Pest Control Glossary: Plain-English Definitions

Adulticide

A product that kills adult insects. Distinguished from a larvicide or a growth regulator, which target earlier life stages. Most complaints about treatment "not lasting" come from an adulticide being used alone against a population that is mostly eggs and immatures.

Alate

The winged reproductive stage of an ant or termite colony — what people call a swarmer. Alates do no damage themselves; they exist to leave, mate, and start new colonies. Their appearance signals a mature colony nearby.

Bait station

A tamper-resistant housing holding bait, placed where the target pest forages. Because the pest carries bait back to the nest or colony, stations reach individuals a technician can never see or reach directly.

Branch 1, 2, 3

California license categories under the Structural Pest Control Board. Branch 1 is fumigation, Branch 2 is general pest control, and Branch 3 is termite and other wood-destroying organism work. A company writing a termite report must hold the appropriate registration.

Carton nest

A hardened nest structure some subterranean termites build from chewed wood, soil, and saliva, often inside a wall void. Finding one indicates a well-established colony rather than a recent arrival.

Certification (clearance)

A document stating that a structure is free of evidence of active infestation, issued after required corrective work has been completed and verified. It is not issued at the original inspection, which is why escrow timelines need to allow for the work and the re-check.

Crack-and-crevice application

Placing a small amount of product directly into the gaps, seams, and voids where pests actually rest, rather than spreading it across open surfaces. More effective and lower exposure than broadcast spraying.

Drill-and-treat

Drilling small access holes into infested wood or a void, injecting product, then patching the holes. A localised alternative to whole-structure fumigation where the infestation is confined.

Earth-to-wood contact

Structural wood touching soil, which gives subterranean termites and decay fungi a direct route in and holds moisture against the wood. One of the most common Section 2 findings on California termite reports.

Exclusion

Physically sealing the gaps a pest uses to enter — with hardware cloth, steel mesh, sheet metal, mortar, or specialized sealant. For rodents, exclusion is the durable part of the work; trapping only addresses the animals already inside.

Frass

Insect droppings and wood debris. Drywood termite frass is distinctive: hard, uniform, six-sided pellets that look like coarse sand and accumulate below small round kick-out holes.

Fumigation

Enclosing a structure — usually under tarps, hence "tenting" — and introducing a gas that penetrates the whole building, including wood interiors. It resolves infestations no surface treatment can reach, but requires the building to be vacated and everything edible or medicinal removed or sealed.

Further Inspection

A category on a California WDO report marking an area that could not be inspected — a sealed subarea, blocked attic access, a finished wall. These are not findings but gaps, and they have to be opened and inspected before anyone can say what is behind them.

Harborage

The place a pest actually lives and shelters, as opposed to where you see it. Cockroach harborage is inside cabinet voids, hinge cavities, and appliance motor housings — which is why treating the visible countertop accomplishes little.

IGR (insect growth regulator)

A product that disrupts development so immature insects never reach reproductive adulthood. It does not kill quickly, which is why it is paired with an adulticide, but it is what actually breaks a breeding cycle in fleas, cockroaches, and mosquitoes.

IPM (integrated pest management)

An approach that combines inspection, identification, sanitation, exclusion, and habitat modification with targeted product use, rather than relying on pesticide alone. It is the standard framework for schools, food facilities, and healthcare settings, and it is generally cheaper over time.

Kick-out hole

A small round opening drywood termites make to push frass out of their galleries. Usually about the diameter of a pencil lead, and often the only externally visible sign of an infestation inside the wood.

Label

The legally binding document accompanying a pesticide, specifying where and how it may be used, at what rate, and with what precautions. Using a product contrary to its label is illegal, not merely inadvisable. You are entitled to see the label for anything applied at your property.

Mud tube (shelter tube)

A pencil-width tunnel of soil and saliva that subterranean termites build to travel between soil and wood while staying enclosed. Commonly found on foundation walls, piers, and inside subareas.

Non-repellent

A product a pest cannot detect and therefore does not avoid, so it walks through and picks it up. The opposite of a repellent product, which drives pests away — useful for a barrier, counterproductive when you need the pest to carry something back to a colony.

Perimeter treatment

A treated band around the exterior foundation and entry points, intended to intercept pests before they get inside. Maintenance, not eradication — it holds pressure down between visits.

Pupa (pupae)

The transitional life stage inside a protective casing. Flea pupae are the reason infestations seem to return: the cocoon resists insecticide, and emergence can be delayed for weeks until vibration and warmth trigger it.

Re-entry interval

The period after an application before it is appropriate to return to the treated area, specified by the product label. For most residential treatments it is simply until surfaces are dry; for some interior work it is longer.

Residual

How long a product remains active after application. A long residual means continuing effect; it also means the treated surface should not be washed immediately, which is a common way homeowners undo their own service.

SDS (safety data sheet)

A standardised document listing a product's hazards, handling requirements, and first-aid information. Available on request for anything we apply, and worth asking for if anyone in the household has a specific sensitivity.

Section 1

On a California WDO report, infestation or infection that is evident at the time of inspection — live termites, active fungus or dry rot. These are the items that must be corrected for a standard clearance.

Section 2

On a California WDO report, conditions present that are deemed likely to lead to infestation or infection — earth-to-wood contact, leaks, cellulose debris, inadequate ventilation. Preventive rather than active, and typically negotiated between the parties to a sale.

SPCB

The California Structural Pest Control Board, the state body that licenses pest control operators and companies and receives filed WDO reports. Reports are searchable by property address for two years, which makes them independently verifiable.

Subarea

The space beneath a raised floor — what most people call the crawlspace. It is where a large share of termite, moisture, fungus, and rodent findings originate, and access to it determines how complete an inspection can be.

Supercolony

A single interconnected ant population spanning many nests and many queens, with workers moving freely between them. Argentine ants in Southern California form these, which is why killing a visible trail has no lasting effect.

Swarmer

The everyday term for an alate — the winged reproductive stage. See the guide on telling termite swarmers from flying ants, since the distinction determines whether it is a structural concern.

Trophallaxis

The mouth-to-mouth food sharing that social insects use to distribute nutrition through a colony. It is the mechanism baiting exploits: one forager can carry a dose to individuals nobody will ever see.

WDO (wood-destroying organism)

The category covering termites, wood-boring beetles, carpenter ants, and decay fungi. A "WDO report" is the California wood-destroying pests and organisms inspection report — the document commonly just called the termite report.

Common questions