Pellets piling up
Tiny, hard, six-sided pellets under a window, on a sill or below a beam are the classic drywood sign. Sweep them up; fresh piles mean the colony is active.
Termite & pest control in Long Beach, CA
Termite control for Long Beach homes, from the attic beams to the slab
Pellets on a windowsill, wings by the back door or a soft spot in the trim usually mean termites have been at work for a while, and the right fix depends on which kind you have.
We inspect, tent, treat and repair termite damage across Long Beach, Signal Hill, Lakewood and the nearby cities, and we take care of the ants, roaches, rats and bees that come with Southern California living.
- Phones answered 24/7
- Long Beach and Downey offices
- Drywood, subterranean and dampwood
Inspection notesSample
- Pellets under the west gable vent
- No mud tubes on the slab edge
- Soft fascia board at the porch
Products we work with
VikaneTermidorSentriconAltrisetBora-CareTim-borXT-2000TrelonaAdvancePremiseAlpineAdvionContracNylofume
Quick answer
Most termite trouble in Long Beach comes from drywood termites, which live inside dry framing and trim and push out small six-sided pellets. When colonies are spread through a house, tenting is usually the most complete fix; when they sit in wood you can reach, a local treatment can do the job. Subterranean termites come up from the soil and are treated at the ground. An inspection tells you which you have.
Treatment finder
Which termite treatment fits your house?
Answer four quick questions and see where most Long Beach jobs like yours start. Tap an answer in each row; the suggestion updates as you go.
Suggested starting point
Start with a termite inspection
An inspector checks the attic, the crawlspace or slab edge, the garage, the eaves and the trim, identifies the termite type and marks every finding on a diagram, so the treatment is chosen on facts rather than guesses.
How our termite inspection works
Call to confirm itThe inspection confirms or changes this suggestion.
Services
Termite and pest work we do
Every one of our 40 services starts the same way: we find out what is really going on before anyone talks about price. Termite work is the core of the business; household and yard pests come along with it.
Inspections & plans
Reports, plans and building-wide programs
Drywood termites
Colonies living inside dry wood
Subterranean & dampwood
Termites that come up from the soil or wet wood
Wood repair & prevention
Damaged wood and prevention
Household pests
Pests inside the house
Rodents & outdoor pests
Rodents, stinging insects and the yard
What to look for
Signs of termites in a Long Beach home
Termites stay hidden, so the clues are small. These are the ones homeowners most often send us photos of.
Wings on sills and floors
Swarmers drop their wings within minutes. Piles of identical wings near windows, lights or doors in late summer usually mean drywood termites inside.
Mud tubes on the foundation
Pencil-width tubes running up a slab edge, pier or garage wall are how subterranean termites travel from the soil to the wood.
Blistered or hollow trim
Paint that bubbles, wood that sounds papery when tapped, or a screwdriver that sinks in easily can mean galleries just under the surface.
Tiny holes with plugs
Drywood termites push pellets out through pinhead kick-out holes, then seal them. Look along door frames, baseboards and attic framing.
Sticking doors and damp wood
Wood that swells, stays damp or crumbles near a leak can attract dampwood termites and hide subterranean activity.
Tenting or local treatment
Tenting reaches colonies hidden inside walls and beams that no drill can find.
Drywood colonies are often in more places than anyone can see, which is why fumigation is so common on older Long Beach houses. When the inspection shows activity confined to wood we can reach, a local treatment avoids moving out.
We explain both, with prices, so you choose with the facts in front of you. The tenting or local treatment guide goes deeper, and the tenting cost estimator gives a typical range for your house.
How a job runs
From the first call to the clearance paperwork
Whether it is one door frame or a whole house under tarps, the work follows the same order. Nothing gets treated until we know what is there.
You call and describe what you found
A person answers day or night. We ask what you are seeing, where, and since when, and book an inspection at a time that works.
Inspection from attic to foundation
We check the attic, the crawlspace or slab edge, the garage, eaves, windows, doors and wood near soil, probing and tapping where damage hides.
Findings on a diagram with photos
Every finding is marked on a floor diagram with notes, so you can see where the termites are and what they have damaged.
Options with written prices
You get the treatment choices that fit the findings, local or whole-structure, with typical costs and what each one does and does not cover.
Prep, treatment and clearance
We walk you through prep, do the work, and for tenting we test the air before you go back in. You get the paperwork for your records.
Repairs and follow-up
Damaged wood can be repaired after treatment, and a protection plan keeps an eye on the house in the years after.
Long Beach houses and termite seasons
Why Long Beach keeps termite inspectors busy
Long Beach is drywood termite country. The marine layer keeps winters mild, late summers run warm and dry, and a lot of the housing is old wood: Craftsman bungalows and Spanish Colonial Revival homes in California Heights, Rose Park, Bluff Park and Belmont Heights, many sitting on raised foundations with a crawlspace underneath.
The postwar ranch tracts in Los Altos, El Dorado Park Estates and next door in Lakewood sit on slabs, where subterranean termites look for cracks and expansion joints. The Cliff May Ranchos in the Plaza have exposed post-and-beam ceilings that drywood colonies like, and the homes along the Naples canals deal with damp wood near the seawalls.
Exquisite Termite works out of the Pine Avenue office downtown and the Downey headquarters on Florence Avenue, which keeps us close to all of it, from Bluff Park to North Long Beach and out to Cerritos and Torrance.
