Pest Control Glossary

Pest control has its own vocabulary — and a lot of it gets searched and asked about online. Here are plain-English definitions of the termite and general-pest terms we use most, so you always know exactly what's meant.

Termites & Wood-Destroying Pests

Drywood termite

Termites that live entirely inside dry wood with no contact with the soil, common in older San Gabriel Valley homes. They push out pellet droppings called frass and are treated with spot treatment or fumigation.

Subterranean termite

Termites that nest in the soil and travel up through mud tubes to reach wood. They build the largest, most destructive colonies and are treated with a liquid soil barrier such as Termidor.

Frass

Drywood termite droppings: tiny, uniform, six-sided pellets that collect in small piles below infested wood. Frass is one of the clearest signs of a drywood termite problem.

Mud tube

A pencil-width tube of soil and saliva that subterranean termites build to travel from the ground to wood while staying moist. A mud tube on a foundation points to subterranean termites.

Swarmer (alate)

A winged reproductive termite that leaves a mature colony in spring or summer to start a new one. Swarmers, or shed wings indoors, usually mean an established colony is nearby.

Fumigation (tenting)

A whole-structure treatment in which a building is sealed under a tarp and filled with gas to eliminate widespread drywood termites throughout the wood.

Spot treatment

A targeted treatment of a localized termite infestation, applied directly to the affected wood without tenting the whole structure.

WDO inspection

A wood-destroying organism inspection — covering termites plus other wood-destroyers like fungus, dry rot and wood-boring beetles. It must be done by a licensed inspector.

Gallery

The network of hollow tunnels and chambers that termites and wood-boring beetles carve inside wood as they feed.

Wood-to-soil contact

Any place where structural or exterior wood touches the soil, creating a direct bridge that subterranean termites use to reach a home.

Dampwood termite

A larger termite that needs high-moisture or decaying wood. Uncommon in typical SGV homes, it turns up where there are chronic leaks or wood sitting in damp soil.

Kick-out hole

The small round holes drywood termites open to push frass out of their galleries — the frass then piles up directly below.

Borate treatment

A wood treatment that soaks borate into bare or exposed wood to protect it from termites and wood-decay fungus, often used during construction or repairs.

Wood-boring beetle

A wood-destroying beetle, such as a powderpost beetle, whose larvae tunnel through wood and leave fine powder — one of the organisms a WDO inspection covers.

Dry rot (wood-decay fungus)

A fungus that breaks down damp wood and leaves it cracked and crumbly. Because it destroys wood, it's covered in a WDO inspection.

Termite bond

A warranty agreement that covers re-treatment — and sometimes repairs — if termites return after a treatment.

Treatment & Methods

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

A control approach that combines inspection, prevention, sanitation, exclusion and targeted treatment to solve pest problems with the least pesticide necessary.

Exclusion

Sealing the gaps, vents and openings a pest uses to get inside. Exclusion is the core of lasting rodent control, because trapping alone doesn't keep new animals out.

Perimeter treatment

Treating the exterior band of soil and foundation around a structure to stop pests before they get indoors.

Bait

A product mixed with food that pests carry back to share with the colony or nest, eliminating it at the source instead of just killing the individuals you see.

Non-repellent

A treatment pests cannot detect, so they walk through it and spread it to others — unlike a repellent, which pests avoid.

Growth regulator (IGR)

A product that disrupts an insect's development so it can't mature or reproduce, used to break the breeding cycle of pests like fleas and cockroaches.

Crack-and-crevice treatment

Precise application of product into the small gaps and voids where pests travel and hide, rather than spraying open surfaces.

Residual

A treatment that stays active for a period after it's applied, continuing to control pests that contact it over the following weeks.

Harborage

The sheltered spots where pests rest, hide and breed — wall voids, clutter, mulch, woodpiles and damp areas.

Conducive conditions

Property conditions that attract or support pests, such as moisture, wood-to-soil contact, clutter and easy food access. Correcting them is part of lasting control.

Termiticide

A pesticide formulated specifically to control termites, such as the liquid applied as a subterranean soil barrier.

Rodenticide

A bait used to control rodents, placed carefully and in tamper-resistant stations where pets or children could otherwise reach it.

Fipronil

The active ingredient in Termidor — a non-repellent termiticide that pests pass through undetected and carry back to the colony.

Bait station

A tamper-resistant housing that holds rodent or insect bait, keeping it contained and out of reach of pets and children.

Trenching and rodding

The method for applying a subterranean termite barrier: digging a shallow trench (and sometimes rodding the soil) to lay liquid termiticide along the foundation.

Void treatment

Applying product, often a dust, into wall voids, cabinet kicks and other hidden cavities where pests travel and nest.

Sanitation

Removing the food, water and clutter that attract and sustain pests — a foundation of any lasting control plan.

Pyrethroid

A widely used class of synthetic insecticides modeled on a natural compound from chrysanthemums, found in many professional and store-bought products.

Diatomaceous earth (DE)

A fine, abrasive mineral powder that scratches an insect's waxy outer shell and dries it out — a low-toxicity dust used in cracks and voids.

Gel bait

A bait in gel form placed in small dots and crevices for ants and cockroaches to feed on and carry back to the nest.

Fogger (bug bomb)

An aerosol that fills a room with insecticide. It mostly coats open surfaces and misses the cracks and voids where pests hide, so it rarely ends an infestation.

Snap trap

The classic spring-loaded rodent trap that kills quickly — still one of the most effective tools for catching rats and mice.

Active ingredient

The component of a pesticide that actually controls the pest. The rest of the product is the carrier or formulation that delivers it.

Pest Biology

Colony

A group of social insects such as ants or termites that live together and divide the work among specialized castes.

