew, the citrus and ivy problem, and what California’s 2025 rodenticide law means for your options.
How to Rat-Proof a House in Southern California
Every gap rats use, the sizes that matter, the materials that hold, and the order of work.
Rat, Mouse or Cockroach Droppings? How to Tell Them Apart
Size, shape and location for each pest, plus the CDC cleanup steps for rodent droppings.
How Rats Get Into Houses — the Entry Points We Check First
The roofline, the garage corner, the quarter-size gap — the rat entry points we check on every SGV house.
No Pets, Still Getting Flea Bites? Here's What's Feeding Them
No dog, no cat, still bitten at the ankles? The fleas found another host — here's how to track it down.
Scratching Noises in Your Walls or Attic at Night? Here's What It Usually Is
What the timing and sound of attic noises tell you — and the fix that actually lasts.
Roof Rats and Citrus Trees: An SGV Problem
Why fruit trees bring roof rats — and why sealing entry points, not just trapping, keeps them out.
Costs, contracts and California rules
Costs, contracts and California rules
What a quote should contain, how to check a license, and who pays when a landlord, HOA or facility is involved.
How to Choose a Pest Control Company or Exterminator in California: A Homeowner’s Checklist
License check, what California law already requires, the questions to ask, how to compare quotes, and the red flags to walk away from.
How to Choose a Pest Control Company for Your HOA: A California Board Checklist
License and branches, insurance paperwork, written scope, termite responsibility and who sends the notices, before the board signs.
What Affects Termite Treatment Cost in California?
The six factors that move a termite quote and how to compare two that disagree, with no phone-quote guesswork.
12 Questions to Ask a Termite Company Before You Sign
The questions an inspection has to answer, from the license number to what happens if pellets come back.
How to Verify a California Pest Control License in Two Minutes
The state license search step by step, what registration, operator and Branch 1/2/3 mean, and what to do with an expired record.
Do Landlords Have to Notify Tenants Before Pest Control in California?
B&P 8538 for registered companies and Civil Code 1940.8.5 for landlords applying pesticide themselves, side by side.
How to Read a California Termite Inspection Report
Section 1 versus Section 2, the diagram, further-inspection items and the completion notice.
Who Pays for Termite Treatment in a California HOA?
Civil Code 4780 defaults by community type, when a board can require relocation for treatment, and who sends the pesticide notice.
Pest Control Requirements for California Senior Living
What Title 22 and federal skilled-nursing rules actually require, and what a surveyor asks to see.
California Restaurant Pest Control Requirements: What the Retail Food Code Says
The six Retail Food Code sections on vermin and pesticides, who enforces them, and what a compliant program looks like.
Who Pays for Pest Control in a California Rental — Landlord or Tenant?
Generally the landlord — unless the tenant caused it. How pest bills usually shake out in CA rentals.
One Company for Termites and General Pests: Why It Matters
Why hiring one provider for both termite work and everyday pest control is the simpler, smarter setup.
How Much Does Pest Control Cost in the SGV?
What sets the price, one-time vs. recurring, and why every quote is free.
Prep, process and DIY
Prep, process and DIY
How a visit goes, what to do before we arrive, and an honest look at the home remedies.
Organic Pest Control: What “Organic” Really Means, and What Works in a Home
What “organic,” “natural,” “green” and “minimum risk” mean under USDA, EPA and California rules, and the lower-toxicity methods that work, pest by pest.
How to Get Rid of Gnats in the House: Find the Source First
Fungus gnats, fruit flies, drain flies or phorid flies? An ID table, the tape test, and the fix for each. We don’t sell a gnat service, so this is the whole answer.
Pest Control Treatment Prep Checklist
What to move, cover and put away before a visit, and what to expect in the first week after.
Natural and DIY Pest Control: What Actually Works (and What Doesn't)
Which home remedies actually work, which are myths, and when DIY isn't enough.
Do Ultrasonic Pest Repellers Actually Work?
The honest, evidence-based answer on whether those plug-in sound devices repel pests.
Pest Emergency? What to Do First
Rat in the attic, roach outbreak or termite swarm — what to do first for each, and how fast we respond.
Pest Control with Kids and Pets at Home
Low-impact targeted treatments, clear re-entry timing, prevention-first — and how to read "green" marketing.
DIY vs. Professional Pest Control: When to Call
An honest take on when DIY is fine and when it's worth calling a pro — from a licensed operator.
The SGV Pest Calendar: What Shows Up, and When
Month-by-month: termite swarms, the summer ant surge, the fall rodent push, and winter nesting.
Ready for a pest-free property?
Free quotes, honest answers, and licensed service that follows through.