Preparing for tent fumigation

Whole-structure fumigation seals the house under a tent so the treatment can reach the wood. People and pets cannot stay inside. Captain Fumigation will tell you when to leave and when the house is clear to enter again. Plan to be away for the whole job, including the time after the tent comes down. Pack what you need for a few days. Rain or strong wind can move the date, and we will reschedule rather than tent in weather that will not hold.

People, pets, and plans

• Everyone, including pets, leaves before the tent goes up and stays out until we say the house is clear.
• Arrange a place to stay. Take the medicines, pet food, and other supplies you will need while you are out.
• Tell us about fish, livestock, or anyone who cannot leave easily so we can plan the job around that.

Food, medicine, and opened packages

• Opened food, pet food, medicine, and tobacco need to leave the house, or be sealed in the special bags we provide. That includes items in the refrigerator and freezer.
• Unopened items in glass or metal with the manufacturer’s airtight seal can stay. That includes cans, jars, and sealed bottles.
• Cereal, chips, rice, flour, and other dry goods in bags or boxes do not count as sealed, even when the package is new. Remove them or bag them.

Inside the house

• Take indoor plants out, including any that will sit under the tent.
• Open or remove waterproof covers on mattresses, including baby mattresses, and plastic covers on sofas and chairs. Those covers can hold fumigant.
• Open interior doors so the treatment can reach the wood. We will tell you if cabinets or closets in your house need to be opened too.

Outside the house

• Move potted plants and anything else that will be under the tent.
• Trim shrubs back from the walls so the tarp can seal between the plants and the house.
• The gas to the house needs to be off before the tent goes up. We will tell you when to have the gas company do that.
• If we ask, water the soil around the foundation before the job. That protects plants just outside the tent and helps the seal at the ground.

The day of the job and coming home

• Be out before the crew starts, and leave keys the way we arrange.
• Do not go back in, and do not let pets back in, until Captain Fumigation clears the house.

If you are not sure the house needs tenting, start with a free termite inspection. When the findings call for it, whole-structure fumigation is the next step.