Swarm calendar
Most of the year termites stay out of sight. These are the months they show themselves in and around Long Beach.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
- Subterranean swarms, usually after spring rain
- Drywood swarms, warm late summer and fall days
Service area
Areas we cover around Long Beach
Every Long Beach neighborhood, plus Signal Hill, Lakewood, Downey and the cities around them in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Long Beach neighborhoods
- Belmont Shore90803
- Belmont Heights90814
- Naples90803
- Bixby Knolls90807
- California Heights90807
- Los Cerritos90807
- Lakewood Village90712
- Los Altos90815
- El Dorado Park Estates90815
- Park Estates90815
- Bluff Park90803
- Alamitos Heights90815
- The Plaza90808
- Wrigley90806
- Rose Park90804
- North Long Beach90805
- Alamitos Beach90802
- Downtown Long Beach90802
- Bixby Park90803
- Bluff Heights90814
- Zaferia90804
- College Park Estates90815
- Virginia Country Club90807
- Carroll Park90814
Nearby cities and counties
- Los Angeles County
- Orange County
- Signal Hill90755
- Lakewood90712
- Seal Beach90740
- Los Alamitos90720
- Cerritos90703
- Bellflower90706
- Downey90240
- Paramount90723
- Norwalk90650
- Carson90745
- Torrance90503
- Compton90220
- Cypress90630
- Garden Grove92840
- Westminster92683
- Whittier90601
- Buena Park90620
- Gardena90247
- Fountain Valley92708
- Rancho Palos Verdes90275
- Lomita90717
- Palos Verdes Estates90274
- La Mirada90638
- Artesia90701
- Lynwood90262
- South Gate90280
Working with us
What a visit from us looks like
A person answers, any hour
Termites rarely make an emergency, but swarms, bees and rats do not keep office hours. The phone is answered around the clock.
Findings you can see
You get a diagram and photos of what we found, not a verbal guess. That makes it easier to compare options or share with a buyer or lender.
Options, explained plainly
When a local treatment will do, we say so. When tenting is the honest answer, we explain why and what the prep involves.
Treatment and repairs together
Termite work often uncovers damaged trim, fascia or sill plates. We repair that wood too, so one company sees the job through.
Questions
Termite questions from Long Beach homeowners
How do I know whether I have drywood or subterranean termites?
Look at what the termites leave behind. Drywood termites push small, hard, six-sided pellets out of the wood, so you find little piles that look like coarse sand or ground pepper. Subterranean termites leave mud: pencil-width tubes on the foundation and soil packed into damaged wood. Wings by a window in late summer point to drywood; wings after a spring rain point to subterranean. An inspection confirms it.
Does every termite problem in Long Beach need tenting?
No. Tenting is the right call when drywood colonies are spread through a house or hidden in walls and framing nobody can reach. When the activity is limited to a door frame, a few rafter tails or one piece of furniture, a local treatment such as orange oil or a drill-and-inject termiticide can handle it. Subterranean termites are treated in the soil, not with a tent.
How long do we have to stay out of the house during fumigation?
Plan on two to three days for most homes. The tarps go up on day one, the fumigant is held for about a day, then the house is aired out and the air is tested before anyone is allowed back inside. Large homes, cool weather and complicated roofs can stretch the schedule, so we give you the real timeline when the job is booked.
Can you handle the termite report for a home sale?
Yes. We inspect the property, write the report with findings separated into Section 1 and Section 2 items, attach a diagram, and price the work so buyers, sellers and agents can negotiate with real numbers. If Section 1 work is done, we issue the completion paperwork escrow needs before closing.
Do you also take care of ants, roaches and rodents?
Yes. Most homes we tent or treat for termites also deal with Argentine ants, cockroaches, roof rats or spiders at some point, so we handle those too: one-time visits, recurring service, rodent trapping and sealing, bee and wasp removal, and mosquito work in the yard.
What should I do if termites are swarming inside right now?
Close the room off, vacuum the swarmers and wings, and save a few in a sealed bag or a strip of clear tape so the type can be identified. Swarmers do not bite or damage anything themselves and die within hours indoors. Then call us; the swarm tells us a mature colony is nearby, and the inspection finds where.
Termite Guides
Read before you decide
Plain-language guides on termite types, tenting prep, reports for escrow and the pests that come with coastal living.
October 14, 2026
What termite droppings look like, what they get mistaken for, and what to do next
How to identify drywood termite frass in a Long Beach home, the look-alikes that fool people, a simple sweep test and the steps after you find it.
October 13, 2026
Brown widow spiders around Long Beach homes: where they hide and how to reduce them
How to spot brown widow spiders and their spiky egg sacs, where they hide around patios, mailboxes and garages, and practical steps to reduce them.
October 9, 2026
Buying an older Long Beach home: a termite checklist for Craftsman and Spanish houses
What to look at in the attic, crawlspace, garage and eaves of a pre-war Long Beach home, how to read the report, and how to use escrow timing well.
Call us
Call the Long Beach termite line
Tell us what you found and where. We will ask a few questions, book the inspection and explain what happens next.
- Phone
- (562) 636-0445
- Hours
- Phones answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Long Beach office
- 245 Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802
- Headquarters
- 8632 Florence Ave #201, Downey, CA 90240
- Coverage
- Long Beach, Signal Hill and nearby cities in Los Angeles and Orange counties. See all areas