We run termite inspections across the Highland Lakes from our offices in Kingsland and Marble Falls, and three towns come up again and again: Llano, Kingsland, and Meadowlakes. They make an odd trio. Llano is dry granite ranch country, Kingsland is waterfront and weekend rentals at the meeting of the Llano and Colorado rivers, and Meadowlakes is a gated golf community where the sprinklers never really stop. Subterranean termites read those three settings very differently, and a good inspection accounts for which one your home sits in.
Quick answer
A termite inspection covers the foundation and slab edges, any wood-to-soil contact, accessible interior evidence like blistered paint or hollow trim, and the conditions inviting termites in — moisture against the slab, mulch bridges, plumbing leaks. Book one before buying a home, before pouring a slab, after finding mud tubes or wings, or if the house simply hasn't been checked in years. We inspect Llano, Kingsland, and Meadowlakes from our two Highland Lakes offices and tell you plainly what we find.
Dealing with this right now?
Buying a house, pouring a slab, or found wings on the sill in Llano, Kingsland, or Meadowlakes? Request a termite inspection and we'll tell you plainly what we find.
See how we handle it on our termites page.
What the inspection actually covers
The work is the same wherever the house sits. We walk the full foundation line looking for the pencil-width mud tubes subterranean termites build between soil and wood. We check slab edges and weep holes, probe wood that touches soil — deck posts, fence connections, siding running below grade — and look inside for the quieter evidence: paint that's blistered, baseboards that sound hollow, doors that started sticking.
Then we look at what's inviting them. A dripping outdoor faucet keeping one corner of the slab wet. Mulch piled against the foundation. Firewood stacked on the ground against the wall. The inspection report isn't just did-we-find-termites — it's the list of conditions worth fixing so you don't meet them next year.
Swarm season is the loudest evidence of all. On warm days after spring rain, usually starting in March here, colonies send out winged swarmers. Finding a pile of discarded wings on a windowsill means a colony is close, even if you never saw the swarm.
Llano: dry country, wet exceptions
Llano's granite soils drain fast and bake hard, which holds termite pressure down across most of the county. The colonies that do thrive find the wet exceptions: the Llano River bottoms, irrigated yards in town near the courthouse square, leaky plumbing under older pier-and-beam houses, stock tanks near the homesite.
That's why an inspection out here spends its time on moisture. If your lot is dry, we'll tell you so. If one sprinkler head or one slow leak has built a termite-friendly corner, that's usually where the tubes are.
Kingsland: lake moisture and fast-moving real estate
Kingsland is a different animal. The town wraps around Lake LBJ where two rivers meet, so shoreline humidity and watered lakeside lots keep soil moisture up year-round — and the housing stock runs heavy on vacation homes and rentals that sit empty for stretches. Nobody's home to notice the mud tube climbing the garage wall in April.
Lake properties here also trade quickly, and that's when an inspection earns its keep. If you're buying in Kingsland — Packsaddle, Crystal Beach, anywhere on the water — get the termite inspection done before closing rather than inheriting the previous owner's quiet problem.
Meadowlakes: irrigation is the whole story
Meadowlakes is a gated community built around the Hidden Falls golf course on Lake Marble Falls, and the thing an inspector notices first is water. Fairway irrigation, lawn sprinklers, and cove-side humidity keep the ground damp through summers that leave the surrounding uplands cracked and dry.
Damp soil against a slab is the one condition subterranean termites can't do without, so Meadowlakes homes deserve the kind of regular checks a drier town could stretch. We pay particular attention to fairway-facing lots and anywhere landscape beds hold irrigation water against the foundation.
When to book one
Four moments, in order of urgency: you've found tubes, wings, or damaged wood; you're buying a home; you're about to pour a slab for a build or addition, which is the one chance to treat soil that concrete will seal forever; or the house simply hasn't been looked at in years.
We inspect the foundation and wood-to-soil contact, walk you through what we find, and if treatment is warranted we match it to how the home is built. Termite work is a specialty service and we stand behind it — ask about the service guarantee that comes with it. Request an inspection and we'll call you back, usually within minutes during office hours.