Termite swarm season: handling the call spike

What swarm season does to your phones

In spring, mature subterranean termite colonies send out winged reproductives, usually on warm days, often after rain. Homeowners see dozens or hundreds of winged insects near a window, a door or a light, sometimes inside the house, and they call. Many have never had termites. They are worried about damage, cost and whether the house is safe.

The calls arrive in bursts tied to weather, so one warm Saturday can produce a week of callbacks. The rest of the year's pest work does not stop: US pest control employment climbs from winter into late summer, from 147,900 in January 2025 to 159,100 in August 2025^[3], and swarm season sits on top of the spring ramp. Planning for the spike matters because it is where many of the year's termite treatment contracts begin.

The intake script

The goal of the first call is to calm the caller, collect what the inspector needs and book the inspection. It is not to diagnose over the phone.

1. "Thanks for calling. Tell me what you're seeing and where." Let the caller describe it fully.
2. "Are they inside the house, outside or both? Which room, and near a window, door or light?"
3. "Are they still flying, or are there wings left on windowsills and floors?"
4. "Could you send a photo, or save a few in a sealed bag or a piece of clear tape for the inspector?"
5. "Have you seen mud tubes on the foundation, soft or damaged wood or had a termite treatment before? Is there an existing termite warranty with any company?"
6. "Is the home being sold or refinanced?" If yes, switch to the WDI path below.
7. "A swarm is a sign to inspect, but the house is not in danger tonight. You can vacuum up the swarmers. Please don't spray them or treat the area before the inspection, so the inspector can see where they came from."
8. "I can book an inspection on Tuesday morning or Wednesday afternoon. Which works best?"

Termites or ants?

Many swarm calls turn out to be winged ants. A trained CSR can often tell from a photo, which helps set the right appointment type. Common differences to train on:

• Waist: termites have a broad waist; ants have a pinched, narrow waist.
• Antennae: termite antennae are straight; ant antennae are elbowed.
• Wings: termite wings are about equal in length and much longer than the body; ant front wings are longer than the hind wings.
• Wings left behind: piles of shed wings on sills point toward termites.

Even when a photo suggests ants, offer an inspection if the caller is worried. A careful inspection that finds no termites earns trust and often becomes an ant treatment or a recurring plan.

Scheduling inspections during the spike

1. 01

   Block inspection time

   Reserve inspection blocks for each inspector through swarm season, grouped by area to cut drive time.

2. 02

   Set a response target

   For example, every swarm caller offered an inspection within five business days, and swarmers inside within two.

3. 03

   Confirm the day before

   Swarm callers who calmed down may forget; a reminder keeps no-shows low.

4. 04

   Deliver the proposal fast

   Send the written findings and proposal within a day of the inspection while the caller is still motivated.

5. 05

   Follow up once, then again

   A call two days after the proposal, and another a week later, before the lead goes cold.

Answering the spike

Swarm-day calls cluster on warm afternoons and weekends, when offices are thin. Missed calls are costly because callbacks often fail: only 19% of US adults say they generally answer calls from unknown numbers^[4]. Web forms behave the same way. In an audit of how companies handle web leads, 37% responded within an hour, 24% took more than 24 hours and 23% never responded^[2].

• Staff phones to the forecast: warm, humid days after rain in swarm months.
• Add weekend coverage for March to May, or route overflow to an answering option that uses your script.
• An AI Employee such as Ava can answer swarm calls at any hour, capture the details and book the inspection, so Monday starts with a full schedule instead of voicemails.
• Reply to web forms within the hour during business days.

WDI reports for real estate transactions

Swarm season overlaps the spring home-sale season, and wood-destroying insect (WDI) inspection requests arrive from agents, buyers and lenders at the same time as swarm calls. Treat them as a separate service with its own intake:

• Who ordered it, who pays and who receives the report: buyer, seller, agent or lender.
• Property address, access instructions and occupancy.
• The closing date and the date the report is needed.
• Which report form the lender or state requires.
• Whether a previous treatment or warranty exists.

WDI inspections must be done and signed by properly licensed people; state laws require pest control workers to be licensed, typically with training and an exam^[5]. Report only what was visible and accessible, note areas that could not be inspected and keep copies with photos. Agents remember which companies deliver accurate reports on time in April, and they send those companies business all year.

After the inspection: the treatment conversation

An inspection that finds termites is the start of a sales conversation with a worried homeowner. Keep it factual and unhurried:

1. Show what you found: photos of mud tubes, damaged wood or swarm exit points, and where they are on a simple sketch of the house.
2. Explain the options you offer, such as liquid treatments or baiting systems, in plain words, including how long each takes and what follow-up visits are involved.
3. Put the proposal in writing with the warranty terms: what is covered, for how long, renewal conditions and whether damage repair is included.
4. Say what happens if they wait. Termite damage is not covered by homeowners insurance^[1], so delay carries real cost, but a week to compare proposals is reasonable.
5. Agree a follow-up date before you leave.

If the inspection finds no termites, say so clearly and leave a short report. Offer a recurring inspection or ant service where it fits. Homeowners who are told the truth about a false alarm are the ones who call you first next spring.

Train the office before the first warm day

Run a one-hour session in February for everyone who answers phones: the intake script, termite-versus-ant photos, the priority table and the WDI questions. Role-play a frightened caller and an impatient real estate agent. Give each CSR a laminated card with the script and the priority rules, and review a few recorded calls in the first busy week to catch problems early.

Example: a Saturday swarm

Example: a fictional pest company in Atlanta gets a warm, humid Saturday after two days of rain. Calls triple by early afternoon. Its weekend answering uses the swarm script, asks callers for photos and books inspections into the blocks reserved for the coming week. By Monday morning, 31 inspections are on the board, sorted by area, with photos attached to about half. Inspectors find active termites in 12 homes, winged ants in 9 and no activity in the rest. Proposals go out within a day, and follow-up calls are scheduled automatically in the office's task list.

For how swarm season fits the rest of the year, see the pest activity calendar. For booking flows that let customers schedule inspections themselves, see online booking for home services.