A lot of home owners ask “what do termites look like?”
Often times termite swarmers are confused with flying ants by home owners, and that can be confusing by itself, but in most termite infestations, the homeowner doesn’t even see a termite until significant damage has occurred.
So instead of asking “what do termites look like?” We should be asking “what are some signs of termites?” Or “do I have conditions to attract termites?”
So what are you looking for when you’re looking for termites?
For the sake of this post we will be focusing on subterranean termites specifically.
Moisture
Termites go after wood for the cellulose inside of it, and while they have the ability to eat most types of wood, they prefer it to be soft.
Moisture on wood helps soften up the wood and decay it faster, making it a nice attractive meal for termites.
While wet wood in your house doesn’t automatically mean you have a termite problem, it certainly increases your chances of having one.
Look around the structural and decorative wood of your building for wetness or signs of discoloration.
Key points of interest would be the basement sills, floor boards and frames around windows and doors.
If you find moisture, your next step should be figuring out where the water is coming from and correcting that issue immediately.
Shelter Tubes
One of the most reliable ways to identify a subterranean termite issue is the presence of shelter tubes.
Subterranean termites need a high amount of humidity to survive, if they don’t have it they will desiccate (dry out) and die.
To help them retain their moisture and to also create safe routes to their food sources, they create shelter tubes made of mud.
Usually these shelter tubes will run vertically from the ground to the food source, but they can also make them horizontally, as well as in the wood itself.
After proper identification and consultation with a professional it might be a good idea to scrape them off and monitor them for future activity.
If you have new shelter tubes, you have new problems.
What Do Termites Look Like: Swarmers
Finally as discussed before, what usually sounds the alarm for home owners is seeing the swarmers.
Termite alates, or what they’re more commonly known as; swarmers are the reproductive stages of termites.
This stage of termites has harder chitin (exoskeleton) and developed wings to travel further and faster.
Termite swarmers are how colonies expand and diversify their genetics.
Swarmers from different colonies will meet, mate and a new queen will start reproducing, creating a new colony.
Seeing swarmers by your windows or door frames may mean you have a new colony setting up on your property.
Seeing swarmers might also mean you have a mature colony sending swarmers out, some being stuck inside, attracted to the light from the windows.
Termite swarms usually go away after a short amount of time, and most of the swarmers will die.
DO NOT assume you don’t have a colony in your house just because you stop seeing swarmers.
Consult with a professional and do a thorough inspection if you see termite swarmers in your home.
What Do Termites Look Like: Workers
If you see termite workers, you probably already seen a shelter tube and scraped it off, or took apart infested wood from a wall.
The workers look drastically different than swarmers; they are white and soft bodied.
You might see them in dirt and mulch when doing garden work.
If you see live termite workers in the soil or mulch adjacent to your house you should consult with a professional to make sure you don’t have other evidence of termites on the property.
Summary
If you see any of these signs, the first order of business should be doing a thorough inspection.
Make sure to check out the entire structure to see the extent of the infestation.
If there is any damage to the wood, make sure to consult a structural professional to ensure the structure is sound and secure.
Termite remediation is a hard thing for a home owner to be able to resolve on their own, please contact a trusted professional.
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By Jon Amaral ACE, PHE
New Bedford Pest Control
113 Allen Street
New Bedford, MA 02740
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