Termite Inspection Columbia, SC: CL-100 Letters, Bonds, and Treatment Without the Closing-Day Panic
A closing date does not wait for termites. Pest Shield Columbia delivers the termite inspection Columbia, SC buyers, sellers, and realtors schedule first: a licensed inspection with photo findings, honest treatment options, and the CL-100 letter in your inbox before the deadline, not after it.
Quick Answer
A termite inspection in Columbia, SC takes 45 to 90 minutes and costs about $150 when it includes the CL-100 letter. A licensed inspector checks the exterior, foundation, crawl space, and interior for live termites, old damage, and moisture, then issues the Official SC Wood Infestation Report, which lenders require for most financed sales and which stays valid for 30 days. If activity is found, treatment in the Midlands typically runs $800 to $2,500, quoted in writing before any work starts.
What Happens During a Termite Inspection in Columbia, SC?
Most inspections follow the same path, and knowing it removes most of the stress. Your inspector starts outside: foundation walls, vents, wood-to-soil contact, mulch lines, and any place water sits against the house. Inside, the crawl space gets the closest look, checking piers, sills, and floor joists with a probe and a moisture meter, because South Carolina termites follow moisture. Finished rooms are checked at baseboards, window frames, and plumbing penetrations, and the attic is inspected when access allows.
Everything found is photographed and written into the report the same day: live activity, previous damage, and the conditions that invite termites, like wet wood or soil stacked against the foundation. If treatment is recommended, you get the options and the price in writing, with time to decide. Nothing is sprayed, drilled, or sold at the doorstep.
Foundation, vents, and soil line: where a Midlands termite inspection starts.
What Is a CL-100 Termite Letter, and When Do You Need One?
The CL-100 is the Official South Carolina Wood Infestation Report (WDIR). Only a pest management professional licensed in South Carolina can issue one; a home inspector cannot, unless separately licensed for pest work. The report covers subterranean termites, carpenter ants, wood-boring beetles, wood decay fungi, and moisture conditions that support them, and it is valid for 30 days from the inspection date.
South Carolina law does not require a CL-100 for every sale, but most lenders require a clear report before funding a financed purchase, including FHA, VA, and conventional loans. It appears as Section 11 of the standard South Carolina Association of Realtors sales contract, so who orders it and who pays is written into the deal; in South Carolina the seller customarily pays, and the typical cost is about $150.
The crawl space is where most CL-100 findings come from.
When a report is not clear, it is rarely the end of the sale. Roughly 3 in 10 Midlands homes show some issue, per local realtor experience, and the typical fix runs $2,000 to $3,000 or less: treatment, a repair, or a moisture correction, then a re-inspection and a clear letter. What kills closings is not termites, it is timing, which is why we schedule inspections around your contract deadlines first and everything else second. The full rulebook lives in our CL-100 complete guide.
Termite Inspection Columbia, SC: Reports Built for Closing Dates
Real estate runs on deadlines, so this service does too. Tell us your closing date when you call and the inspection is scheduled backwards from it, with the written report and letter delivered the same day in most cases. Realtors get a copy the moment you approve it, lenders get a clean, complete form, and if the report finds activity, you get a treatment quote that same day too, so negotiations never wait on us.
We also handle the follow-through other companies skip: re-inspections after repairs, bond paperwork at transfer, and a plain-words summary for buyers who have never read a wood infestation report before. First-time buyers get the findings explained in normal language, not inspector shorthand.
Which Termites Live in the Midlands, and When Do They Swarm?
| Species | Swarm season | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern subterranean (Reticulitermes flavipes) | Warm days, February to May, after rain | The Midlands' most common termite. Daytime swarmers, about 3/8 inch, working underground year-round in our mild winters. |
| Dark southeastern subterranean | Late winter into spring | Similar habits, common in Richland and Lexington Counties. Both native species are why annual inspections are standard practice here. |
| Formosan (Coptotermes formosanus) | Night, May into July, peak around Mother's Day to Father's Day | The destructive one. Established in Richland and Lexington Counties per Clemson Extension, swarms at night around porch lights, and can build above-ground carton nests where moisture is trapped. |
Signs that deserve a call: mud tubes on foundation walls or crawl-space piers, piles of discarded wings on windowsills after a warm rain, wood that sounds hollow or feels soft at the base, blistered or bubbling paint, and swarmers themselves. One sign checked early is a $150 inspection; the same colony found at a pre-closing walkthrough is a negotiation.
Sentricon or Liquid: Which Termite Control in Columbia, SC Fits Your Home?
