Bowie Termite Control
Family-owned & local since 1968
Swarmers by the tub? Mud tubes on the garage wall? We find and stop termites in Bowie slab homes without tearing up your floors.
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From Our Customers
Trusted Termite Control in Bowie, MD — in Our Customers' Words
Hear what Northern Virginia and Maryland homeowners have to say about our service — in their own words. Real customers from real homes, sharing why they trust Better Termite with what matters most.
- Homes protected
- 100k+
- Google reviews
- 4.9★
- Years local
- 58+
Why Better Termite
Termite Control in Bowie you can trust — from $35/mo with no binding contracts.
Lower-Impact Products
Hand-picked, EPA-approved treatments selected by our research team — without 9 of the harshest products still used by most companies.
Local Termite Control Experts
Family-owned since 1968, with 300+ years of combined experience protecting Bowie homes. A licensed local tech answers the phone.
The Better Promise
Unlimited free re-services and no binding contracts — we keep coming back until your problem is gone. Cancel anytime with 30 days notice.
About Better Termite
Termite Control Built Around Bowie's Slab Houses
When the House Sits Right on the Dirt
Here is the call we hear from Bowie every spring. A homeowner walks into the bathroom and finds dozens of small winged bugs on the floor by the tub. By the next morning, there are just wings. They never had a basement, so they never thought termites could reach them.
They can. Most of Bowie's Belair neighborhoods were built by Levitt and Sons in the early 1960s, with concrete slabs instead of basements. A slab keeps termites out of sight, not out of the house. They come up through the gap under the tub drain, along pipes, and through cracks in a slab that has been settling for 60 years. Then they eat the wood inside the walls, where you cannot see it.
Better Termite & Pest Control has treated termites across Maryland and Virginia since 1968. We are a third-generation family company, and a licensed technician answers when you call. More than 1800+ families have reviewed us, and our internal research team cut 9 of the harshest products in this industry from our plans.
Local Termite Pressure
What Makes Bowie Termite Country
Old Bowie: The Railroad Town
Bowie started in 1870 as Huntington City, a stop on the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad. It took the Bowie name in 1880. The frame houses around Old Bowie and the railroad museum are some of the oldest in the city. Wood porches, piers, and additions on these homes have had well over a century of contact with damp ground.
Belair: Thousands of Slab Homes, Built Fast
Levitt and Sons bought the old Belair estate and started selling homes in 1960. A state historical marker notes the houses went up on concrete slabs in assembly-line fashion, six to ten a day. The streets still follow the section letters: S for Somerset, B for Buckingham, K for Kenilworth, F for Foxhill, and T for Tulip Grove. Over 60 years, owners have added sunrooms, family rooms, and enclosed carports. Every place a new slab was poured against the old one is a seam termites can follow.
Streams, Ponds, and Shade
Water runs right through town. Collington Branch flows along Bowie's east side into the Western Branch of the Patuxent River. Allen Pond, the ten-acre lake at the center of Allen Pond Park, drains into it. Dozens of smaller stormwater ponds sit inside neighborhoods, and wooded buffers run behind many back yards. Termites need moist soil, and the yards closest to that water and shade stay damp the longest.
Newer Homes Are Not Off the Hook
In Mill Branch Crossing, Melford, and the newer Woodmore-area homes, the weak spots are different. Big finished basements, foam insulation, and stone veneer that runs below the soil line can hide mud tubes until they reach wood. And the liquid pretreatment a builder put down does not last forever.
Slab Homes
Five Ways Termites Get Into a Bowie Slab House
Eastern subterranean termites live in the soil and need to stay moist. They will not walk across open concrete. So they look for a gap, and a 60-year-old slab has plenty.
- The bath trap. Builders left a box in the slab under the tub so the drain could be hooked up. It is often bare soil, right under your bathroom.
- Pipe and wire openings. Every water line, drain, and gas line that comes up through the slab leaves a small gap around it.
- The garage seam. The joint where the garage slab meets the house slab opens up as the two settle at different rates.
- Additions and enclosed carports. New concrete poured against the original slab never fully bonds. Termites follow that seam straight to the framing.
- Siding, stucco, and soil. Mulch, raised flower beds, and siding that run below the top of the slab let termites build tubes behind them where nobody looks.
Mud tubes are the best clue you can see. Look on the outside of the slab edge, inside the garage along the bottom of the wall, and around the water heater. Our guide to termite mud tubes shows what they look like and how to tell if one is active. While you are down in the garage, check for droppings too, since the same pipe gaps and worn door seals let mice in, and our page on Bowie rodent control covers what to do if you find them.
