How to tell if your home has termite damage

Key points

• Signs of termites include visible swarms, discarded wings, frass, damage to framing or wall coverings, and mud tubes.
• Have a professional inspect your home for termites at least once per year.
• Termite damage repair can cost up to $20,000 and isn’t covered by homeowners insurance.

Termites are sneaky creatures. Concealed by the wood and soil where they reside, termites feast away on your home. These wood-destroying insects (WDIs) often go unnoticed as they feed on structural components such as studs, rafters and floor joists from the inside out.

“Unaddressed termite damage can greatly affect the structural integrity of a home, sometimes leading to a total collapse,” said Emma Crumbley, a certified entomologist at pest control company Mosquito Squad.

Termite activity isn’t always obvious, but it helps to know what to look for when considering whether to call the pros. Scot Hodges, an associate certified entomologist at Arrow Exterminators with over 20 years of experience, identified the most common indicators of termites in the home.

“Some possible warning signs of a termite infestation include termite wings, which are thin, papery wings and typically found near windowsills or floors, mud tubes built by termites to connect them from the soil to their food source, distorted areas of paint or wood surfaces which appear ‘bubbled’ or cracked, hollow-sounding wood and frass or termite droppings,” Hodges said.

Termites cause billions of dollars in structural damage annually, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The earlier you find signs of termite activity, the faster you can call a pest professional for extermination. 

What are the signs of termite damage?

Drywood termites will eat through wood almost anywhere in your home — from doorframes to furniture — while dampwood termites feast mainly on decayed wood. Signs of an infestation will vary by termite type and can be as obvious as visible swarms or as subtle as stuck windows.

Damage to drywall or wallpaper

While termites feed on wood, they might eat through your wall coverings to access the studs behind or exit the wall and start a new colony. You might find tiny pinholes in your painted drywall or wallpaper. Alternatively, your wall covering may look as if it is sinking inward.

Some species, namely subterranean termites, require a source of moisture to survive. If the conditions in your home aren’t humid enough, they can introduce moisture to the areas where they feed. This can lead to stains and discoloration that look like water damage on your drywall or other wall coverings.

Bulging floors or ceilings

When termites introduce moisture to the areas where they eat and breed, it can soak into the surrounding building materials and cause expansion. “Drywood termite colonies tend to localize in one area,” explained Crumbley. “With concentrated activity under wooden floorboards or in ceilings, wood can begin to ‘bubble’ or blister from the activity.”

You might notice the following as a result:

• Unusually squeaky floorboards
• Tiles popping out of place
• Sagging ceilings
• Buckling wood floors

Hollow framing

Termites feast from the inside out, causing the wood to become hollow. “Drywood termites can live in and eat through dry, hard, nondecayed wood,” Crumbley said. “In homes, this wood could include doorframes, windowsills, fascia boards, flooring, beams and furniture.”

In some cases, if you knock on the wood with a hammer, you’ll hear a hollow sound, indicating that termites have damaged the wood. A professional termite inspector will check the wood throughout your home for visible damage and hollow sounds.

Stuck windows and doors

When termites feed around wall openings, the framing can warp, causing a misalignment of the sash or door within the frame. You might notice doors and windows that get stuck and don’t open and close freely.

Doors and windows can swell inside their frames due to other causes, particularly when they expand in hot and humid weather. This alone isn’t always an indication of termite damage. But if it exists alongside other signs, it might indicate infestation.

Visible termite tunnels

In exposed wood, you might see termite tunnels, which look like mazes cut into the surface. Most wood framing in homes is covered, but you might find exposed wood with this pattern in unfinished basements, crawl spaces or attics.

A pest management expert can tell what termite species may be causing damage based on these tunnels.

“Unlike the other termite species, drywood termites will chew against the grain, cutting through the harder parts of the wood to create their galleries,” Crumbley said. “If you see damage across the grain in addition to frass, you may have drywood termites.”

Termite droppings

When termites eat through wood, they digest it and leave droppings called “frass.” Some termite species will push the frass out of their tunnels, and you might find small piles on windowsills, around doors or on the floor under small pinholes in your wall coverings. Frass looks like small piles of sawdust or coffee grounds.

The presence of frass can help identify the type of termites you have in your home. Drywood termites retrieve water from waste, said Crumbley, which leaves their frass dry and hard. They expel it from termite galleries through “kick holes,” leaving sawdust-like piles.

Conversely, dampwood termites have more moisture in their droppings and don’t typically kick it out of their galleries. They do, however, use it to seal them shut and keep humidity high, Crumbley explained.

Finally, subterranean termites use their frass plus soil to form mud tubes and keep their galleries humid. You won’t be able to see visible frass if you have subterranean termites.

Visible swarms

In spring and summer, usually between April and July, termites swarm as a part of their breeding and feeding process. “All termites swarm when they are ready to leave their current colony and start a new one,” Crumbley said. Termite swarms are a telltale indicator that you have an infestation that will lead to damage if not addressed promptly.

“As dampwood termites infest specific areas with high moisture content, swarming can indicate a problem,” Crumbley explained. “Seeing the swarm itself — which some people describe as ‘flying ants’ — or finding termite wings around the home can indicate where nearby areas of infestation are.”

