The Five Signs That Warrant Immediate Professional Inspection
- Mud Tubes on Foundation Walls The most definitive evidence of subterranean termite activity. Pencil-width tubes of mud and wood cellulose running vertically up concrete block or poured foundation walls, across the top of the foundation, or along floor joists. Termites construct mud tubes to maintain the moisture and darkness they require while traveling from soil to wood. An active tube will have live termites inside if broken. An inactive tube (no live termites) still indicates prior activity and warrants inspection to determine whether the colony is still present elsewhere on the structure.
- Swarmers Indoors Finding winged termites — reproductives — indoors, particularly near window sills and light fixtures in spring, indicates an established colony within or immediately adjacent to the structure. Swarmers themselves cause no damage and die within hours without access to soil; their presence indoors is the alarm signal. Do not confuse with flying ants — termite swarmers have straight antennae, equal-length wings, and a thick waist segment; flying ants have elbowed antennae, unequal wings, and a pinched waist.
- Discarded Swarmer Wings Piles of wings near windowsills, door frames, or baseboards — without live insects — indicate a recent swarming event inside the structure. Swarmers shed their wings immediately after landing. A pile of wings without the insects means they swarmed, shed, and died or dispersed. This is easily confused with debris by homeowners who don't examine it carefully.
- Hollow-Sounding or Soft Structural Wood Tapping along sill plates and floor joists with a screwdriver handle — a dull, hollow return instead of a solid thud — suggests galleries have been excavated inside the wood. Pressing a screwdriver tip against suspect wood that penetrates with little resistance confirms active or past feeding. Termite-damaged wood typically shows a honeycomb pattern of galleries running parallel to the grain.
- Wood-to-Soil Contact at the Structure Not evidence of active termites, but a high-risk conducive condition that warrants immediate correction: deck posts, porch columns, door frames, or structural lumber making direct contact with soil. This removes the one physical barrier between termite-accessible soil and the wood of the structure. Any wood-to-soil contact should be eliminated by raising, treating, or replacing the affected element.
Annual Self-Inspection Points
Once per year — ideally in spring when termite activity is highest — inspect the crawlspace perimeter with a flashlight for mud tubes on foundation walls and the first few feet of floor joists. Inspect the exterior foundation perimeter at grade level for tubes emerging from soil. Check any wood-to-soil contact points in landscape beds adjacent to the structure. D&D Pest Control provides annual termite inspections for Franklin County and rural Missouri — visit ddpestcontrolmo.com.