Above grade / the calendar
Termite Season in Hampton Roads
Swarm season is when termites become visible. Feeding season is all year. Confusing the two is how homes go uninspected for a decade.
Two different seasons
Swarm season runs March through June, on warm humid days after rain.
Feeding season is every month with a vowel in it. Only one of the two is visible from the window sill.
Every spring, our phones tell us exactly what the weather did that week. A warm, humid day after rain, usually somewhere between March and June in coastal Virginia, and eastern subterranean termite colonies across the region release their winged reproductives within days of each other. Homeowners find hundreds of insects on a window sill, or a cloud of them coming from a porch step, and the calls start.
Why swarms happen
A swarm is a mature colony reproducing. After several years of growth, a colony produces winged males and females that fly off to pair up and found new colonies. The swarm itself is brief and mostly fatal for the swarmers, but its message is important: a colony large enough to swarm lives very close to where you saw it. Indoors, that usually means in or under the structure. Our signs guide explains how to tell termite swarmers from flying ants before you panic or, worse, relax.
A house that swarms has not got worse. It has simply had its secret published.
The working year
What the calendar means for you
Late winter
The smart money inspection slot, before swarm season confirms anything the hard way.
Spring
Swarm sightings deserve same week attention while the evidence is still fresh.
Summer
Peak moisture in crawl spaces. Termite and fungus conditions grow together.
Fall and winter
Quiet on the surface, business as usual underground, and the easiest time to book.
Grade level
The calendar above is what you can see. Below the line the schedule looks nothing like it.
The part people get wrong
Termites do not have an off season in Hampton Roads. Colonies live in soil below the frost line, our winters are mild, and crawl spaces hold relatively stable temperatures, so feeding continues in every month with a vowel. A house that shows no swarm can still be hosting an active colony; a house that shows a swarm has simply had its secret published. This is why we push annual inspections instead of spring only vigilance.
Wherever the calendar catches you, the answer is the same one: a licensed termite inspection tells you what is actually happening under your specific house, and in this region that knowledge has a shelf life of about a year.
Ground section
Top few inches
Surface freeze
The only part of the ground a cold snap really reaches here.
Below the frost line
Working soil
Colony living space. Workable temperature all winter.
Under a heated floor
Crawl space above
Stable, damp, and roofed with the wood they want.
Months a colony spends feeding
End of the descent
Get ahead of swarm season
Same-day appointments are often available across Hampton Roads. Call or send the form and we will confirm your time window.
Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. Licensed and insured in Virginia.