Whole-property treatment
Fumigation & Whole-Property Treatment
For widespread or repeat woodworm, and for timber a hand-held spray can't reach, ULV fogging treats the whole void in one controlled application.
- Reaches eaves, voids and boarded-in timber a lance can't touch
- Water-based permethrin — touch-dry in hours, treated in a day
- Backed by a written certificate and a 30-year guarantee
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Tell us what you've noticed and where. A local woodworm surveyor will call you back to arrange a free, no-obligation survey.
What it is
Treating the whole space, not just the timber you can see
Most active woodworm in UK homes is the common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum), which leaves crisp 1–2mm exit holes and runs on a three-to-four-year lifecycle. A standard treatment hand-sprays the affected joists and rafters with a water-based insecticide. That works beautifully where every face of the timber is exposed and reachable.
Not every roof or floor is like that. Eaves are cramped, floors are boarded over, timber sits behind fixed cupboards, and infestation can spread across a whole void rather than one beam. In those cases, whole-property treatment by ultra-low-volume (ULV) fogging earns its place. A specialist machine turns a water-based permethrin solution into a fine, drifting mist that fills the entire space and settles onto surfaces a lance can never reach.
The aim is simple: get the active ingredient into contact with every emergence surface across the void, so beetles leaving the wood pick up a lethal dose and the cycle is broken. It is a coverage tool for difficult, widespread cases — not a stronger chemical, but a smarter way to deliver it everywhere at once.
When we use it
Four situations where whole-property fogging makes sense
Fogging is not the default treatment. We recommend it when coverage is the problem — when the beetle is everywhere, keeps returning, or hides where a lance can't follow.
Widespread infestation
When exit holes and fresh frass appear across a whole roof space, several rooms or an entire floor, treating timber piece by piece is slow and easy to under-cover. Fogging blankets the whole volume in one controlled application.
Repeat or returning beetle
If woodworm has come back after earlier DIY or partial treatment, it often means voids and hidden faces were missed. A whole-property fog reaches the surfaces a lance never touched, breaking the emergence cycle.
Limited spray access
Cramped lofts, packed eaves, boarded floors and timber behind fixed cupboards are hard to spray directly. An airborne mist settles onto faces a technician simply cannot reach with a hand-held lance.
Cluttered or furnished rooms
Where rooms are still in use or full of stored items, fogging treats the air space and exposed timber efficiently once the area is cleared, with far less dismantling than wholesale hand-spraying.
How it's done
How rooms are prepared and sealed
Good preparation is what makes fogging effective. A sealed, cleared space keeps the mist in contact with the timber long enough to work and keeps everything else clean.
Clear and protect the space
We remove or sheet over soft furnishings, bedding and anything that should not be coated, take down food and open foodstuffs, and cover fish tanks and sensitive surfaces. Drawers and cupboard doors are opened so the mist reaches inside.
Seal the treatment zone
Doors, hatches and gaps are taped or screened so the fog stays where it is needed and disperses evenly. Sealing the room keeps the active ingredient in contact with the timber for long enough to work, rather than drifting away.
Fog, settle and ventilate
A ULV machine releases a fine permethrin mist that fills the void and coats every surface. After the settling period the technician ventilates the rooms, confirms surfaces are touch-dry, and gives you a clear re-entry time — usually the same day.
Safety first
Safe for your home, handled properly
The products we fog with are water-based permethrin formulations — the same kind of active ingredient used in standard woodworm spray, applied at controlled professional rates. Every biocide we use is approved under UK rules overseen by the HSE.
The sensible precaution is simply not being in the room while the fog is airborne. You and your pets leave the treated zone, the mist settles, then the technician ventilates and confirms surfaces are touch-dry before anyone returns — normally the same day.
If your roof shows any sign of bats, treatment stops until that is resolved. Bats and their roosts are protected by law, so a roof-space job may need a bat check first. See the GOV.UK guidance on bats and the law. Our surveyor checks for this before any whole-property treatment is booked.
Before we fog, you'll know
- Exactly which rooms are being treated and how to prepare them.
- What to cover or remove — food, fish tanks, sensitive pets.
- A clear re-entry time once surfaces are dry and rooms ventilated.
- A written treatment certificate and 30-year guarantee afterwards.
Part of the plan
How fogging complements spray treatment
Fogging and spraying are partners, not rivals. On a typical widespread job we hand-spray the exposed structural timber — the joists, rafters and bearers you can reach — with insecticidal spray, which lays down a heavier, longer-lasting film exactly where the load-bearing wood is. We then fog the rest of the void to carry the active ingredient onto the faces, edges and hidden timber a lance cannot coat.
Where damage has already weakened a beam or joist, treatment alone is not enough — the timber may also need structural timber repair. And every approach starts the same way: a proper diagnosis. Our woodworm treatment service surveys the property first, identifies the species and the spread, and only then chooses spray, fogging, paste, repair or a combination.
For landlords, letting agents and managing agents handling tenanted blocks or larger buildings, whole-property fogging is often the most practical way to treat an occupied property quickly with minimal dismantling — see our commercial woodworm treatment service.
Related treatments & guides
Insecticidal Spray Treatment
The standard water-based spray for active beetle in accessible timber — the partner to fogging.
Learn more →Structural Timber Repair
When beetle damage has gone structural and joists, rafters or beams need repair or replacement.
Learn more →Woodworm Treatment
Our main service — survey, diagnosis and guaranteed eradication for homes and commercial property.
Learn more →Commercial Woodworm Treatment
Discreet, certificated whole-property treatment for landlords, agents, estates and managing agents.
Learn more →Woodworm Survey & Inspection
A qualified surveyor confirms whether your infestation is active and scopes the right treatment.
Learn more →Woodworm Treatment Cost
What treatment really costs by room, roof and whole house — and what drives the price.
Learn more →Frequently asked questions
Is fumigation the same as fogging?
Do I need to leave the house during treatment?
Does fogging replace spray treatment?
Is the treatment safe for my family and pets?
Get rid of woodworm — for good
Book a free survey today. Fixed written quote, BPCA-trained technicians and a 30-year guarantee on treated timber.
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