Treatment
Treating Termites Without Tearing Up Your Floors
The old way to treat a slab house was to drill holes through the floor every foot or so and pump liquid underneath. That means pulling up carpet, tile, and hardwood. For most Bowie homes, there is a better place to start.
Sentricon: Go After the Colony From Outside
We set Sentricon stations in the soil around the house. Workers find the bait and share it with the rest of the colony. The active ingredient stops termites from molting, so the colony dies off, queen included. Because we are going after the whole colony, we do not need to reach every termite under your living room. Sentricon monitoring runs starting around $35/month for an average DMV home, plus $200 setup fee on the first visit.
Spot Treatment Where Termites Are Already Inside
If termites are actively working in a wall, we may also treat the soil along the outside of the slab and drill a few targeted holes at the problem spots, like the garage seam or near the tub. If you are remodeling a bathroom or opening up a wall, we can treat the bare wood with borate before it gets closed back up. Every plan comes with unlimited free callbacks and no binding contract.
Warning Signs
Spring Swarms and Other Signs in Bowie Homes
Termites feed all year in Prince George's County, but most people only see them once: when a mature colony sends out swarmers. That usually happens on a warm day after rain, from about March into May. Outside, a swarm on a stump or woodpile is normal. Inside the house, it means the colony is under you or in your walls. Our page on flying termites in the house explains what to do in the first hour.
Where Bowie Homeowners Find Them
- On the bathroom floor or in the tub, near the drain
- On windowsills and sliding doors on the sunny side of the house
- Along the inside wall where the garage meets the kitchen or laundry room
- In a sunroom or family room added onto an original Belair house
Quieter Signs the Rest of the Year
Baseboards that feel soft or sound hollow. Paint that bubbles low on a wall. Small piles of shed wings. Laminate or vinyl floors that lift near an outside wall. Door frames that suddenly stick. A colony can work for years before any of this shows, which is why the first swarm is often the first sign.
Inspections
Is Your Old Termite Treatment Still Working?
Many Bowie owners assume the house was "treated when it was built." It may have been. A lot of homes from the 1950s through the 1980s got chlordane under the slab, and chlordane was banned for termite use in 1988. Newer liquid treatments break down in the soil over the years. Our article on how long termite treatment lasts covers what to expect from each type.
Bowie's street layout matters too. Belair homes sit close together on similar lots, built at the same time with the same materials. When one house has termites, the colony is often foraging under the yards around it. Here is why termites spread through a neighborhood, and why a neighbor's treatment is a good reason to check your own house.
MD-1 Inspections for Bowie Home Sales
Maryland real estate deals use the state MD-1 wood-destroying insect inspection form. We inspect the house, from the slab edge and garage to the attic, and fill out the MD-1 for your agent, lender, or title company. Our guide to termite inspections in Maryland explains what the report covers. Buying farther up Route 197? We also handle termite control in Laurel.
Swarmers leave the colony on warm spring days. In a slab house they often come out in the bathroom
Workers stay hidden in soil and wood. You rarely see one until damage shows
Sentricon stations sit flush in the yard, outside the house, all year
About 1/8 inch long, pale, and soft-bodied
Family-owned and treating DC-area homes since 1968
Everything We Do
Every service we offer in Bowie — one local team, one phone call.
Core Programs
- Home Pest Control in Bowie
- Termite Control in Bowie
- Rodent Control in Bowie
- Mosquito & Tick Control in Bowie
- Extermination Services in Bowie
- Eco-Friendly Pest Control in Bowie
- Sentricon® Termite Baiting in Bowie
- IN2CARE® Mosquito System in Bowie
- Commercial Pest Control in Bowie
- Pre-Construction Termite Control in Bowie
Insects & Spiders
- Ant Control in Bowie
- Carpenter Ant Control in Bowie
- Sugar Ant Control in Bowie
- Spider Control in Bowie
- Roach Control in Bowie
- German Cockroach Control in Bowie
- Oriental Cockroach Control in Bowie
- American Cockroach Control in Bowie
- Flea Control in Bowie
- Silverfish Control in Bowie
- Carpet Beetle Control in Bowie
- Pantry Pest Control in Bowie
- Stink Bug Control in Bowie
- Lady Bug Control in Bowie
- Boxelder Bug Control in Bowie
- Cricket Control in Bowie
- Tick Control in Bowie
- Earwig Control in Bowie
- Millipede Control in Bowie
- Centipede Control in Bowie
- Pill Bug Control in Bowie
- Springtail Control in Bowie
- Clover Mite Control in Bowie
Stinging & Flying
Rodents & Wildlife
What Prince George's County Homeowners Say
1800+ Reviews on Google "I highly recommend this company for your home pest control. Their technicians are thorough and have prevented any unwanted problems from happening on our property. During our last treatment, Jasmine took care of our outdoor spider webs without us even asking. Last summer they removed a mud dauber's nest under our deck and above our patio door. That attention to detail speaks volumes. Thank you for taking care of us!"
