Termite Tenting and Fumigation Cost in 2026
Termite tenting cost by home size
Floor area x $1 to $4 per sq ft
| Home size | Tenting cost |
|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | $1,000 to $4,000Not in HomeGuide's table (smallest row 1,200 sq ft) |
| 1,500 sq ft | $1,500 to $6,000HomeGuide's table: $1,500 to $6,000 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $2,000 to $8,000HomeGuide's table: $2,000 to $8,000; Bob Vila: same |
| 2,500 sq ft | $2,500 to $10,000HomeGuide's table: $2,500 to $10,000 |
| 3,000 sq ft | $3,000 to $12,000HomeGuide's table: $3,000 to $12,000 |
How each row is worked out: floor area times the $1 to $4 per sq ft rate for tented gas fumigation in HomeGuide's termite treatment table (updated 21 November 2025), the same rate Bob Vila gives (updated 26 June 2024). The multiplication is ours; the second line in each row is what HomeGuide's tenting page (updated 21 November 2025) prints for that size. These are national compiled estimates, checked 13 October 2026, not quotes. HomeGuide prices tenting by the home's square footage; your fumigator doses the gas by the volume under the tarp, so a written quote after an inspection is the only price for your house.
Section B / Other published figures
Why fumigation prices disagree between sources
- $1,500 to $5,000 for fumigation, This Old House (updated 17 June 2026). It gives no home size, and says its figures were sourced from Angi and pest control companies in several states.
- $5 to $20 per linear foot for termite tenting with fumigation, HomeAdvisor (updated 19 June 2026). It prices per linear foot, not per square foot of floor, so it cannot be compared row for row with the table above.
- $2,000 to $8,000 for an average-sized home, HomeGuide; its tenting page defines the average home as 2,000 sq ft, which is the 2,000 sq ft row above.
Each publisher builds its range from its own job data or research, so the ranges measure slightly different things and none is a quote. None of them publishes a state or city tenting price, which is why this page shows none. All three were checked 13 October 2026.
Correction, 13 October 2026: until today this page carried a seven-region price table (per-square-foot and typical-home bands for California, Arizona, Florida, the Gulf Coast and Hawaii), a typical-home band, an hourly crew cost, a bagging add-on fee, a borate add-on band and a combined fumigation-and-Sentricon first-year band. None had a source we could find, and all are removed. It also said aeration takes 4 to 6 hours and that chloropicrin is mixed into the fumigant. The label requires at least 12 hours before re-entry testing, and has chloropicrin released separately before the fumigant.[Vikane label]
Section C / Prep checklist
Before the tent goes up
Each line is from the Vikane label (EPA Reg. No. 1015-78) or the state rules named beside it. Your fumigator's own instructions come first; if they ask for less than this, ask why.
- 01
Read and sign the fumigation notice
Once you sign a fumigation contract, the fumigator must give an adult occupant the Fact Sheet for Vikane.[Vikane label] In California the company must hold an Occupant Fumigation Notice and Pesticide Disclosure form signed by the occupant or owner, stating that a lethal gas will be used on the dates shown and that it is unsafe to return until a re-entry notice is posted.[16 CCR 1970.4] In Florida the company must notify FDACS at least 24 hours before the fumigation.[Fla. Admin. Code 5E-14.110]
- 02
Plan where everyone will stay
No one may be inside during the fumigation and aeration periods, and when one unit of a townhouse, condo or apartment building is fumigated, every unit in the structure must be vacated.[Vikane label][Fla. Admin. Code 5E-14.111] HomeGuide tells owners to plan on 24 to 72 hours away[HomeGuide]; the California board says a fumigation can take from six hours to one week, depending on the infestation, dose, temperature and size of the structure.[California SPCB]
- 03
Take out pets and plants
The label requires all persons, domestic animals, pets and desirable growing plants to be removed, and sends the fumigator to its manual for fish tanks.[Vikane label] California's board adds fish, and seeds or bulbs intended for planting.[California SPCB]
- 04
Bag or remove food, medicine and tobacco
Food, feed, drugs (including tobacco) and medicines, including what is in the fridge and freezer, can stay only if they are in plastic, glass or metal bottles, cans or jars with the manufacturer's original air-tight seal intact. Everything else is removed or double-bagged in Nylofume bags.[Vikane label]
- 05
Unseal waterproof mattress and pillow covers
