Conehead Termite FAQ for Residents, Property Owners and the General Public

Watch for conehead termite infestations where you live, work and play. Report all discoveries or suspicions you have of conehead termite activity to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).

• Call our helpline at 1-888-397-1517,
• Email the helpline at DPIHelpline@FDACS.gov  or
• Use our online reporting form.

Conehead termites live aboveground and build visible foraging tunnels and nests. The tunnels, which termites use to travel to feeding sites, are the most obvious sign of conehead termites.

Learn what conehead termite tunnels look like by viewing pictures [ 11.1 MB ] or watching our video.

Conehead termites are a non-native, invasive species of pest termite whose native range is Central America, northern South America and many Caribbean islands. The only area in the United States where known conehead termite colonies established is Broward County, Florida. If they are not eradicated and expand their populations, economic costs of $460 million per year have been projected for residential pest control treatments (damage repairs not included) for conehead termites in four southeastern counties — Martin, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade — but conehead termites could spread farther in Florida, so everyone should be on alert.

Conehead termites are pests of agriculture, natural areas and structures; they live above ground, building tunnels and nests that aid in location and treatment, and they have only infested approximately 55 acres overall in Broward County. These facts make eradicating conehead termites doable.

Report all discoveries or suspicions you have of conehead termite activity to FDACS.

• Call our helpline at 1-888-397-1517,
• Email the helpline at DPIHelpline@FDACS.gov  or
• Use our online reporting form.

If necessary, FDACS will send an inspector to confirm the absence or presence of conehead termites. You may also contact a pest management professional to assess the situation. If conehead termites are found, it is important that FDACS be notified to help the eradication program succeed.

With your approval, FDACS will perform treatments on conehead termites found in the landscape, which is typically where they have been found in Florida. If conehead termites are found inside a structure (house, garage, business location, shed, etc.), the owner is responsible for contacting a pest management professional for treatment. Structure treatments must be coordinated with FDACS to help the eradication program succeed.

If conehead termites have been found on the property within the past year, inspectors return to survey your property three times per year.

If live conehead termites have not been found on the property in over one year, inspectors will survey your property annually until the risk of conehead termites remaining on the property is minimal.

Please do not move any material containing conehead termites as this can spread them to other locations!

There is no cost for treatments by FDACS if the conehead termites are found in the landscape, which is often where they are active.

If they have moved into your structure (house, business, building, shed, etc.), the landowner is responsible for eliminating the termites, preferably through a pest management professional. Elimination of the pests from the structure must be coordinated with FDACS to confirm that the treatment aligns with our eradication program protocol.

Properties within ¼ mile of known conehead termite activity are at higher risk for infestation. When a colony matures, conehead termites produce winged individuals whose role is to swarm (fly from the nest), mate and start new colonies. The ¼ mile survey boundary is a risk-based estimate of the maximum distance a conehead termite could fly when swarming.

All properties within the ¼ mile boundary from known infestations will be surveyed annually until the risk of conehead termites remaining on the property is minimal.

Repeated annual surveys ensure that young colonies do not remain hidden on the property. When a queen and king first pair up, they grow their colony within the wooden item (host wood) they infested. They do not build visible tunnels until the colony’s population grows large enough to require locating new food sources in nearby trees, wood piles, structures, etc. It could be anywhere from 3 to 8 years or more before a young colony emerges from hiding within the host wood to build tunnels that field staff and property owners can see, signaling the presence of a growing colony.

• Be alert for conehead termites.
• Maintain your yard.  
• Prune back all vegetation surrounding your house, garage, shed or other structure.
• Avoid mulch or thick leaf litter accumulation adjacent to the house.
• Reduce moisture around your house.
• Move stored wood and cellulose products away from buildings.
• For more information, see Reduce the Risk of a Conehead Termite Infestation [ 283.3 kB ] .

Yes, provided “conehead termites” are listed wood-destroying organisms on your contract. Having the terms “subterranean termite,” “drywood termite” or any other termite species on your contract would not provide coverage for conehead termites.