"The team at Better Termite & Pest control are phenomenal! I feel like my family and my home are in good hands. Everyone I have come into contact with has been responsive, pleasant and professional. The price is right and the service is superb!"
"Joann is amazing! She always takes time to talk with me and check inside boxes. I so appreciate her!! I have been using Better Termite and Pest Management for over 20 years."
"I love Darren over at Better Termite. He is always so attentive and kind, and really goes, IMO, out of his way to do a fantastic job. And I am so happy that I had NO MOSQUITOES this summer in my backyard in spite of the fact that there is a drainage area right behind my house, and that is 100% because of Better Termites services."
"Daren and Shay were prompt, courteous and professional. Daren has been maintaining my property for a while now. He's passionate about his work and the environment. Definitely glad I found them!"
"I highly recommend this company for your home pest control. Their technicians are thorough and have prevented any unwanted problems from happening on our property. During our last treatment, Jasmine took care of our outdoor spider webs without us even asking. Last summer they removed a mud dauber's nest under our deck and above our patio door. That attention to detail speaks volumes. Thank you for taking care of us!"
"The team at Better Termite & Pest control are phenomenal! I feel like my family and my home are in good hands. Everyone I have come into contact with has been responsive, pleasant and professional. The price is right and the service is superb!"
"Joann is amazing! She always takes time to talk with me and check inside boxes. I so appreciate her!! I have been using Better Termite and Pest Management for over 20 years."
"I love Darren over at Better Termite. He is always so attentive and kind, and really goes, IMO, out of his way to do a fantastic job. And I am so happy that I had NO MOSQUITOES this summer in my backyard in spite of the fact that there is a drainage area right behind my house, and that is 100% because of Better Termites services."
"Daren and Shay were prompt, courteous and professional. Daren has been maintaining my property for a while now. He's passionate about his work and the environment. Definitely glad I found them!"
How It Works
How Termite Control in Bowie Works
Call a Licensed Technician
Call (703) 683-2000 and a licensed technician answers, not a call center. Tell us what you saw, roughly when your Bowie house was built, and whether it sits on a slab or has a basement. Most homes can be priced on that first call.
78-Point Inspection, Slab Included
We check the spots slab homes hide: the bath trap under the tub, pipe gaps under sinks, the seam where the garage meets the house, and siding or stucco that runs down into the soil. Outside, we probe decks, fences, and mulch beds.
Treatment That Fits the House
Sentricon bait stations around the outside, a liquid soil treatment where termites are already active, or borate on bare wood during a remodel. Our internal research team removed 9 of the harshest products common in this industry.
Stations Working All Year
Sentricon stations stay in the ground 365 days a year. Your technician checks them at your annual inspection, so a new colony gets caught at a station instead of inside a wall.
Free Callbacks, No Contract
See swarmers in the bathroom or a fresh mud tube between visits? Call and we come back at no extra charge. No binding contracts. Cancel anytime with 30 days notice.
Your Local Office
Termite Control Across Bowie & Nearby Communities
From Old Bowie and the Belair sections to Pointer Ridge, Collington Station, Mill Branch Crossing, and Melford: termite protection across 20715, 20716, 20720, and 20721.
Get in Touch
Call Us
703-683-2000Email Us
info@bettertermite.comVisit Our Alexandria (Headquarters) Office
2647 Duke StreetAlexandria, VA 22314
Office Hours
- Mon, Tue, Thu7:30 AM – 7 PM
- Wed, Fri7:30 AM – 8 PM
- Sat, Sun9 AM – 6 PM
Good to Know
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions? A licensed local tech picks up at (703) 683-2000.
Our Free Callback Promise
See pests between scheduled visits? We come back and retreat at no extra cost — as many times as it takes. No binding contracts, cancel anytime with 30 days notice.