Termite infestations can cause costly problems when early signs are missed. Learn how do you get termites, the risks, and when to call Rowland Pest Management.
Key Takeaways About How Termites Get Into Your Home
- Termites can reach your house through wood that is in contact with soil or through wood that holds excess moisture, depending on the species involved.
- Knowing the difference between subterranean termites, drywood termites, and dampwood termites helps you understand how each type gains access to wooden structures.
- Reducing moisture around your home and addressing damaged wood are important steps in a broader pest management approach to prevent termites.
- Rowland Pest Management controls Formosan termites, Eastern subterranean termites, and drywood termites using targeted treatment methods matched to each species.
How to Identify a Termite Problem
Understanding what termites look like and where they show up is the first step toward catching an issue early. Homeowners who know the visual differences between termite types and recognize common signs of activity can respond before damage extends into a structure.
How to Tell Different Termite Types Apart
The winged termites you may find near windows or light fixtures are called swarmers, and their size and color vary by species. According to the University of Georgia termite guide, subterranean termite swarmers range from black to caramel colored and measure roughly 1/4 to 3/8 inch in body length. They are small enough to be mistaken for flying ants.
Formosan termite swarmers are noticeably larger, measuring about 1/2 inch with wings included. They have a caramel-colored body and carry tiny hairs on their wings visible only under magnification. Comparing body size and wing detail can help you narrow down which type may be present.
How to Spot Termite Activity Inside Your Home
Mud tubes are one of the most recognizable signs of termite activity indoors. These pencil-width tunnels often appear along interior walls, door frames, or foundation surfaces. If you break a mud tube open, you may see live workers and soldiers running through the tubes. That movement confirms the tube is actively being used.
Discarded wings near windowsills or doors are another indoor indicator. After swarmers land, they shed their wings in small piles. Finding clusters of same-sized wings suggests a swarm event occurred nearby or inside the structure.
Where Termite Activity Shows Up Around Homes
Around the exterior of a home, mud tubes may appear along the foundation wall, rising from the soil line toward wooden framing or siding. These tubes provide a protected path between the ground and a food source. Checking your foundation periodically can help you notice new tube construction early.
Rowland Pest Management’s service professionals inspect for these signs during termite evaluations across Orlando, Kissimmee, Daytona Beach, and surrounding Central Florida communities.
Exterior Entry Points Termites Use
Termites typically reach a home where wood contacts or sits close to soil. Areas around the foundation perimeter, near plumbing penetrations, and along expansion joints are common paths. Mud tubes bridging small gaps between the soil and the structure are a clear signal that termites have found an entry route.
Keeping an eye on these exterior transition points helps you catch activity when tubes are still short and newly built, rather than after they have extended deeper into wall voids or framing.
Why Termite Problems Develop
Understanding how termites reach your home starts with knowing where they live, what draws them in, and how they travel. Different termite types use different strategies, but they all share one goal: finding wood to feed on.
Outdoor Nesting Areas for Termites
Subterranean termites live in the soil and forage outward to find wood. Their colonies stay underground, and workers travel from the nest to any wood source they can reach. The Formosan subterranean termite, which is invasive in the United States and native to China, builds especially large colonies. According to the University of Georgia termite guide, soldiers make up about 15% of a Formosan colony, compared to less than 5% in eastern subterranean colonies.
Drywood termites take a different approach. They do not need contact with the soil or any form of liquid moisture, obtaining all the moisture they need from wood itself and metabolic processes. This means they can nest directly inside wooden items or structural wood without any connection to the ground.
Food and Shelter That Attract Termites
Wood is the primary draw. Subterranean termites forage into structures to access wood, and as they consume it, they can leave only a thin wooden exterior behind. Drywood termites can settle into furniture, picture frames, or structural wood, depending on the species and region. Any home with accessible wood is a potential target.
How Termites Move Around Homes
Native subterranean termite species begin swarming in January and finish by early June in most cases. They typically swarm in the morning or early afternoon and are not attracted to lights. These swarms allow termites to spread to new areas and start fresh colonies near or inside structures.
Because drywood termites need no soil contact, swarmers can land on exposed wood anywhere on a home and begin a new colony in place.
Trails and Entry Points Termites Use
Subterranean termites build shelter tubes between the soil and wood structures. These mud tubes act as protected highways that let workers travel from underground nests into your home without exposure. Removing these tubes is an important step in disrupting their access, as UC IPM recommends.
Drywood termites do not build shelter tubes. Instead, swarmers enter through small openings in exposed wood, making their entry points harder to spot without a trained eye.
Risks From Termite Infestations
Structural Risks From Termites
Termites invade and consume wood and other cellulose material, causing extensive damage in structural parts of a building. According to the University of Tennessee Extension, their presence may not be discovered until they swarm, sometimes years after infesting a structure. That delay means damage can accumulate behind walls, inside framing, and throughout load-bearing areas before anyone notices.
Wooden structures can sustain damage that requires full replacement of affected components. In some cases, damaged wood around windows or door frames must be removed and rebuilt to restore structural integrity.
Hidden Termite Damage in Homes
One of the biggest risks of a termite problem is how long it can go undetected. Subterranean termites build earth-hardened shelter tubes using saliva mixed with soil and bits of wood or even drywall. These tubes may run along foundation walls, inside wall cavities, or across other surfaces where they are not immediately visible.
