Silver Bullet Pest ControlMud lines on the basement wall, a cloud of winged bugs one spring morning, or a sill that feels soft? Silver Bullet Pest Control does home termite inspections in Kenilworth, tells you plainly whether you have termites, and if you do, treats them and repairs the damaged wood. Free quote after the inspection.
4.9 stars on Google • NJ License 90568B • 15+ years • Serving Union County • Hablamos español
Not sure what you found? Text a photo to 973-510-2585 and we'll tell you if it looks like termites.
Call or text Silver Bullet Pest Control at 973-510-2585 and we'll schedule a home termite inspection in Kenilworth. A licensed technician checks the foundation, basement, sill plates, garage and outside walls for live termites, mud tubes, old damage and the moisture that draws them in, then explains what we found and gives you a free quote if treatment is needed. We treat the termites and can repair the damaged wood afterward. NJ License 90568B, 4.9 stars on Google.
Most people searching for how to get rid of termites want to skip straight to the treatment. The trouble is that you can't treat what you haven't found. Termites work inside wood and behind walls, so the swarm you saw by the back door or the one mud tube on the foundation is usually only a small part of the picture. A proper home termite inspection tells you three things: whether it's really termites, where they're getting in, and how much wood they've already reached.
Kenilworth is a compact Union County borough made up mostly of single-family homes, many of them several decades old, with basements, attached garages, porches and additions built over the years. That mix is typical of the houses where we find eastern subterranean termites — the kind that live in the soil and travel up into a house looking for wood and moisture.
Places where an addition meets the original foundation, a slab garage sits next to a basement, or a porch was built close to the dirt are the joints termites use most. Those are exactly the spots a homeowner can't easily see, and the spots we check first.
Three different problems send people looking for a termite inspection. Telling them apart is the first job:
Termites eat wood from the inside and leave the surface looking normal. They need soil contact or steady moisture, which is why the basement, sill line and porch footings are where we spend most of our time.
Carpenter ants hollow out damp wood to nest but don't eat it. They swarm in spring like termites and get mistaken for them all the time. The treatment is different, so we tell you which one it is.
Many soft-wood calls turn out to be rot from a leak, with no insects at all. Even when termites are there, water at the foundation is usually what drew them. We point out the conditions along with the bugs.
Foundation all the way around, the sill line, porch and step footings, decks, wood touching soil, mulch beds and where downspouts empty.
Every reachable foundation wall, sill plate, joist and post, plus cracks, expansion joints and spots where pipes and wires pass through concrete.
Door and window frames, baseboards and trim on the outside walls, and any spot you've noticed bubbling paint or soft wood.
We tap and probe suspicious wood to find hollow or damaged areas without tearing anything apart.
You see the evidence — live activity, old damage, or conducive conditions — and get a plain answer and a free quote if treatment is needed.
Finished basements, stored boxes along walls and drop ceilings limit what anyone can see. Clearing a path along the foundation walls before we arrive makes the inspection far more useful.
Every inspection ends with one of these answers, and each has a different next step:
| What we find | What it means | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Live termites or fresh mud tubes | An active colony is feeding on the house | Treatment, then check the wood for repairs |
| Old damage, no activity | Termites were there before; may have been treated | Ask the seller or past owner about treatment history; keep watching |
| Moisture, wood-to-soil contact | No termites yet, but the house is inviting them | Fix gutters, grading and leaks; consider re-checking later |
| Carpenter ants or rot | Not termites | Ant treatment or a wood repair, not a termite job |
| Nothing found | No visible signs in the areas we could reach | Re-inspect every year or two, sooner if you see swarmers |
An inspection covers what can be seen and reached. We'll tell you which areas were blocked so you know what wasn't checked.
Getting rid of subterranean termites means stopping the colony's path between the soil and your house. Spraying the wood you can see doesn't do that — the colony lives underground and keeps sending workers up.
For most homes we recommend a treatment in the soil along the foundation, so termites traveling up from the ground have to pass through treated soil, combined with treating the active areas we found inside. Where a slab, porch or garage floor sits against the house, we treat at those joints too, because termites follow the gaps between concrete pours.
It feels like progress, but the termites just rebuild nearby, and the evidence we need to find the entry point is gone. Leave them and send a photo.
Store sprays kill the few workers they touch. The colony in the soil is untouched and keeps feeding.
Paneling over a soft sill or painting over tubes hides the problem until it shows up as a sagging floor.
Termites feed all year inside a heated basement. A swarm means the colony is mature and close by — call now, not next season.
Once the termites are treated, the damaged wood still has to be dealt with. Silver Bullet Pest Control repairs termite damage ourselves after treatment, so you don't have to find and coordinate a separate contractor.
We treat first, then repair, so new wood isn't going into a house that still has an active colony. Your quote will tell you whether repairs look necessary based on what we could see. More on repairs: termite damage repair and sill plate repair.
Many New Jersey home sales include a wood-destroying insect inspection, and some lenders require one. If you're under contract, call as soon as you know the dates — closings don't move to wait for an inspection.
Buyers: an older house with no visible signs can still have hidden damage behind finished walls. Ask the seller whether the house was ever treated. More on lender inspections: VA termite inspections in NJ and VA termite inspection in Springfield.
Silver Bullet Pest Control is based in Garfield, and we serve Kenilworth and other Union County towns. Because Kenilworth is outside our core Bergen, Passaic, Essex and Hudson area, we schedule visits ahead of time. A same-day visit is sometimes possible, but plan on booking a few days out — especially in spring, when swarm calls pick up.
To speed things up, text us photos of what you found to 973-510-2585, along with your address and any closing date. Many questions can be answered from a good photo before anyone drives out.
Tell us what you found — mud tubes, swarmers, wings, soft wood — or your closing date if you're buying or selling. We'll set up the inspection and give you a free quote.
🔒 Your info stays private · Hablamos español.
Most single-family homes take about an hour or so, depending on size, additions and how much of the basement is finished. We'll give you a better idea when you book.
Stop the colony's path between the soil and the house, usually with a soil treatment along the foundation plus treating the active areas. Spraying the wood you can see doesn't reach the colony.
Not reliably. Store products kill the termites they touch, but the colony underground keeps feeding, and breaking tubes hides where they're getting in.
Every year or two is a sensible habit for an older house, and right away if you see swarmers, wings or mud tubes.
Mostly in spring, often on a warm day after rain. Swarmers inside the house usually mean the colony is close.
Termites have a thick waist, straight antennae and four wings of equal length. Ants have a pinched waist, bent antennae and longer front wings. Text us a photo.
The quote is free. Call or text 973-510-2585 and we'll explain the inspection when you book.
Yes. After treatment our crew repairs damaged sill plates, joists, beams and framing, so one company handles both.
Yes, we serve Kenilworth and other Union County towns. Visits are scheduled ahead; same-day is sometimes possible but not guaranteed.
Yes. Silver Bullet Pest Control holds NJ License 90568B and has over 15 years of experience.
Sí. Hablamos español. Llame o mande texto al 973-510-2585 para programar la inspección.
We serve Kenilworth and these nearby Union County towns, with visits scheduled ahead.
Updated November 2026 by the Silver Bullet Pest Control team, Garfield, NJ • NJ License 90568B
