6 Bugs That Are Commonly Mistaken as Termites 

How to Identify Termites?

A termite colony has a social structure and distinct physical attributes. It comprises a queen and king, workers, soldiers and flying termites, or alates.

Their size ranges from about a quarter of an inch to three quarters of an inch. In general, termites are either white or light brown in colour. The soldiers are darker compared to the workers. They also possess four identical clear wings and two straight antennae.

Termites prefer to stay hidden, thus it is more likely for you to see signs of their presence rather than the real ones. There are also several species of termites, and it’s important to identify which species is giving you the problem in order to apply the right treatment.

Signs that you are dealing with termites

You are less likely to see a live termite because they try their hardest to hide their activities from humans. Luckily, they leave behind signs of their presence. Here are some of them:

1. Presence of Swarmers

These are flying termites that leave the nest in large groups in search of mates and a new nest location. Some species swarm at night, while others swarm during the day. However, all drywood termites tend to swarm after a heavy downpour at particular times of the year.

2. Shed wings

Flying termites discard their wings after taking flight. When there is a termite infestation, piles of discarded wings might be found around your home’s foundations, inside or outside your home.

3. Hollow-sounding or blistering wood

Termites feed on wood from the inside out, leaving the wood hollowed out. When you tap on an area of the wood with termite damage, you will hear a hollow sound. This is because the inside of the wood is gone. Another sign is unexplained cracks on inner walls.

4. Fras or termite droppings

Frass, the droppings from drywood termites, can be mistaken for sawdust by inexperienced eyes. You would know you’re dealing with drywood termites because they used their faeces to build their tunnels.

5. Mud tubes

Termites use mud tubes to travel from their nest to their food source. These tubes are found attached to structures, usually close to the foundations. Subterranean termites build mud tunnels for protection as well as to provide moisture for them.

6. Hard to open windows or stuck doors

These signs are the result of termites producing moisture when eating and building tunnels through doors and window frames.

7. Clicking sound from walls

There are the sounds that termites make that gives you an idea of their presence. The sound you hear from your walls may be the soldiers banging their heads against the wood or shaking their bodies when they sense a threat. The workers, meanwhile, are noisy when they feed wood. They are so loud that when you put your ears close to the walls you can hear them munching away.

Common places where termite damages occur

Termites are silent destroyers because they are good at hiding their activities. Detection could take a long time and by then, they have caused significant damage that amounts to hundreds of dollars of repairs.

However, there are places that are often discovered with termites and termite infestation:

• The exterior of concrete walls, painted wood trims, siding and wood piles
• Places where things are stored such as basements, attics, garages and crawl spaces
• Around damaged pipes and damp areas in the kitchens and bathrooms
• The tops of the walls, corners of rooms, floors, closets, and wooden window and door frames
• Support beams in a home’s interior