Drywood termite activity can be just as hard to spot. As the University of Georgia termite guide notes, drywood termite infestation is indicated by uniform-sized fecal pellets, called frass, found beneath infested wood. These pellets are roughly the size of a grain of sand and may collect on flat surfaces below the affected area. Without knowing what to look for, homeowners can overlook these signs for a long time.
Belongings and Moisture Risks From Termites
Beyond structural framing, termites target wood and cellulose material throughout a home. Any untreated wood component can become a food source, putting various parts of your property at risk over time.
Moisture also plays a role in making a home more vulnerable. Removing sources of moisture and repairing moisture damage are important steps for minimizing termite access. Damp conditions can make wood more attractive and easier for colonies to consume, compounding the risk of extensive damage.
When a Termite Problem Needs Action
Any confirmed sign of termite activity warrants prompt attention. Mud tubes on foundation walls, frass pellets beneath woodwork, or a termite swarm inside your home all point to an active or recent infestation. Because termites can feed undetected for years, waiting to act gives them more time to cause extensive damage.
The recommended approach is to repair any existing damage, minimize termite access, address moisture issues, and then treat the affected area and remove the colony. Taking these steps in order helps protect your home from further structural loss.
Professional Pest Control for Termites
Understanding how you get termites is the first step, but protecting your home requires more than awareness. Homeowners can correct conditions that attract termites and replace damaged wood on their own. However, according to UC IPM, treatment applications are highly regulated and require a licensed pest control professional.
How to Reduce Attractants for Termites
Preventing a termite infestation starts with reducing the conditions that draw termites to your property, such as replacing termite-damaged wood and managing moisture. Rowland Pest Management also recommends having old trees trimmed back and dead limbs removed, as they can serve as nesting sites for drywood termites.
For subterranean termites, Rowland Pest Management uses the Trelona Advanced Termite Bait System as a preventative option. Stations are installed in the soil surrounding structures approximately every 10 to 20 linear feet, as recommended by BASF. This approach aligns with integrated pest management principles, where pest populations are addressed before an infestation takes hold.
Why Termite Control Starts With an Inspection
Finding live termites foraging within wood is a sure sign of an active infestation. A professional inspection helps determine whether termites are present and which species is involved. and which type is involved. Rowland Pest Management performs 100 termite inspections per year for homeowners and contractors handling additions or plumbing work.
Each termite type may require a different treatment approach, so proper identification during inspection is critical to building the right plan for your home.
What to Expect During Professional Termite Treatment
For subterranean termite infestations, Rowland Pest Management installs bait stations containing Novaluron, which prevents termites from molting. Worker termites consume the bait and bring it back to the colony. When active mud tubes are found inside the house, a cross-drill wall void treatment uses fipronil foam injected into the top corners of door frames and windows, expanding into termite tunnels.
For drywood termite infestations, the attic treatment uses Boron sodium oxide tetrahydrate on accessible unpainted, unfinished wood. This borate lasts the lifetime of the wood and addresses both existing termites and new swarms. According to UC IPM, homeowners should seek professional help for drywood termites since the products needed are not available to the general public.
Termiticide foundation trenching creates a barrier around your home’s foundation. Subterranean termites that contact the barrier can spread it to other colony members through a transfer effect. Each application lasts approximately five years.
What to Expect From a Termite Control Plan
Rowland Pest Management’s Complete Termite Package includes bait station installation around the structure, a full treatment of exposed wood in the attic, and a termiticide injection treatment for the wood frame inside the walls. Bait stations are inspected annually, and the bait remains active for two to four years under typical conditions before replacement.
The termite protection program is charged at $35 per month, which covers retreatments and ongoing annual termite renewal treatments. Homeowners should rely on licensed professionals for termite treatment rather than attempting it on their own.
How Do You Get Termites: Bottom Line
Termites find their way into homes by exploiting moisture, wood-to-soil contact, and hidden entry points that most homeowners overlook. Whether dealing with subterranean species that tunnel through soil or drywood termites that nest directly inside wood, treatment typically requires a licensed professional. Rowland Pest Management serves Orlando, Daytona Beach, Winter Park, Kissimmee, and 20+ surrounding Central Florida communities with termite inspections, bait station programs, and targeted treatments. Contact Rowland Pest Management to request a termite inspection for your home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Handle a Termite Problem on My Own?
Homeowners can replace damaged wood and correct conditions that attract termites, such as reducing moisture around the foundation. However, treatment applications require a licensed professional with access to regulated products.
What Is the Difference Between Subterranean and Drywood Termites?
Subterranean termites live in the soil and build shelter tubes to reach wood above ground. Drywood termites nest directly inside the wood they feed on and do not need soil contact. Rowland Pest Management treats all three major species found in Central Florida.
How Can I Prevent a Termite Infestation?
Reducing wood-to-soil contact, managing moisture around your home, and removing dead wood from your property can help lower the risk. For drywood termites, trimming back old trees and removing dead limbs may reduce nesting sites near your home. Professional monitoring programs, such as bait stations inspected annually, add an ongoing layer of protection.
How Do Bait Stations Fit Into Termite Control?
Bait stations are installed in the soil around a structure and work by allowing worker termites to consume bait and share it with colony members. Rowland Pest Management places Trelona stations every 10 to 20 linear feet and inspects them annually to maintain ongoing protection.