Matching service only. Under Florida Chapter 482 we are not a certified operator. We do not spray, bait, tent, or inspect.
Wings on a Windermere sill, pellets in a garage, or a mud tube on a Horizon West stem wall are not one insect. Florida keeps drywood termites and subterranean termites in different files. Mixing them is how a homeowner bags a few wings, searches “termite spray,” and treats a soil colony like furniture. Orlando West Pest Care is a matching service. We match you with a licensed local pest control operator. We do not spray, bait, inspect, or tent.
This is for residential homes in Winter Garden, Horizon West, Hamlin, Waterleigh, Windermere, Ocoee, Oakland, Stoneybrook West, Clermont, and Minneola. If you need a real-estate report, start with termite and WDO or what a WDO inspection actually is in Winter Garden and Horizon West. Name the city or subdivision on get a quote. The licensee who already drives Windermere is the one who looks. We still only match.
What FDACS actually says a drywood termite does
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services keeps drywood termites on their own page. Drywood termites live and forage in dry wood. They enter by swarming from infested trees, stored wood, or nearby structures, and when you bring in infested furniture or hardwood. FDACS says inspect those items first. See FDACS, Dampwood and Drywood Termites.
Colonies start with a mating flight. Alates — reproductive kings and queens — leave the colony. They are not strong flyers. They rely on wind. On landing they break off their wings and look for a crack, knothole, or joint between two boards. FDACS names the roof as a common entry. They do not go into the shingles because of heat. They crawl under the eaves and enter wood joints. Attics, window frames, fascia, and soffits are typical points.
Unlike subterranean termites, drywood colonies grow slowly. The first alates may appear between year four and seven. Flying insects in the evening in late spring to early summer may be drywood alates. Sometimes you only find wings on a windowsill. Either way, FDACS says to contact a pest management professional for an inspection and an identification. Hexagonal pellets are the drywood signature in the photos on that page. Pellets are not mud tubes. A matching service does not identify pellets from a phone photo.
Treatments vary. For extensive infestations, pest management professionals typically use structural tent fumigation, structural heat, or localized treatments with labeled termiticides and essential oils registered for use in Florida. Removing infested wood can also be effective. FDACS recommends any pesticide application be conducted by a licensed pest management company. We are not that company. We match you with one.
What FDACS actually says a subterranean termite does
Subterranean termites do the most damage worldwide, in the billions of dollars each year. The most damaging groups FDACS names are Coptotermes (including Formosan) and Reticulitermes (including the Eastern subterranean termite). Both groups occur in Florida. See FDACS, Subterranean Termites.
They live and invade from underground. A single colony can cover one acre underneath a home. They typically live in dark, moist, hidden environments underground, but they will create carton nests aboveground — in walls, attics, and nearby trees. To move above ground they build mud tubes. Those tubes are the detection clue FDACS names. They are not hexagonal pellets in a windowsill tray.
Prevention on that page is licensed work plus moisture. Have the home annually inspected by a licensed pest control company. A professional may treat with a non-repellent soil barrier or an in-ground bait system. FDACS also lists gutters off the wall, sprinklers off the house, leaks fixed, wood and stucco off the soil, mulch pulled back, and cracks sealed. Do not disturb a termite treatment around the foundation.
A west Orlando lot gives that moisture list somewhere to live. Irrigation against a new Horizon West stem wall, oak litter against a Windermere skirt, and a 1994 Ocoee addition with wood-to-soil contact are different houses and the same underground file. None of those details is a species ID. The licensee writes the ID.
West Orlando rain is moisture context, not a diagnosis
The Florida Climate Center publishes NOAA / NCEI 1991–2020 normals for Orlando International Airport: 51.45 inches of rain a year, and 6.37 inches in September. June is 8.05, July 7.46, August 7.69. Annual mean temperature is 73.0°F; September’s mean is 81.0°F. See the Florida Climate Center Orlando 1991–2020 normals.
That is why soil against a slab stays wet when a buyer wants to close in September. Rain does not convert pellets into mud tubes, and it does not convert a flashlight photo into a wood-destroying organism report.
A WDO report is not a species you guessed
When a licensed pest control company inspects a structure for wood-destroying organisms in a real estate transaction, and either charges a fee or is asked for a written report, Florida requires a wood-destroying organism inspection report. That is Florida Statutes section 482.226. The inspection has to follow good industry practice and department standards, and it has to cover all wood-destroying organisms, not only the insect on the glass. Findings go on a form prescribed by the department. The report is not a guarantee of absence unless it specifically states the extent of such a guarantee. See Fla. Stat. 482.226.
A person may not perform those inspections or treatments without the identification card the chapter requires. Orlando West Pest Care does not hold that card. Florida Statutes section 482.191 makes it unlawful to solicit, practice, perform, or advertise in pest control except as Chapter 482 provides. We match you with a licensed local pest control operator. We do not inspect, tent, or write the report. Advertising that we tent a Windermere house would be advertising pest control we are not licensed to perform.
If the job is a sale or refinance, say so in the notes and use termite and WDO. If the job is wings after rain and you are not selling, it is still a licensed look. Nearby: WDO inspection in Winter Garden and Horizon West, Windermere, and get a quote.
What you can do before a licensed look
FDACS’s homeowner half is moisture and clutter, not a tent: gutters off the wall, sprinklers off the stucco, mulch pulled back, wood off the soil, and a note that says pellets versus mud tubes versus wings. Do not disturb a known soil treatment. Do not bag a few insects and call that an ID. If a contract needs a 482.226 form, say the closing date. We still only match.
Related matching notes
- Matching service page
- Service area
- Get a quote
- Termite swarm vs flying ants
- New-construction termite gaps
- What a WDO inspection is
Sources
- FDACS, Dampwood and Drywood Termites (live in dry wood; hexagonal pellets; slow colonies; eaves and furniture as entry; licensed treatment, including tent fumigation for extensive infestations): fdacs.gov/.../Dampwood-and-Drywood-Termites
- FDACS, Subterranean Termites (underground colonies up to an acre; mud tubes; Eastern and Formosan; licensed annual inspection and soil or bait work): fdacs.gov/.../Subterranean-Termites
- Fla. Stat. 482.226, Wood-destroying organism inspection report (department form; not a guarantee of absence unless stated): flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/0482.226
- Florida Climate Center / NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals, Orlando International Airport (annual 51.45 inches; September 6.37 inches): climatecenter.fsu.edu/.../orlando
FAQs
Are drywood termites and subterranean termites the same insect?
No. FDACS keeps them on separate pages. Drywood termites live and forage in dry wood and leave hexagonal pellets. Subterranean termites live underground, can cover an acre, and travel in mud tubes.
Do pellets in a west Orlando garage mean I need a tent?
Pellets are a drywood clue, not a treatment plan. FDACS says treatments vary, and that extensive infestations may involve tent fumigation by a licensed pest management company. We match you with that licensee. We do not tent.
Does a clear WDO mean the house has no termites?
Not unless the report itself states the extent of a guarantee. Section 482.226 says the report is not a guarantee of absence or of no damage unless it specifically says so. It is a snapshot of what was visible and accessible that day.
Why does September moisture matter for subterranean termites?
Orlando International’s 1991–2020 normals still put 6.37 inches of rain in September, inside a 51.45-inch year. Wet soil against a slab is conducive. It is not a DIY species ID.
Do you inspect or tent west Orlando houses?
No. We match you with a licensed local pest control operator. We do not spray, bait, inspect, or tent. Use get a quote and name Windermere or the subdivision.