A restored Victorian home on a tree-lined Central California street — Palo Alto, California service area

Structural Pest Control

Termite Control in Palo Alto, CA

Name: 101 Exterminators Inc.
Address: 635 Sanborn Pl Ste 12, Salinas, CA, 93901, US
Telephone: (831) 500-1613

101 Exterminators does termite control in Palo Alto as a California-licensed structural pest company, SPCB Lic. #9119, Santa Clara County. The Professorville historic district, bounded by Addison, Waverley, Kingsley and Ramona, is built almost entirely of Colonial Revival, Craftsman and Shingle-style houses that went up before 1930 on old-growth framing. Western drywood termites have had that wood for generations. We inspect the whole structure, write the findings up by section, then treat.

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Local Context

Drywood Termites Work the Eaves in Professorville and the Beam Ends in Greenmeadow

Palo Alto holds two very different kinds of wood. Inside the Professorville historic district, and on the blocks of Old Palo Alto and Crescent Park around it, Colonial Revival, Craftsman and Shingle-style houses went up before 1930 on old-growth framing, and western drywood termites (Incisitermes minor) have had generations to work it. They never touch the soil. A colony can hollow a rafter above an Addison Avenue porch for years, and the first evidence is a small pile of six-sided frass pellets on a sill.

The other Palo Alto is post-war and built low. Joseph Eichler put up more than 2,700 post-and-beam houses here between 1949 and 1974, in tracts including Greenmeadow, Fairmeadow, Charleston Meadow and Los Arboles, and they share features termites read as an opening: slab-on-grade floors, low-slope roofs, wide overhangs, and exposed beam ends where framing runs past the wall into the weather. On slab construction the species shifts. Subterranean termites (Reticulitermes) come up through slab cracks, expansion joints and plumbing penetrations to reach the sill and the wall framing above.

Geography sorts the rest. San Francisquito Creek along the San Mateo County line, plus Matadero, Adobe and Barron creeks, keep soil damp well past the last April rain — Palo Alto only takes 14 to 16 inches a year, almost all of it between November and April. Lots near those corridors show subterranean activity and, where a leak has run long enough, dampwood termites (Zootermopsis) in the framing itself. A termite inspection here has to cover all three, because one street can put a 1912 shingle house next to a 1958 slab.

How We Work in Palo Alto

We start with the roofline on the older neighborhoods — eaves, fascia, rafter tails and attic framing — because that is where drywood termites get into Palo Alto's pre-1930 houses. On the Eichlers we work the other end: the slab edge, the exposed beam ends, the post bases at the atrium, and the plumbing penetrations where subterranean termites come up. Everything is photographed and split into Section 1 and Section 2 on a state-compliant WDO report before we recommend a treatment.

Palo Alto Climate

Palo Alto has warm summers and seasonal rain. Nearby creeks do not establish soil-foraging termites at a home.

Housing Stock

Older houses in Professorville and Crescent Park stand alongside later Palo Alto construction. The construction and later alterations determine which wood is visible.

Why Local Expertise Matters

In Palo Alto, preserving finishes matters when evaluating how concealed wood might be inspected or treated. Ask for the inspected areas, any limits, and the written basis for a treatment recommendation. A separate Section I/Section II report is available on request; the report itself does not decide a transaction’s repair terms.

Warning Signs

When to Ask About Termite Control in Palo Alto

We check visible wood in accessible attics, crawl spaces, fences, and exterior areas, then explain the next step. For written findings needed in a sale, book a paid structural pest inspection. Its WDO report separates Section 1 from Section 2 conditions.

Hollow-sounding wood when tapped — galleries eaten from inside

Frass (fine sawdust-like pellets) near baseboards or windowsills — drywood termite excrement

Discarded wings near doors or windows in spring — swarmers leaving to start new colonies

Blistering or bubbling paint on wood surfaces — subterranean tunnel activity underneath

Mud tubes running up foundation walls or piers — subterranean termite foraging trails

Soft or sagging flooring near walls — severe structural damage to subfloor joists

Small holes in wood with discoloration around the edges

Real estate transaction requiring a WDO inspection and clearance report

How It Works

What to Expect from Termite Control in Palo Alto

Tell us where you found wings, pellets, mud tubes or damaged wood. If you need a written report for a sale or refinance, ask for a formal WDO inspection when you book.

Visual Review or Formal Inspection

A licensed technician reviews visible signs in accessible areas and explains them. For a sale, a separately booked paid structural pest inspection documents findings for the written WDO report.

Findings & Recommendations

We explain what we find and recommend the next step. A formal written WDO report comes with a separately booked paid structural pest inspection.

Targeted Treatment Plan

We recommend the most effective and least invasive treatment — whether that's localized spot treatment, fumigation for widespread drywood infestation, or subterranean bait systems.

Treatment & Documentation (If Needed)

If treatment is authorized, we carry out the agreed plan and explain any follow-up. When correcting Section 1 findings from a separately booked paid WDO inspection, we provide the applicable completion documentation.

Why 101 Exterminators

Why Choose 101 Exterminators for Termite Control in Palo Alto

State-Licensed Inspectors

Our inspectors hold California Structural Pest Control licenses and are compliant with SPCB regulations for both inspections and treatments.

WDO Reports for Real Estate

We issue California Structural Pest Control Reports used in real-estate and financing workflows. If your lender, escrow company, or loan program has specific requirements, confirm them before scheduling.

Both Termite Species Covered

Central California has both drywood and subterranean termites. We identify which species is present and apply the treatment protocol specific to each.

Written Follow-Up Terms

Any re-inspection, re-service, or warranty terms for the recommended treatment are provided in writing before work begins.

Common Questions

Termite Control FAQs for Palo Alto

Do Eichler homes in Palo Alto get termites even though they sit on a slab?

Yes — the slab changes which species you get, not whether you get one. Subterranean termites (Reticulitermes) travel up through slab cracks, expansion joints and plumbing penetrations to reach the sill plate and wall framing. Drywood termites skip the soil entirely and enter through the exposed beam ends, fascia and low-slope roof edges that post-and-beam construction in Greenmeadow, Fairmeadow and Charleston Meadow leaves open to weather. Both turn up in Eichler inspections.

How do you treat termites in a Professorville house without damaging the original woodwork?

Method follows the location of the infestation, and localized work is often possible when the galleries are accessible. In pre-1930 Palo Alto houses that usually means drill-and-inject or borate treatment of specific framing members in the attic and eaves, which leaves finished interior surfaces alone. Fumigation becomes the honest answer when evidence is spread through framing we cannot reach. We tell you which of the two the inspection actually supports.

What does termite damage near San Francisquito Creek look like compared to the rest of Palo Alto?

Near the creeks it looks like mud, not frass. Subterranean termites build shelter tubes — pencil-width mud tubes running up stem walls, piers and slab edges — because they need contact with soil moisture, and the corridors along San Francisquito, Matadero, Adobe and Barron creeks hold that moisture long after the rain stops. Drywood termites in the drier hillside neighborhoods leave dry pellets instead, pushed out of small kick-out holes. The two findings call for different treatments.

Local Pest Pressure

Common Pests We Treat in Palo Alto

Every area has its own pest profile shaped by climate, housing, and geography. These are the pests we see and treat most often in Palo Alto — tap any one to learn how to identify it and what treatment involves.