Every termite control plan in Columbia, SC that we write starts with the inspection findings, because the right system depends on your house, not on a sales quota. The two proven options:
| Sentricon bait system | Termidor liquid barrier | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Stations around the perimeter recruit termites to a bait that eliminates the colony, monitored on schedule. | A treated zone in the soil around the foundation (fipronil) that termites carry back to the colony. |
| Best for | Homes where drilling is impractical, wells or water features nearby, and homeowners who want ongoing monitoring. | Fast, complete perimeter protection, especially with active infestations and conventional foundations. |
| Typical cost | $800 to $1,500 installed, plus $300 to $500 a year for monitoring. | $800 to $2,500, roughly $8 to $12 per linear foot of foundation. |
Either way, the recommendation and the total price go in writing before work begins, and both systems can be paired with a termite bond so the protection outlives the treatment day.
How Does a Termite Bond in Columbia, SC Actually Work?
A termite bond is a service agreement between you and the pest company, renewed yearly, that keeps protection in force after treatment. A termite bond Columbia, SC sellers hand to buyers at closing is valuable precisely because it transfers: the buyer inherits active protection instead of starting from zero. There are two kinds, and the difference matters:
Retreatment bond
If termites return, the company re-treats at no charge. Damage repair is on you.
Repair bond
Re-treatment plus repair of new termite damage, up to the bond's stated limits. Read the exclusions before you price a home around one.
Transfers at closing typically cost about $250, and renewals keep the bond alive year to year. One Midlands pattern to watch: new construction in Lexington, Blythewood, and Chapin often starts with a builder's bond that quietly expires. If your home is five to ten years old and nobody has mentioned the bond since closing, check it before you assume you are covered. We verify bond status as part of every inspection and put the answer in the report.
How Much Does Termite Treatment Cost in Columbia, SC?
| Service | Typical Midlands range |
|---|---|
| Termite inspection with CL-100 letter | About $150 |
| Liquid treatment (Termidor) | $800 to $2,500 |
| Sentricon bait system | $800 to $1,500 installed, $300 to $500 a year monitoring |
| Bond transfer at closing | About $250 |
These are market ranges for the Columbia metro, cross-checked against published South Carolina pricing data, not a quote for your home. Your price depends on foundation size, construction type, and activity found, and yours is confirmed in writing after the inspection, before any treatment. The full market breakdown is in our Columbia pest control cost guide.
Book Around Your Deadline
Call with your closing or contract date and we schedule backwards from it. Rush slots exist for contracts already in motion.
Inspection (45-90 Minutes)
Exterior, crawl space, interior, and attic access, with probing and moisture readings at every suspect point.
Report and Letter, Same Day
Photo findings, the CL-100 when ordered, and a written treatment quote if anything was found. No waiting, no chasing.
Treatment and Bond
The system you chose, installed on schedule, with bond paperwork handled for you and the buyer at transfer.
Termite Questions Columbia Homeowners Ask Us
About $150 when it includes the CL-100 letter, which is the typical Midlands price. A standalone inspection without the letter can run less. Your exact price is confirmed when you book, and treatment, if needed, is always quoted separately in writing.
30 days from the inspection date. If your closing slips past that window, a re-inspection and a fresh letter are needed, which is why we schedule backwards from your closing date.
It is set by the sales contract (Section 11 of the standard SC Association of Realtors contract). Custom in South Carolina is that the seller pays, but either party can order the inspection, and buyers often do for their own peace of mind.
The inspection is the physical check of the home. The CL-100 is the official report (the SC Wood Infestation Report, or WDIR) that documents it for lenders and contracts. Most real-estate inspections include both.
Yes. Clemson Extension records Formosan termites established in Richland and Lexington Counties. They swarm at night from May into July, gather at porch lights, and are more destructive than our native species, which is one reason annual inspections matter here.
Yes, most bonds transfer at closing for a fee of about $250. The buyer inherits the protection and the renewal schedule. We verify transferability during the inspection and note it in the report.
For a sale with a lender, effectively yes, the CL-100 is required. For your own home, an annual inspection is the Midlands standard because our termites work year-round and the earliest signs hide in crawl spaces most homeowners never enter.
On a Closing Deadline? Start With One Call
Tell us the date on your contract and we will handle the rest: the inspection, the letter, and honest treatment options if anything turns up. Call (803) 555-0134 and we will schedule the termite inspection Columbia, SC closings run on, with every price in writing before we start. Protecting the sale starts with knowing, and knowing starts with one inspection.