Look for signs of termites before they cause too much damage to your home
Termites can cause a lot of damage to your home.
They may be visible in swarms or leave behind wings.
Subterranean and drywood termites may dig tunnels in wood.
Dampwood termites can be found in wet or rotting wood.
Termites spread quickly, so call a pro to inspect your home at the first sign of termites.
When you watch enough home improvement shows, you learn to live in fear of the dreaded termite. But by watching for the warning signs of termite infestation, you can catch them before they cause too much damage in your home. From mud tubes to blistering walls, termite evidence can be elusive, but this guide will help you know what signs to keep in your sights.
Termite infestations can be difficult to detect, so keep an eye out for changes in your wood features, such as floors bubbling or deck sagging. Don't hesitate to take pest control action to prevent the infestation from growing.
No matter which sign tips you off to an infestation, it’s best to handle termites as soon as possible. If you think you might have a termite infestation, check for these warning signs of termites.
Subterranean termites will create tunnels of mud or even their own saliva and feces. You might notice these tunnels in foam insulation or around your home, starting toward the ground and moving up.
Although they tend to stay underground when they aren’t searching for food, you still may see swarms of subterranean termites. These swarmers have two sets of large, pale wings. The swarmers in a colony are responsible for reproduction.
After reproducing, the swarmers shed their wings. As such, you may notice discarded, pale wings that are about ¼ to ½ inch long around bright areas, like doors and windows.
Once they find a good food source, drywood termites make that spot home. As such, they leave tunnels in maze-like patterns in the wood surfaces of your home. You may notice patterns of tunnels in wood walls, floors, or furniture if you have a drywood termite infestation.
Since they eat and nest in the same area, drywood termites also defecate in this location. That means you’ll find termite feces around the site of the infestation. Drywood termite droppings look like tiny little pellets. You may find termite feces around floors, baseboards, window sills, furniture, or walls and ceilings.
If drywood termites are eating away at the wood in your walls, floors, or ceilings, it can cause these surfaces to shift and sag. You may notice squeaky floorboards or bubbling water damage in walls when drywood termites are eating away at these surfaces.
Dampwood termites prefer moist wood. So if you have these termites in your home, it could also indicate there’s a leak or water damage in your floors, cabinets, or other wood sources. Dampwood termites nest inside their wood sources. They don’t tunnel, but they usually feed on wood across the wood grain and can leave the wood sounding hollow when you knock on it.
Because they thrive in damp or rotting wood, dampwood termites may be nesting in wood that is soft or squishy to the touch. Again, this may not only be a sign of termites, but could also mean you have water damage.
If you notice rotting stumps or other decaying wood on your property, it's important to inspect them closely for termites. A mass of small, white ant-like insects could be termites, and if they're in close proximity to your home, there's a possibility they may have infiltrated your walls and other wooden structures.
Carvings that resemble the marks made by knives and rough troughs could indicate early stages of termite damage. It's worth noting that galleries made by carpenter ants, another type of wood-destroying pest, will have a smooth texture.
If your home is infested with termites, it's possible to hear noises coming from the affected area. This sound is like a faint clicking noise, which results from soldier termites banging their heads against the walls to signal danger.
Termites often begin by targeting easily accessible areas like windows or door frames. As the insects eat through the wood, they lose their support, and you may notice that opening or closing the windows and doors becomes more difficult.
There are actually three types of termites: drywood, subterranean, and dampwood termites. Each of these three types of termites can cause damage to your home, and have slightly different warning signs.
As their name suggests, subterranean termites nest underground. They typically only come to the surface for feeding. Some clear signs of subterranean termites include:
Tunnels
Swarms
Wings
Drywood termites are most likely found in homes located in warm climates, like the southern U.S. These termites nest in dry wood sources, and signs of these pests include:
Mazes
Termite droppings
Sagging walls, floors or ceilings
Opposite to drywood termites, dampwood termites prefer wet or rotting wood. Although larger than other common types of termites, they have smaller colonies. Dampwood termites can usually remain undetected for long periods of time until a termite inspection, and are mostly found in the Western U.S. Some signs of dampwood termites include:
Hollow wood
Soft wood
Swarms
The best way to know if you need to hire a termite professional is to check for warning signs of termites and determine if you have an infestation. Aside from seeing the insects, you should examine your home for the key signs of termite activity. These indicators include discarded wings, mud tubes, wood damage, and frass, a sawdust-like substance that termites leave behind as they tunnel through wood.
