Termites are often known as hidden threats because they can damage homes from the inside, sometimes with few external signs of damage. If left untreated, a termite colony can cause damage that is very costly to repair.
Regular home inspections from a termite specialist can help identify signs of termite activity and structural damage. Based on inspection findings, a termite expert can customize a treatment plan to specifically target areas of your home that are most susceptible to activity. Preventative treatments can help reduce the risk of damage.
Since termites often can be mistaken for flying ants – and termite damage mistaken for water damage – it is important to hire a trained professional for help identifying these pests.
Identification of Termites and Termite Damage:
Winged Termites
Winged termites have no apparent waist and straight antennae. Their wings are equal in size and are shed soon after they emerge from their nest in an event called a swarm. Winged termites usually swarm in the early spring when it is warm and rainy.
Flying Ants
Flying ants have narrow waists and bent antennaes and often are mistaken for swarming termites. They have two sets of wings, one larger than the other, and usually do not shed their wings. Depending on their species, flying ants may swarm at different times of the year.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are wood-destroying insects that often are confused with termites. Carpenter ants may or may not have wings, and those with wings tend to have the same basic characteristics as other flying ants. Compared to worker termites, carpenter ants are much larger in size, with hard – rather than soft – bodies, and a generally darker color.
Termite Damage: Subterranean Termites
Subterranean termites create a distinctive honeycomb pattern in damaged wood, forming tunnels inside the softer spring wood and leaving the external grain intact. Seriously damaged wood breaks easily to show the inside of mud- or soil-filled termite galleries.
Termite Damage: Drywood Termites
With their smaller colony size, drywood termites typically cause slower, less severe damage than subterranean termites. Drywood termite damage often is first identified by the piles of small, hard fecal pellets the termites leave behind, called frass.
Termite Damage: Dampwood Termites
Dampwood termites rarely attack structures. When these termites do attack a structure, little damage is visible to the eye.
Termite Profile
Termite Species 
See how termite species differ by habitat and eating habits.
Termite Colonies
Learn the day-to-day jobs of termite workers, soldiers, royalty and reproductives – and watch a colony in action.
Termites by Region
Find out which termite species live in your region.
Identifying Termites and Termite Damage
See the differences between swarming termites and flying ants, and distinguish between types of termite damage.
