Termites eat wood from the inside out, wood with visible external signs of termites is usually beyond salvage. Termite workers require a moist environment to survive and must return to the ground to keep from drying out and dying. They maintain their moisture by traveling inside mud tunnels and by sealing the edges of wood they have eaten. Termites do not require moist wood and can eat wood that appears totally dry. Soft woods are preferred such as pine, fir and spruce, but oak flooring has also been eaten. Treating a structure for termite control is a different process than treating for insects such as carpenter ants. Ants travel mostly above ground and effective treatments are usually applied to areas above ground, along with locating and exterminating the colony living in your house. Protective perimeter barriers and residuals are applied to kill off foragers. Treatment for termites differs because we don't look for the colony because it can be up to 200 feet away from the affected structure and deep underground somewhere above the water table, below the frost line or under the house.