Identification and Damage

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Termites are often known as hidden threats because the damage they leave behind may not be visible until it is already very costly to repair.

To prevent and repair damage in your home, it is first important to correctly identify the cause of the problem. By scheduling regular home inspections with your termite specialist to check for structural damage, and implementing solutions to proactively control pest activity, you can greatly reduce damage caused to your home.

Identification of Termites and Termite Damage:

Winged Termites

Winged termites have no apparent waist and straight antennae. Their wings are equal in size and are shed soon after they emerge from their nest, or swarm. Winged termites usually swarm in the early spring when it is warm and rainy.

Flying Ants

Flying ants have narrow waists and bent antennaes and are often mistaken for swarming termites. They have two sets of wings, one larger than the other, and usually do not shed their wings. Depending on their species, flying ants may swarm at different times of the year.

Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are wood-destroying insects that are often confused with termites. Carpenter ants may or may not have wings, and those with wings tend to have the same basic characteristics as other flying ants. Compared to worker termites, carpenter ants are much larger in size, with hard – rather than soft – bodies, and a generally darker color.

Termite Damage: Subterranean Termites

Subterranean termites create a distinctive honeycomb pattern in damaged wood, forming tunnels inside the softer spring wood and leaving the external grain intact. Seriously damaged wood breaks easily to show the inside of mud- or soil-filled termite galleries.

Termite Damage: Drywood Termites

With their smaller colony size, drywood termites typically cause slower, less severe damage than subterranean termites. Drywood termite damage is often first identified by the piles of small, hard fecal pellets the termites leave behind, called frass.

Termite Damage: Dampwood Termites

Dampwood termites rarely attack structures. When these termites do attack a structure, little damage is visible to the eye.

Termite Basics: Identification and Damage