Caste

A role group within a colony. Termite colonies have workers, soldiers and reproductives, each built for a different job.

Worker

The wingless majority of a termite or ant colony that does the feeding and tunneling — and, in termites, the caste that actually eats a home's wood.

Forager

A worker ant or insect that leaves the nest to find food and water, then returns to share it. The ants you see indoors are usually foragers.

Supercolony

A network of interconnected Argentine ant colonies that don't fight each other and can stretch across a whole neighborhood, which is why ant problems often span several yards.

Nymph

An immature insect, such as a young cockroach, that looks like a smaller, wingless version of the adult and grows through several molts.

Larva

The grub- or worm-like immature stage of insects with complete metamorphosis, including fleas and beetles, before they become adults.

Ootheca

A protective egg case produced by cockroaches that holds many eggs at once, which is why a single roach can quickly become an infestation.

Vector

An organism that carries and transmits disease, such as a tick or mosquito. Vector control focuses on reducing the pests that spread illness.

Roof rat

The most common rat in the San Gabriel Valley — an agile climber that travels fences and trees into attics, drawn by fruit trees and dense landscaping.

Metamorphosis

The change an insect goes through as it grows. Complete metamorphosis runs egg to larva to pupa to adult (fleas, beetles); incomplete runs egg to nymph to adult (cockroaches).

Pupa

The transformation stage between larva and adult in insects with complete metamorphosis, often inside a cocoon or case.

Soldier

The termite caste with an enlarged head and jaws, built to defend the colony against ants and other invaders.

Reproductive

A colony member that breeds — the king and queen, plus the winged swarmers a mature colony sends out to start new ones.

Infestation

An established pest population breeding in or around a structure, as opposed to a stray pest that wandered in.

Pheromone

A chemical signal insects use to communicate — to mark trails, attract mates or raise an alarm. Ant trails and many monitoring traps rely on pheromones.

Cellulose

The plant fiber in wood, paper and cardboard that termites — with help from microbes in their gut — digest for food.

Trophallaxis

The food-sharing behavior in ants and termites where workers pass food mouth-to-mouth. It's how a single dose of bait can spread through and wipe out a whole colony.

Rub marks

Dark, greasy smudges rodents leave along walls, pipes and beams from the oils in their fur as they travel the same routes over and over.

Gnaw marks

The chew marks rodents leave on wood, wires and packaging. Their teeth never stop growing, so they gnaw constantly to wear them down.

Honeydew

The sugary waste that aphids and scale insects excrete on plants. It draws ants, which is one reason ant trails lead to trees and shrubs.

Common San Gabriel Valley Pests

Argentine ant

The small brown ant behind most SGV ant problems. Its linked supercolonies span neighborhoods, which is why baiting works better than spraying.

German cockroach

A small, indoor-breeding cockroach that multiplies fast in kitchens and bathrooms — the hardest roach to clear, needing interior baiting and follow-up.

Black widow

A venomous spider, glossy black with a red hourglass, that hides in garages, meter boxes, woodpiles and block walls across the valley.

Norway rat

A larger, ground-dwelling rat that burrows and stays low — in sewers, crawlspaces and under structures — unlike the climbing roof rat.

House mouse

A small grey mouse that nests indoors and needs very little food or water, so a few can quickly become many.

Carpenter ant

A large ant that tunnels into damp or damaged wood to nest. It doesn't eat wood like a termite, but it can still cause damage and signals a moisture problem.

American cockroach

The large reddish-brown roach (sometimes called a 'palmetto bug' or water bug) that comes in from drains, sewers and outside. Unlike the German cockroach, it doesn't breed in large numbers indoors.

Oriental cockroach

A dark, sluggish 'water bug' that lives in drains, damp garages and around plumbing, and wanders indoors from those wet areas.

Brown widow

A paler relative of the black widow, now common across Southern California, with a spiky tan egg sac. Its bite is less serious, but it nests in the same patio and furniture spots.

Brown recluse

A venomous spider that's widely feared but is NOT native to California — the recluse isn't established here, so the venomous spider to actually watch for locally is the black widow.

Cellar spider (daddy longlegs)

The long-legged spider that builds loose, tangled webs in corners, garages and cellars. It's harmless to people and even preys on other spiders.

Pavement ant

A small dark ant that nests under sidewalks, slabs and driveways and trails indoors looking for food.

Yellowjacket

An aggressive black-and-yellow wasp that nests in the ground or wall voids and scavenges food and trash. It can sting repeatedly and is most defensive in late summer.

Paper wasp

A slender, long-legged wasp that builds open, umbrella-shaped nests under eaves and patio covers. Less aggressive than a yellowjacket, but it defends its nest.

Inspection & Licensing

SPCB

The California Structural Pest Control Board — the state agency that licenses and regulates pest control operators and companies.

Branch 2

The California pest-control license category covering general pests such as ants, cockroaches, rodents and spiders.

Branch 3

The California pest-control license category covering termites and other wood-destroying organisms, including inspection and treatment.

Owner-operator

A pest control business run and worked by its licensed owner, so the same person who inspects and quotes the job also performs the treatment.

Re-entry interval

The short period after a treatment during which people and pets stay out of the treated area until it has dried or aired out, per the product label.

Subarea (crawlspace)

The space beneath a raised-foundation home — a key inspection zone where subterranean termites, moisture and damage often hide.

Weep holes

The small gaps left in brick or block veneer for drainage. They let walls breathe, but can also be an entry point for pests.

Slab-on-grade

A foundation poured directly on the ground with no crawlspace. Subterranean termites reach these homes through cracks and around plumbing penetrations.