Also, if you tap on wood and it sounds hollow, that may indicate termite damage, as they eat wood from the inside out. If you notice any of these signs, it's best to contact a professional termite inspector near you to assess the situation as soon as possible.
There are various DIY treatments for removing termites, such as bait, diatomaceous earth powder, liquid termiticide, and more. However, working with chemicals can be hazardous and may not be as effective as a trained pest specialist. When you hire a termite control professional, you can rest easy knowing that the job will get done right and that they can help prevent future infestations.
The first thing you should do when you see signs of termites is to contact a termite control company near you for a professional termite inspection. Professionals will be able to identify the type of termites and can get a better idea of the size of the infestation. You may need multiple treatment sessions to fully eradicate a colony of termites. You can expect to spend about $230 to $970 per treatment on the cost of termite extermination.
Depending on the type of termite infestation, you may need different types of termite treatments. For instance, physical barriers or soil treatments will help prevent subterranean termites but won’t be effective for drywood or dampwood termites. If you have dampwood termites, it’s critical to remove any wet or rotting wood and repair water damage. Without the moisture, the termites won’t survive.
Prevention is better than having to deal with termite infestations. Try these key tips for preventing termites before they start making a snack out of your home:
Minimize moisture: Termites and other pests thrive in moist areas. Fix any leaks and close any gaps where water can get into the home. Eliminate standing water near the house's foundation, and consider using a dehumidifier in damp basements and crawl spaces.
Eliminate food sources: Since termites feed on wood, you should keep lumber, firewood, and any wood materials away from your home. Clearing away dead trees and stumps can also help prevent them from heading toward your house.
Maintain your lawn: Keep bushes trimmed away from your home, and cut the grass regularly. This method can help prevent termites from feasting on things in your yard and working their way into your house.
Schedule regular termite inspections: In addition to checking for signs of termites yourself, you should consider hiring a professional to perform regular termite inspections. The average price of an inspection is $165, but can range between $75 and $200.
The cost of having a professional treat your home for termites depends on several factors, such as the type of treatment, the size of the infestation, the area of the infestation, and your location. The national average cost to treat termites is $617, but it can range between $73 and $1,730.
However, hiring a pest control specialist will be much more affordable than the severe damage termites can do to your home. The average cost to repair termite damage ranges from $1,000 to $10,000! So, if you have warning signs of termites, taking action as fast as possible will save you money in the long run.
The length of time you can live in a house with termites depends on the severity of the infestation and the amount of damage they have already caused. While a small infestation may not significantly impact your quality of life, or even be noticeable in many cases, a larger infestation can cause serious damage to the structural integrity of your home and potentially lead to serious safety hazards.
Termites can cause significant damage to wooden structures, so it's important not to ignore them and to take immediate precautions to prevent an infestation. If you suspect that you have termites, it's best to call a professional exterminator as soon as possible to assess the situation and recommend the best treatment options.
You can tell if you have termites in your yard by looking for common signs of termites, such as mud tunnels around the property, including in concrete slabs or wood posts. Termites may burrow holes in trees or build nests on trees, or you may spot swarms of termites around the yard. Check for termites around firewood, trees, and the foundation of the house.
Termites are very hard to remove, especially if you don’t work with a professional pest control service or keep up with routine treatments. Queen termites can lay up to thousands of eggs per day, meaning these pests can spread quickly. You may need to combine DIY treatments and professional extermination services to get rid of a termite infestation.
Finding one termite could be a sign of an infestation. This termite could be a worker looking for food or a swarmer responsible for reproduction. Any time you see a termite crawling or flying around your home, or if you see their discarded wings around doors and windows, it’s time to call in a pro for an inspection.