A mattress or pillow fully enclosed in a waterproof cover has its seal opened, or comes out of the house if it cannot be opened. Covers with built-in air vents can stay as they are.[Vikane label]
- 06
Put out every flame and heating element
All flames go out, including the pilot lights of water heaters, gas refrigerators, ranges, ovens, broilers, dryers and gas fireplaces; electrical heating elements are turned off or unplugged.[Vikane label] In Florida the operator must confirm in a final walk-through that no open fires, flames, pilot lights or oil lamps are burning before the gas goes in.[Fla. Admin. Code 5E-14.112]
- 07
Open the inside of the house
Internal doors, attic and crawlspace openings, wardrobes, cabinets, drawers, closets and appliances are opened so the gas reaches every space. Fridge and freezer doors may be left open only if the unit is off and all food is out.[Vikane label]
- 08
Tell the company what connects to next door
California fumigators must ask you about construction elements, conduits, drains or vacuum systems that could let the gas pass into an adjoining building.[California SPCB]
- 09
Expect your doors to be locked against you
California requires a secondary lock on every outside door that only the fumigator can open[16 CCR 1970.3], and Florida requires the same until the house is declared safe.[Fla. Admin. Code 5E-14.112]
Section D / Re-entry
When you can go back in
The clock that matters starts when the tarps come off, not when the gas goes in. Warning signs and locks stay on until the house is cleared.[Fla. Admin. Code 5E-14.112]
- 10
Aeration first
After the tarps come off, the house is aired with every operable window and door open and at least one fan of 18 inches or more for each 22,500 cubic feet, for at least 2 hours.[Vikane label]
- 11
Then a locked wait
The house is secured again, with no re-entry for at least 12 hours from the first opening of the seal at the lower doses, and 14 to 24 hours at higher doses. Under that higher-dose procedure, if the day's high during aeration is below 40F, the minimum is 24 hours.[Vikane label]
- 12
A clearance test in every room
The fumigator measures the gas in the breathing zone of each room (where people stand, sit or lie down) with a clearance device. The house may be reoccupied only when every reading is 1 ppm or less; above that, it is ventilated and tested again.[Vikane label]
- 13
A signed, posted clearance notice
In Florida the certified operator personally checks each room, then signs a written clearance notice with the exact date and hour of release and posts it on every entrance; it may not be posted before the test or post-dated.[Fla. Admin. Code 5E-14.113] In California the re-entry notice gives the date and time the building was released, the company's name, and its licence and phone numbers.[California SPCB] Until then, no one goes in.
- 14
If you feel unwell within 24 hours
California's board says to leave and call your doctor, poison control at (800) 222-1222, the pest control company and the board if, within 24 hours, anyone has headaches, dizziness, nausea, watery eyes, coughing, nose or throat irritation, shortness of breath, double vision, unusual drowsiness, weakness or tremors.[California SPCB]
- 15
Do not judge the result on day one
Drywood termites can stay alive for up to a week after a lethal dose, and their pellets stay in the galleries after they die, so still seeing pellets afterwards is not proof the job failed.[California SPCB]
Section E / What tenting does not do
No residual protection, and no effect on soil colonies
Fumigation treats every infestation in the structure at once, including ones hidden from view, and UC IPM rates it highly effective when correctly applied; a monitored fumigation, with gas monitoring lines inside the house, has the highest success rate.[UC IPM] The same Pest Note lists the costs: fumigation leaves no residue, and occupants, pets and plants must leave the structure for several days, and roofs can be damaged by tarps dragged across them, so ask the company before signing who pays if the roof is damaged.[UC IPM]
California's board is blunt about the limits. Subterranean termites need a separate treatment that puts a barrier between the house and their nest in the ground. Household pests such as spiders or cockroaches can survive, and other pests can move back in, because fumigants have no residual effect.[California SPCB] For a soil colony, see liquid barrier cost and bait station cost.
The board also says fumigation is not always required for drywood termites: a small infested area can be treated locally, though local treatment will not reach hidden infestations elsewhere. Fumigation and whole-house heat are the only whole-house methods.[California SPCB] Compare heat treatment cost ($1 to $3 per sq ft, HomeGuide) and the no-tent options.
