Out of every household pest, termites are insects that can cause the most damage to your home.
Eating through the wood in your home, you may not notice a termite infestation unless you know about early warning signs of termites.
At proof., we know your home is important, and we want to help you protect your precious investment. Take a look at these early warning signs of termites, so you can maintain your home for years to come!
How Termites Cause Extensive Damage
If these pests find their way into your home, they will chew through its inner wooden structures. Some termite species create intricate colonies underground and connect their homes to yours through mud tunnels. If you have subterranean termites, you could find these tubes outside of your home.
Others will create their nests inside your home, living in the same wood they consume! Drywood and dampwood termites don’t need constant contact with damp soil like subterranean termites, and they can establish their colonies inside indoor wooden beams, never needing to leave their shelter.
Regardless of where a termite makes its home, all species are after the same thing: cellulose. This organic plant matter is a component of the wood that supports your home. You can also find cellulose in notebook paper and cardboard, so termites may take a bite out of your storage boxes.
As termites bore through the wood to extract the cellulose, they can cause intense structural damage to your home. As they compromise the integrity of your home, your floors and walls could slowly begin to deteriorate.
Termites that live within your walls aren’t as dangerous as subterranean termites, but their extended presence in your home can still pack a punch. If any termites live in your home unabated, you could be responsible for thousands of dollars in property damage!
Are there Early Warning Signs of Termites?
Because of their destructive capabilities, termites are an often feared pest for proof. customers. While our qualified technicians can wipe out a difficult infestation, we know you’re curious about signs of termites that may protect your home.
It’s often difficult to spot an infestation before there is apparent damage. However, using our expert tips, you can quickly nip any termite infestation in the bud!
Mud Tubes that Connect to the Ground
One of the key signs of a termite infestation is mud tubes. If you spot these dirt tunnels extending out of the ground and into any exterior holes or gaps, you should contact a pest control agency quickly.
While these tunnels may resemble mud wasps or dirt dauber nests, you can easily differentiate the nests by their location. Unless you spot clusters of dirt atop your door or in the corners of your porch, you can easily assume a termite colony is climbing into your home for a snack.
Spotting these tubes can confirm a subterranean termite infestation, but you may not see these signs for other termite species. If you don’t spot these tubes but have other indications of termites, you could have another species invading your home.
Large Mounds of Termite Droppings
Also called frass, termite droppings are a signal that pests live within your walls. Drywood termites are notorious for forcing their droppings out of their nest and onto your floors as they dig through the wood.
Because this species primarily resides in your home, they will discard any waste from the colony to continue to live and feast on the wooden framework.
You may mistake their feces for wood shavings or dust, but their powdery droppings are early warning signs of termites currently at work. You can find frass around small holes that the termites use to exit their inner tunnels.
Check out this video to see what termite droppings look like and even how termite workers look!
Visible Warping of Wooden Structures
While this may appear after termites have already caused significant damage, you may begin to notice your floor, doorways, or windowsills warping or deteriorating.
If you cannot properly shut your window, termites could have eaten inside the wood around your windowpane. As the trim begins to warp, the window will not fit securely into the buckling space, and you will encounter some difficulty closing your window.
Your floors may sag down if termites have eaten away at the wooden support underneath your home. While this isn’t always an indication of an infestation, you should always schedule an inspection if your home begins to show new signs of deterioration.
Are Sightings of Termite Swarmers a Sign?
If you spot strange flying insects in or around your home, you may have encountered a termite swarmer. While these pests resemble flying ants, you can easily tell the insects apart by a termite’s narrow body length and long wings.
These flying pests exit the inner areas of their nests to mate and create new colonies. As termites mate and attempt to establish new colonies, they shed their wings. You could find their discarded wings around exit holes or your windowsills.
According to Mississippi State University, a queen only births swarmer termites once the colony has grown considerably large. An infestation could fester inside your walls before these reproductive insects ever leave their hiding place.
When you spot termite swarmers, call a pest control agency like proof. pest control to give you a hand. Termites aren’t easy to handle on your own, and you could have an intensive infestation if these swarming pests are the first visible sign of termites.
Always keep an eye out for early warning signs of termites, but remember that proof. can help! With our residential termite pest control service, we will inspect your home for free and look for any signs of hidden termite colonies.
Trust proof. to keep your home safe from destructive termites!