Jacksonville termites are not just a South Florida problem

Published November 13, 2026

People move to Jacksonville and figure termites are a South Florida problem. They're not. The First Coast has the humidity, the housing age, and the confirmed history to prove it.

The climate does some of the work. Florida Climate Center normals for Jacksonville International Airport show a July average high of 91.9°F and an August average low of 73.4°F, so summer nights don't dry out much. June is the wettest month, at 7.6 inches, and the year adds up to 53.4 inches of rain. Winters are cooler than they are in Tampa or Naples. The January average low is 42.9°F, with 1,228 heating degree days. That seasonal swing doesn't give termites a long off-season here. They forage year-round in Florida, even when they're not swarming.

The houses matter too. ACS 2020–2024 estimates put Jacksonville's population at 977,670, with 430,825 housing units and a median year built of 1987. About 19% of those units were built before 1960. Older wood, slab-on-grade additions, and yards full of oaks are a common mix in the urban core, and that's the kind of setting where a colony can get established before anyone notices a mud tube.

Formosan termites are already part of that picture. UF/IFAS Extension in Duval County hosts a Jacksonville Formosan Termite Task Force, made up of local stakeholders, with a mission to educate people about Formosan termite identification, prevention, and control. The same page still publishes a map of termite species found in Jacksonville in May through July 2017. UF/IFAS is careful about what that map means. It's a record of detections at the time, not a live list of houses that are infested today. If you have questions for the task force, the Extension office lists Erin Harlow at 904-255-7450.

Local reporting has kept the issue on the table. In July 2024, First Coast News noted that Formosan termites had infested the Women's Club in Jacksonville and spread in the Riverside community in 2021. After Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the station came back to the story. On October 25, 2024, First Coast News reported that experts were sounding an alarm about invasive termites in Jacksonville.

That storm-season warning wasn't only about houses. On October 15, 2024, UF/IFAS urban entomologist Thomas Chouvenc cautioned that fallen trees can reveal hidden termites, and that Formosan and Asian subterranean termites have become entrenched in some of Florida's urban areas. Those species don't just infest buildings. They can consume live trees from the inside, often with little to see until a storm takes the tree down. His advice was to inspect trees regularly for mud tubes and to use a licensed pest control provider. UF/IFAS also keeps an interactive termite distribution map so you can see which species have been documented in an area.

If you see winged termites, or a mud tube on a foundation or a tree, don't grab a store-bought spray and call it done. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Formosan termite FAQ strongly recommends that you not treat for termites yourself, because you don't have access to the bait systems, chemicals, and equipment needed to treat under a foundation. FDACS also says homeowners insurance does not cover Formosan termite damage to a house. You want a company licensed by FDACS, and you can ask to see the employee's identification card. A city or county business tax receipt is not a substitute for that license. Check the company at the FDACS pest control page. If you only need general household pest work, say so. Termite work is a different endorsement, and you want that on the license if that's the job.

A few swarmers in the house during season don't automatically mean the walls are infested. FDACS says Formosan swarmers are attracted to lights, that they can come in through windows, doors, and attic openings, and that a neighborhood with a heavy Formosan population can send a few, or even a hundred, into a house that isn't itself the colony's home. The department's advice is to vacuum them up and throw them away. If you're seeing hundreds to thousands, or they're chewing out of a wall or ceiling, that's a different situation, and you want a licensed company right away. UF/IFAS Extension in Duval County will also accept termite samples for identification. The office is at 1010 N. McDuff Avenue, and the phone number on the termite page is 904-255-7450. Bring soldiers or winged swarmers if you can. Workers are harder to identify, and knowing whether you have native subterranean termites or Formosans changes the treatment conversation.

A few habits still help in the meantime. Keep firewood, lumber, and mulch from touching the house. Fix leaks and standing moisture around the slab. On still, humid evenings in swarm season, outdoor lights can attract the winged reproductives, which is why FDACS suggests turning them off or using yellow bulbs. And if a tree came down in a storm, have someone who knows termites look at the trunk and the house, not just the roof shingles.

If you want to call a local pest control pro in Jacksonville, use the call page for that service. The number on this page is (561) 589-1234, and it's meant for one licensed local company, not a shared list.

If you want to reach a local pest control in Jacksonville, use the Jacksonville pest control call page, or tap the number below.

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