Section F / Vikane at a glance
Restricted use pesticide
What the Vikane label says
- 01Active ingredient: sulfuryl fluoride, 99.8 percent. EPA Reg. No. 1015-78, registered to Douglas Products; the registration came from Corteva's 62719-4 on 30 October 2015.[EPA PPLS record]
- 02Restricted use because of inhalation toxicity: sold to and used only by certified applicators or people under their direct supervision. Current label accepted by EPA on 11 July 2024.[Vikane label]
- 03Labelled for drywood and Formosan termites, powder post and death watch beetles, old house borers, bedbugs, clothes moths, carpet beetles, cockroaches and rodents, among others. Dampwood termites are not named in that front-panel list, but the Structural Fumigation Manual, which is part of the labeling, gives a lethal dose for the western dampwood termite (Zootermopsis angusticollis) in its Table 1.[Vikane label]
- 04The gas has no odor, so chloropicrin, a tear agent, is released inside at least 5 to 10 minutes before the fumigant as a warning.[Vikane label]
- 05Not applied for insects when the temperature where the pests are is below 40F, and unless the job is monitored remotely, two trained people, one a state-certified applicator, must be present when the gas goes in.[Vikane label]
Read the full label on EPA's Pesticide Product Label System, checked 13 October 2026. In Florida, the department may also set clearance procedures for homes before reoccupation[Fla. Stat. 482.051].
Section G / Frequently asked
Common questions
How much does termite tenting cost?+
HomeGuide and Bob Vila both put termite tenting with gas fumigation at $1 to $4 per sq ft. At that rate a 1,000 sq ft home is $1,000 to $4,000, a 2,000 sq ft home $2,000 to $8,000 and a 3,000 sq ft home $3,000 to $12,000 (our arithmetic; HomeGuide prints the same figures for 1,500 to 3,000 sq ft). This Old House gives $1,500 to $5,000 for fumigation and HomeAdvisor $5 to $20 per linear foot. All are national compiled estimates, checked 13 October 2026; only a written quote after an inspection prices your house.
How long do you have to be out of the house for termite tenting?+
Until the fumigator has measured 1 ppm or less of the gas in every room and posted the clearance. The Vikane label sets the minimum after the tarps come off: 2 hours of fan aeration, then no re-entry for at least 12 hours from the first opening of the seal (14 to 24 hours at higher doses, and 24 hours at those doses when the high during aeration is below 40F). Add the time under the tent before that. HomeGuide says to plan on 24 to 72 hours away; California's Structural Pest Control Board says a fumigation can take from six hours to one week.
What is Vikane?+
Vikane is a sulfuryl fluoride gas fumigant (99.8 percent sulfuryl fluoride), EPA Reg. No. 1015-78, registered to Douglas Products. The registration moved to Douglas from Corteva's number 62719-4 on 30 October 2015, and the current label was accepted by EPA on 11 July 2024. It is a restricted use pesticide because of its inhalation toxicity, sold to and used only by certified applicators or people under their direct supervision. The gas has no odor, so chloropicrin is released inside the house as a warning agent at least 5 to 10 minutes before the fumigant.
Do I have to bag all my food before fumigation?+
Not all of it. Under the Vikane label, food, drugs, tobacco and medicines (fridge and freezer included) can stay if they are in plastic, glass or metal bottles, cans or jars with the manufacturer's original air-tight seal intact. Opened packages, and anything not in such a container, are removed or double-bagged in Nylofume bags.
Does tenting stop termites coming back?+
No. UC IPM Pest Notes say fumigants leave no residue and have no residual effect, and California's Structural Pest Control Board says other pests can reinfest a structure after a fumigation. Subterranean termites need a separate treatment between the house and their nest in the soil. UC IPM says preventive chemicals can be applied to fumigated areas for longer-term protection.
Is termite tenting the same as fumigation?+
Usually, but not always. HomeGuide uses termite tenting as the general term for covering the house in a tent, which can hold either fumigant gas or heat. California's board says fumigation and whole-house heat are the only two whole-house methods for drywood termites; spot methods such as electro gun, microwave or liquid nitrogen are not alternatives to a whole-house treatment.
Section H / Where to next
Related cost pages
Open file
Drywood Termite Cost
Drywood pricing, all treatment methods compared.
Open file
Heat Treatment Cost
The other whole-house method for drywood termites.
Open file
No-Tent Options
Local treatments, and what they cannot reach.
Open file
California Cost
Section 1 and Section 2 WDO reports and drywood treatment.
Open file
Florida Cost
FDACS licensing and drywood-heavy south Florida.
Open file
Hawaii Cost
Drywood and Formosan pressure on the islands.
This page is a cost guide. It is not pest control advice, and we are not a pest control company. Vikane is a restricted use pesticide applied only by certified fumigators. Verify your operator's licence with your state pesticide regulator.