How to check for signs of termites?

In most cases, termites are rapidly colonizing your home and are usually not easily noticed until significant damage has been done.

Termites thrive in areas without sunlight or moisture, such as undersides of wooden fixtures, furniture, door frames, or wooden floors. This is why they can be difficult to detect. Often, termites only become noticeable after their nests have grown large enough to infest wooden items. Despite their difficulty in spotting, there are several key signs that can help you recognize their presence early on.

Here are some common signs of termites you may see or hear in your home or office:

5 major termite sign checkpoints

If you find a swarm of flying ants in your home, it is an early sign of termite damage. Flying ants are adult termites and are in the reproductive stage looking for mates.

Another sign is finding termite wing remains on windowsills or the ground.

Termites shed their wings after finding a mate, so wing loss is a strong indicator of termite damage.

Termites are afraid of light, so to avoid being seen while transporting food, they create dirt paths using mud and other debris. These paths are usually found on the interior and exterior walls of houses.

Termites usually eat wood from the inside out, which can cause the wood to become hollow due to internal eating. This leaves only a thin surface layer of wood. When you knock on the surface, you will hear a hollow sound or the wood will be penetrated directly.

After termites infest wood, they typically excrete brown, granular feces. These feces are usually found around or underneath the termite-eaten wood.

When termites have eaten into the wood to a certain extent, their excrement and soil can retain heat and moisture, creating a good living environment for them. However, this will cause the wood to swell, so wooden doors that have been eaten by termites will be difficult to open.