What's the best way to get rid of drywood termites in an attached townhouse unit? The Orkin inspector says we have drywood termites, and he found evidence of them in two spots on opposite sides of the house. He says the only 100% effective treatments are fumigation and heat treatment. Fumigation requires the entire structure to be tented -- and that means all 5 units attached to ours. And that probably isn't a viable way to go since it would be very difficult to get all of the other owners to go in on this together and to move out during the time of the fumigation (plus, the Orkin guy said it would cost something like $15,000). Orkin is recommending heat treatment. They use propane to raise the temperature of the areas to 160 degress F. But I'm concerned about the heat damaging items in the rooms (furniture, clothing, etc.). And I'm concerned about the $2,500 price that I was quoted.

The fact that you live in an attached townhouse unit, all the units will need to be treated if
you are going to get rid of the termites once and for all.  Otherwise, if termite treatment
is only done in one unit it's equivalent to putting a band aid on a bullet wound. The termites will quickly return.

Here are the best known treatments for Drywood Termites:

• Fumigation: 1-2 days
  
• Heat: 4-12 hours
  
• Cold: 30 min, wall voids between studs
  
• Electrocution: 2-30 minutes
  
• Microwaves: 10-30 minutes
  
• Drill-and-Inject: 5-20 minutes
  
• Borate Surface Spray: 10 min - 2 hours
  
• Wood Replacement
  

None of the aforementioned treatments will work unless it's a collective effort.  I'm sure your neighbors don't want termites, so run this list by them and see what they think.

Those are expensive quotes so I can see why your looking for alternatives. Before paying a ton of money I would try a few things. Drywood termites do not burrow into the earth, so bait systems are useless against them. You either have to directly apply pesticides to the nest or fumigate your home. Orkin told you about the fumigation but didn't tell you about killing the nest. Where your areas of infestation are simply drill a hole in the wood. In that hole spray insecticide. The insecticide can be liquid, or it can be an aerosol sprayed into the nest or sometimes even a dust. Since this type of termite is area specific and doesn't spread to larges areas you should be able to quickly take care of the problem. They are considered easier to control than other species because of this. They are also less damaging, because the smaller colonies eat wood at a much slower rate. Orkin should have been able to do what is called a spot treatment since you only have a couple areas effected. My only concern is if you take care of this problem and the other 5 units don't it can be a vicious cycle. You can guarantee if your having problem someone else is as well, whether they know it or not.

Have you checked to see what the homeowners insurance covers? Has there been any other claims on the townhouses? If so , you may have a case to force association to pay for full fumigation. Otherwise, your best bet is to start with spot treatments as much as possible in the house. I wouldnt think 2,500 is correct though. I have seen cheaper. Read this post:

http://www.dld123.com/q&a/index.php?cid=11192

I think if you give more information on where you are located, IMshopping can give more accurate results for your area.

Btw, start with a simple over the counter termite bomb in the attics and under the subfloor before spending larger amounts of money.