Discarded wings

As new termites land in your residence to reproduce, they shed their wings before they reinfest the nearby wood, Crumbley noted.

You might find piles of discarded termite wings around windows or doors. They may also be caught up in spider webs in a crawl space or basement if the termites have entered the area under your home.

Musty odors

Most termites need moisture to survive, so they’ll bring it into your structure if necessary. The introduction of moisture into wood, insulation and wall coverings not only causes wood expansion but promotes mold growth. As such, termite activity is sometimes marked by a musty odor.

Plumbing, window, roof and foundation leaks can lead to mold growth, so a musty odor isn’t always a telltale sign of termite activity.

Mud tubes

Subterranean termites often enter your property through wood in contact with soil. Without wood-to-ground contact, they might create mud tubes up your concrete foundation.

“Subterranean termites are not as robust as drywood or dampwood termites and require consistent levels of moisture to survive,” Crumbley said. 

“To protect themselves from drying out as they leave the soil, subterranean termites will create mud tubes, also called termite tubes or termite tunnels, to surround themselves with moisture as they enter the structure,” she said.

How serious is termite damage?

Termite damage can be severe, sometimes compromising your home’s structural integrity. Hodges estimates that termite repair costs can be as little as $250 for minor damage and as high as $20,000 for more severe infestations. For instance, in Florida, termites are responsible for more damage than fires, floods and storms combined, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Not only do termites cause significant damage, but they’re also difficult to detect, leading to ongoing damage for months or years without intervention. Worse yet, you’ll have to pay out of pocket to repair most termite damage.

“Unfortunately, termite damage is rarely covered by homeowners insurance since it’s considered preventable,” Hodges said.

How can you prevent termite damage?

Thankfully, there are some things you can do to help reduce your risk of termite infestation and related damage.

Carry out routine inspections

Hire a pest professional to complete an annual termite inspection to help prevent ongoing and severe damage to your home. Aside from pro inspections, inspect your home regularly for signs of activity, especially if you live in an area prone to infestations.

“The best way to prevent termite damage is to check up on your home,” Crumbley said. “Perform routine inspections of crawl spaces and basements for subterranean termite tubes, plumbing and roof areas for leaks that can lead to dampwood termites, and attics, pieces of furniture, flooring and walls for drywood termites,” she continued.

Eliminate wood-to-soil contact

Termites are attracted to rotting wood, common in wood structures that directly contact moist soil. Elevating sheds above the ground, replacing wooden garden bed surrounds with metal or plastic ones and installing PVC or chain-link fences instead of wooden fences are all good ways to eliminate the amount of wood on your property that contacts the moist ground.

“If you are considering expanding your home by adding a patio or renovating exterior wood, another prevention tool would be to use pressure-treated wood intended for wood-to-ground contact,” Crumbley said. “Pressure treated wood is resistant to termites as it has been exposed to chemicals that have absorbed into the pores of the wood.”

Remove exterior food sources

Termites enter your home after exhausting food sources in your yard. The more food sources you have outside, the more termites you’ll attract onto your property, and the higher the risk they’ll move inside your home.

“Do not stack firewood or lumber near [your] home,” Hodges warned. “Termites can burrow into the woodpile and then right into the home.”

Remove stacked firewood and piles of tree debris in your yard, or at least move them far away from your home to dissuade the pests from entering your home after the outdoor food sources are depleted. Hodges also recommended grinding down stumps if you remove trees. “Avoid piles of mulch since this is a favorite food source for termites,” she added.

Reduce moisture in your home

Since humidity attracts termites, eliminating sources of moisture in your home is a good way to reduce the risk of termite damage.

“For subterranean termites, keeping basements and crawl spaces dry, structurally sound and free of cellulose debris will decrease the risk of a termite infestation in those areas,” Crumbley said. Cellulose includes more than just wood — paper, cardboard and wood chips should all be discarded.

“Also, divert water from the house by using proper downspouts and gutters,” Hodges added. Gutters relocate runoff from your roof to a safe place for disposal, reducing the risk of water intrusion in your home through fascia and your foundation. Make sure to clean your gutters once or twice annually to avoid clogs that lead to spillovers and interior water leaks.

Call a professional pest management company

Contact a professional pest management company to install termite monitors and bait stations around the perimeter of your property. A pest expert can use these to keep track of termite activity, and the poison in bait stations can kill entire colonies of termites if they do develop.

You don’t need to wait until you see signs of termite damage in your home to call a professional for prevention; you can take a proactive approach to avoid damage altogether. “Have your home inspected annually by a licensed pest professional who specializes in termite control,” Hodges advised.

What’s next?

If you haven’t done a DIY termite inspection in the past, now is a good time to start. Check the perimeter of your foundation for mud tubes, and inspect the inside of your home — specifically the crawl space or basement — for signs of termite activity. Going forward, pencil a DIY termite inspection into your calendar once every six months.

You should also contact a professional pest management company to schedule a professional termite inspection once every year. It’s easy to miss the signs of termite damage during your DIY inspection that a trained professional can identify. Carpenter ants, for instance, also love moisture and can leave frass. Treating this pest is going to take a different approach. 

Finally, ask your pest professional about setting up ongoing monitoring and treatment for termites. While you’ll have to invest in prevention upfront, waiting until you notice signs of termite activity and damage could cost you more in repairs.