Do You Suspect Your Home has Termites?

One of the worst things to find out about your home is that you aren’t the only one living within the walls – and that you have termite roommates. 

Although termites are very tiny guests, there are a couple of signs that you can watch for to find out if you have a termite problem. 

Tapping or Clicking Noises

If you already have termites in your walls, chances are you will hear tiny tapping or clicking noises occasionally. These noises are very faint, and many people make the mistake of thinking that they are coming from outside or dismiss them. 

These tiny sounds happen when soldier termites feel threatened. They slam their heads against the ground or shake their bodies, which creates the tapping/clicking noises. They do this to alert the other termites that there is potential danger. 

Swarms 

An interesting fact about termites is that they actually have wings early on in their lives. 

• When the juvenile termites leave their home colony to find a mate and establish a new colony, they fly out of the colony and swarm with other young termites.
• Once they have found a mate and a place to begin a colony, they stop swarming. 

If you notice a swarm outside of you home, it may not be too late to keep them from getting into your home. However, this could also mean that you already have a colony in or around your home, and the juveniles are leaving to form a new nest. 

Wings

Once the termites have found a location for their colony and a mte, they will not need to fly again. 

Termites are attracted to sunlight, so they will typically shed their wings in an area that sunlight hits. In your home, these are places like window sills and doorways. If you notice piles of tiny wings by your windows, call a termite inspector immediately. 

Outside Damage

Oftentimes, termites will not move into your home until they have already damaged some of the wood outside of your home, such as trees and logs. 

Look for holes around the base of trees and mud tubes around the foundation of your home. Termites will form mud tubes to protect themselves and keep them moist while tunneling into your home’s walls.

Discolored or Drooping Drywall

Drywall often is left damaged on the outside when termites are present. This is because they tend to eat the entire inside of a wall’s wood, leaving little more than the paint left on the outside. 

This creates a shell of what was once a solid wall, and causes the drywall to droop. It can also become discolored from the termite droppings left on it as they work their way through the walls.