As one of the most common home-invading Termites, the Drywood termites are attracted to wood with high moisture density and live inside the woods they actually eat.
In this article, we share some of the drywood termite signs you can observe at home to help you identify if the wooden furniture, structures or flooring is under attacked by this costly pest.
Clicking Noises
Termites are known to make quite a bit of noise, but it can still take trained ears to identify these sounds. They usually make a lot of clicking sounds since they are noisy eaters and tend to bang against wooden surfaces to alert other members of the colony.
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Flying Wings and Termites
One of the more common drywood termite signs is their wings. Colonies rely on swarmers for the colony to grow and reproduce. Hence, flying termites and their wings can be evidence of a potential infestation of drywood termites.
Finding “White Ants”
A lot of people mistake drywood termites for white ants because they are quite similar in colour, shape, and size. The biggest difference is that termites have thicker midsections, straight antennae, and creamy-coloured bodies. Hence when you spot ‘white ants’ looking crawlers at home, they might well be the drywood termites.
Wood That Sounds Hollow
Ideally, we hope you will be able to identify a drywood termite infestation before it gets to this point. A hollow sound emanating from a piece of wooden furniture can be a serious indicator of termites. Since termites are prone to nesting inside the wood and eating their way out, they can leave just thin layers of wood and sometimes even just the paint. Knock around on the wooden panels; if it sounds papery, thin, or hollow, it could be a sign of termites.
Termite Droppings
One of the biggest drywood termite signs is to lookout for their droppings. Subterranean termites use their droppings to build their nests, but drywood termites don’t. As they make their way through the wood, they release their droppings onto the floor, window sills, and other surfaces. It looks like a dark powdery substance that leaves black marks around the infested area.
Final Thoughts
It is important for homeowners to learn about drywood termite signs because they can be a real menace to not only the furniture in your home but also the structure of your house. They form their colonies away from sight inside the wood and can do significant damage to the house’s foundation if you don’t catch them in time. Employing some preventive measures and checking for them once in a while is a smart idea.