Pest control company Orkin has released its 2025 list of the nation's most termite-infested cities, and revealed that residents in Florida may want to get their walls checked.
Cities in Florida took four of the top 10 spots on Orkin's list, including the number one spot, which went to Miami.
Tampa came in at third, Orlando at fifth, and West Palm Beach at sixth.
This is the third year in a row that Miami took Orkin's top spot for termite infestation, according to WKMG.
Tampa remained at number three after its ranking last year, but both Orlando and West Palm Beach actually rose on the list from their previous spots at numbers five and six, respectively.
In total, six Florida cities appeared on the list, with Fort Myers coming in at 26 and Jacksonville at 30. Florida has more cities on the list than any other state.
Why is Florida such a hot bed for the wood munching insects? They, like the snowbirds who flock to the Sunshine State each year, really enjoy the warm weather.
“Hotter weather can increase the rate at which termites break down wood, and drier conditions may allow termites to be more active,” the report revealed. “Termites thrive in warm temperatures, which is one reason warmer-climate cities tend to top Orkin’s annual list.”
Los Angeles took Orkin's number two spot — keeping in line with the warm weather theory — while Houston took spot seven, San Diego spot eight, and Dallas spot ten. The two outliers to the warm-weather theory — Washington, DC, which was ranked fourth, and Baltimore, ranked ninth – both still see relatively warm temperatures for much of the spring and summer, despite also experiencing cold winters.
It's no shock that the bottom of the list is made up of cities where winters can be long and brutally cold. Detroit was ranked at 45, Grand Rapids 46, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at 48, and Columbus, Ohio at 50. The outliers in the bottom portion of the list were Chattanooga, Tennessee at spot 47 and Savannah, Georgia at spot 49, which both are warmer, Southern cities.
In addition to being unwanted creepy crawlers, termites can cause expensive damage to structures.
“Termites cost American homeowners about $5 billion a year in damage, often going undetected until they’ve caused serious damage,” Glen Ramsey, Director of the Entomology Team at Orkin, said in the report. “That’s why homeowners should prioritize preventive treatments this time of year.”
Orkin provided a lengthy list of termite indicators that property owners should remain wary of, all of which can be viewed on its site.
Some of those indicators include temporary swarms of small, winged insects inside a resident's home or their soil; cracked or bubbling paint or wood that sounds hollow when tapped; mud tubes on exterior walls, wooden beams, or in crawl spaces and accumulations of wings or termite droppings.
The best defense against termites is prevention. Orkin offered a list of recommended actions property owners can take to make sure the bugs don't take up residence in their homes or buildings.
Those recommendations include ensuring water drainage sites are cleared; maintaining pipes, gutters, downspouts, A/C units, and other areas where water might leak; using caulk to close up gaps around buildings; removing rotten wood or debris from the area, and periodically checking wooden structures for signs of termite damage.
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