Pencil-thick to inch-wide tunnels on foundation and crawl-space walls above shelter subterranean termites traveling to and from the nest. If you see cream-colored insects when you break open the tubes, your house is infested. If you don't, the colony may be dead or using another route inside. Streams of winged termites indoors or piles of shed wings almost always means your house is infested.
Seeing them outdoors is not necessarily cause for alarm. Most termites prefer moist habitats: next to foundations or masonry, beneath leaking gutters, or near overgrown bushes. Look for bits of mud or dried dirt in the galleries they hollow out.
Termites chewing into dry wood usually leave a thin veneer, which may appear blistered or dark and breaks through easily when pressed. Formosan termites may be building satellite nests between joists or studs. Ridges on wallpaper could be tunnels for subterranean termites. Pinholes with piles of sand-grain-size pellets indicate drywood termites. Bigger holes may be signs of powder-post beetles or carpenter bees. Picks up the sound of termites ripping apart wood fibers.
The detector must be placed within a foot or two of where termites are feeding. Pinpoints areas with high moisture levels — 15 percent or above — which are more likely to harbor some types of termites.
Scans and detects elevated moisture levels inside intact walls. When used in combination with a heater, can also make termite galleries visible. With its flexible shaft and fiber-optic light, this instrument allows inspectors to peer through a small hole into hollow walls. Useful in houses with inaccessible crawl spaces or slab foundations, where termites can sneak up through cracks into interior walls.
Most any breed can be trained to sniff out the methane termites emit as they digest wood. Until recently, the only way to get rid of termites was with nasty toxic pesticides, many of which are now banned or being phased out. Today's chemicals are safer — some even approved for homeowners to apply — although they don't last as long.
How It Works: Termites take pesticide from in-ground stations buried around the house and carry it back to the nest. Eventually the entire colony dies. Professionally installed baits are monitored monthly during an infestation and four times a year after that. Pros: No poisons or drilling in the house.
Uses little pesticide, which remains in a tamper-resistant container. Can protect inaccessible areas. Cons: May take months to work. Termites can infest a house before finding bait.
DIY versions lack the reliable monitoring and more effective baits of pro systems. Targets: Subterranean and Formosan termites also carpenter ants, many wood-boring beetles, and rot fungi. How It Works: Operator sprays exposed bare wood with a boron solution or fills enclosed wall cavities with boron-laced foam. Not toxic to people and most mammals. Pros: Provides permanent protection. Doesn't smell or change the look of wood. Easy for homeowners to apply.
Cons: Take weeks to work. Hard to reach exposed wood in existing houses. May leach out if wood contacts soil. How It Works: Operator drills into wood or cavities where termites are feeding or nesting, then applies a foam or liquid pesticide. Generally used in conjunction with other treatments. Cons: Can miss areas where termites are active. Holes need patching after treatment.
But if you know where to look, and look carefully, you may avoid a preventable disaster. If you would like our help inspecting for termites or other pests give us a call at Dampwood termites, as their name suggests, live anywhere there is damp , wet, or rotten wood. Under the sinks in your home — It is best to give a check under the sink area a couple of times per year just to make sure there are no visible swarmers-wings. Under piles of lumber — If you pile wood for your fireplace and the wood on the bottom has been sitting for a few years — that is an ideal dampwood termite habitat.
For instance, the bottommost logs are a likely place to look. Basements — Wooden furniture kept in moist basements is a treat for Dampwood termites. Also, make sure to check your wooden furniture in the basement for termite holes. First, not everywhere in Southern California has problems with dampwood termites. For example, termites have plenty of moist rotten wood outside and have no need to come inside your home.
However, if they do enter, they cause a substantial amount of damage. So if you find dampwood termites call for an inspection. Drywood Termites live in warm to tropical climates where wooden structures are plentiful, and winters are not severe.
They live in a belt across the bottom half of the United States, from the East coast — Virginia to Florida — to the west coast where we see termites prevalent in Southern California all the way to the Redwoods in Northern California and few further North than that. Drywood termites like to eat. They infest and nest inside the wood and do not need direct contact with soil.
Unless you live in a concrete house your property is properly-suited for a drywood termite home — with dry wood to be found just about everywhere. Piles of wings left behind after swarms , often resembling fish scales. Mud tubes climbing the foundation of your home. Flying termite swarms anywhere on your property. Termite swarms may take place inside or outside of a home as mature termites leave the nest to start new colonies. Soon after swarmers take flight, they shed their wings.
Swarmers from mature colonies typically leave the nest at one of two times per year - during the spring or during the fall. The exact timing of the swarms varies based on the species and weather conditions.
Swarms on the exterior of a home may be missed by homeowners, as they are typically a brief event during the morning or afternoon — a time when many people are not at home. Formosan termites also can swarm at dusk. Subterranean termites build mud tubes also known as shelter tubes to serve as bridges between their colony and the wood they consume.
These tubes are made of tiny pieces of soil, wood and debris, and are used to protect the colony from predators and conserve moisture. After consuming wood, drywood termites often leave behind frass or droppings. These tiny fecal mounds often indicate a nearby termite infestation.
Drywood termites are usually found in warm, southern climates. They house their colonies within the wood on which they feed. As the termites consume wood, they burrow mazes of tunnels and chambers within walls and furniture. The pests leave small piles of feces that resemble pellets where they have eaten or nested.
Drywood termites also cause sagging floors , walls, and ceilings and may leave behind areas which appear to be water damaged. After winged drywood termites swarm, their wings shed and can be found in small piles throughout an infested home. These wings resemble fish scales. See swarm photos. Subterranean termites are found throughout the continental United States. These pests build their colonies underground and can travel above ground to access food sources.
They enter homes through cracked or unsealed foundations as well as through tunnels constructed from mud, their feces, and saliva.
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