Signs of termite damage in your home include:

1. Pencil-wide mud tubes that termites create for protection as they travel on foundation walls, support piers, sill plates or floor joists in search of food.
2. Small holes in wood or wood that looks hollowed out along the grain.
3. Crumbling drywall, sagging doors or floors.
4. Tiny wings that swarming termites shed on or around windowsills.
5. Fecal pellets near damaged wood – a sure sign of Drywood termites. The pellets are quite distinctive: hard, elongated-ovals with rounded ends, and six concave sides.

Mud Tubes

Subterranean termites build mud tubes (also known as shelter tubes) to serve as bridges between their colony and the wood they are feasting on. These tubes are made of tiny pieces of soil, wood and debris, and are used to protect the colony from predators and conserve moisture.

Warning Signs

Termite Swarms

Termites become most visible when they swarm – especially if the swarm happens inside a home. Swarming occurs when termites decide to expand their territory. Hundreds to thousands of termites may abandon the nest to create new colonies. These swarmers shed their wings when they arrive at their destination and never fly again.

A telltale sign that a termite swarm happened inside a home is the appearance of hundreds of discarded wings on or around windowsills, because the termites will attempt to get outside by flying toward the light.

Swarms inside a home almost always mean infestation and a pest professional should be contacted for an inspection.

Discarded Wings

Even if you miss an exterior termite swarm, it may not be difficult to see that it took place. Soon after swarmers take flight, they shed their wings, leaving small piles of wings behind in spider webs and on surfaces around the home’s foundation, like window sills.