Silver Bullet Pest ControlWinged insects on a basement windowsill, dirt tubes on the foundation, or a trim board that crumbles when you push it? Silver Bullet Pest Control inspects Mountain Lakes homes for termites, explains what we find in plain language, treats the colony's path into the house, and repairs damaged wood afterward.
4.9 stars on Google • NJ License 90568B • 15+ years • Serving Morris County by appointment • Hablamos español
Text a photo of the bugs, wings or mud tubes to 973-510-2585 and we'll tell you what you're looking at.
You get rid of termites by having a licensed company find where they enter the house and treat the soil along the foundation and the active areas, then fixing the moisture that drew them in. Silver Bullet Pest Control does this for Mountain Lakes homeowners: we inspect, show you the evidence, treat, and repair damaged sills, joists and framing ourselves. We schedule Mountain Lakes visits ahead, and a same-day inspection is sometimes possible. NJ License 90568B, 4.9 stars on Google. Call or text 973-510-2585.
We're based in Garfield, and Mountain Lakes is farther out than the Bergen and Passaic towns we cover every day. So we plan Mountain Lakes visits ahead and group them with other Morris County appointments. When the schedule allows, a same-day inspection is sometimes possible — call in the morning and ask. We won't promise a time we can't keep.
The good news: termites do their damage over months and years, not hours. A swarm in the basement is alarming, but a day or two before the inspection doesn't change the outcome. What does matter is not disturbing the evidence before a technician sees it.
If you have a deadline — a closing date, an attorney review period or a lender asking for a wood-destroying insect report — tell us when you call so we can work toward it.
Most Mountain Lakes calls start with one of these:
Swarmers inside the house almost always mean an established colony is feeding nearby, often in the foundation wall or under a slab. Sweep or vacuum them up, but save a few in a bag or take a clear photo first.
Termites build these tubes to stay damp as they travel from the soil to wood. Older stone and block foundations have plenty of joints and gaps for them to follow.
Termites eat wood from the inside and leave the surface thin. During renovations people often find old galleries behind drywall or under flooring. We treat first, then repair the wood.
Put a few swarmers or wings in a zip bag or tape them to paper. A sharp photo works too. Text it to 973-510-2585.
Don't scrape, spray or break open mud tubes. Active tubes tell the technician where the termites are coming in.
Spraying swarmers kills the ones you see and nothing else. It can also push termites to another spot and make the inspection harder.
Move boxes and shelving a foot off the foundation walls if you can, so we can see the sill line and the wall.
Mountain Lakes is a wooded borough built around its lakes, and many of its homes date back to the early 1900s. That mix — older construction, mature trees and water close by — is exactly what eastern subterranean termites look for. These are the termites found across New Jersey; they nest in the soil and come up into houses for wood.
None of this means every house has termites. It means a regular inspection makes sense, especially in an older home.
People searching how to get rid of termites in New Jersey find a lot of advice. Here's how it holds up:
| Approach | What it actually does | Our take |
|---|---|---|
| Bug spray on swarmers | Kills the winged insects you can see | Doesn't touch the colony in the soil |
| Home remedies (oils, vinegar, boric acid) | May kill termites they touch directly | Can't reach a colony underground; damage keeps going |
| Removing damaged wood yourself | Takes out some infested wood | Termites move to the next piece; repairs belong after treatment |
| Fixing moisture and wood-to-soil contact | Makes the house less attractive | Important, but it doesn't remove an active colony |
| Professional soil treatment along the foundation | Creates a treated zone termites pass through on the way in | The core of most treatments we recommend |
| Treating active areas inside | Targets termites already in the wood | Done along with the soil treatment where needed |
Companies that apply termite treatments for hire in New Jersey must be licensed. Silver Bullet Pest Control holds NJ License 90568B.
We walk the foundation, porches, decks, garage and yard, then the basement or crawl space: walls, sills, joists, posts and every place pipes come through.
Live termites, old damage, mud tubes or just conditions that could invite them. If it's carpenter ants or rot instead, we say so.
Usually a soil treatment along the foundation plus the active spots. We explain where we'll drill or treat, how long it takes and any precautions.
Once the termites are treated, our crew repairs the wood they ate — sill plates, joists, beams and framing.
Gutters, downspouts, grading, leaks and wood touching soil. Fixing these makes it less likely termites come back.
A lot of homeowners find out about termites because something feels wrong: a soft spot in the floor near an outside wall, a door that starts to stick, or a sill that breaks apart during a renovation. In those cases the treatment is only half the job.
We repair termite damage ourselves after treatment. That can mean replacing or reinforcing sections of sill plate, sistering damaged joists, and repairing beams and framing. Doing the treatment and the repair with one company means nobody closes up wood that still has termites in it, and you don't have to coordinate two contractors.
We look at the damage during the inspection and tell you what we think needs repair. Some old damage is cosmetic; some affects the structure. We'll be clear about which is which. See also termite damage repair and sill plate repair.
Clean gutters every fall and extend downspouts away from the foundation. On a hillside lot, watch where runoff collects against the uphill wall.
Keep firewood stacked off the ground and away from the house. Old stumps and rotting landscape timbers near the foundation feed termites.
Keep mulch thin and a few inches below siding and sills. You should be able to see the top of the foundation all the way around.
Swarm season is spring. Take a flashlight around the basement walls in March or April, and book a professional inspection every year or two for an older home.
Every house is different, so we give a free quote after the inspection. These are what change the size of the job:
| Factor | Simpler | More involved |
|---|---|---|
| Activity | One small area | Several areas or long runs of tubes |
| Foundation | Poured concrete, open basement | Old stone, crawl spaces, slab additions |
| Access | Unfinished walls | Finished basement, porches, sunrooms |
| Damage | None or cosmetic | Sills, joists or beams to repair |
| Moisture | Dry, good drainage | Wet soil, runoff or leaks to correct |
Call or text 973-510-2585 to set up a Mountain Lakes inspection.
Tell us what you found — swarmers, wings, mud tubes, soft wood — and any closing date or deadline. We'll set up the earliest Mountain Lakes visit we can.
🔒 Your info stays private · Hablamos español.
Sometimes. We plan Mountain Lakes visits ahead because it's farther from our Garfield base, but if the schedule allows, a same-day visit is possible. Call in the morning and ask.
It's a sign of an active colony, but termite damage builds over months, not hours. Save a sample, don't spray, and book an inspection soon.
Not reliably. Store sprays and home remedies only kill termites they touch, while the colony lives in the soil. A professional treatment along the foundation is what stops them coming in.
Termites have a straight, thick waist, straight antennae and four wings of the same length. Flying ants have a pinched waist, bent antennae and longer front wings. Text us a photo if you're not sure.
Older stone and block foundations have joints and cracks termites can travel through, and damp soil near the lakes keeps them supplied with moisture. Additions and finished basements also hide their activity.
Yes. After treatment our crew repairs damaged sill plates, joists, beams and framing, so you deal with one company.
Most houses are treated in one visit. Larger homes, finished basements and older foundations can take longer, and we tell you before we start.
We explain where we treat, what we use and any precautions before work begins.
Yes. Tell us the closing date, the lender and who needs the report, and call as early as you can.
Yes. Silver Bullet Pest Control holds NJ License 90568B and has over 15 years of experience.
Sí. Hablamos español. Llame o mande un texto al 973-510-2585.
We serve Mountain Lakes and other Morris County towns by appointment, from our base in Garfield.
Updated November 2026 by the Silver Bullet Pest Control team, Garfield, NJ • NJ License 90568B
