Top Early Warning Termites Signs in the Home (2022)

We explain the termite signs in-house with 7 evidence to know if you have termites.

Termites feed on the cellulose present in wood, weakening it little by little and even causing the collapse of structures.

If your house has wooden structures, it is especially important to make periodic inspections to rule out any risk associated with a termite attack.

Failure to detect an attack by a termite infestation in time can put your property at risk and, ultimately, the health of your family.
Therefore, from Rentokil we want to give you some tips to detect the termite signs in a house in time:

Termites signs in house

1. Noises in the walls.

If you keep quiet, you may hear the termites “work” inside the wood. Soldier termites bang their heads against wood or shake their bodies to warn of danger to the rest of the colony. Worker termites are noisy too, and you can hear them chewing on wood if you keep quiet. Or much better if you use a phone.

2. Winged termites

Usually, the first sign of a termite infestation is the presence of flying termites – a phenomenon known as swarming. Flying termites are the males and females that have left the termite mound to find a mate and then establish a new colony – which could be near or inside your home.

In Spain, the swarms usually occur in the months of April and May, and in certain areas, there is also a second swarm at the beginning of autumn.

Another piece of evidence that indicates its presence is the discarded wings. Flying termites lose their wings shortly after finding a mate and are easily identifiable. The king and queen begin by feeding the nymphs until there are enough female workers to take over. The king continues to care for the queen and the couple can live together in the growing colony for more than ten years.

3. White ants?

A common mistake people make is mistaking termites for white ants. This is an easy mistake to make since both ants and termites are very similar in shape, and size, and, in both cases, they are species of social insects.

What are the differences between ants and termites?

• Termites are light in color. They are usually white / cream in color and can sometimes appear quite translucent.
• Compared to ants, termite antennae are straight rather than bent.
• The excretion zone of a termite is much thicker than that of ants. The section where the thorax and abdomen meet is very narrow in the ant, whereas in a termite this section is quite large in comparison. Come on, they have a low waist.
• Both flying ants and termites have two pairs of wings. However, in termites, the two wings are the same length, while in ants one pair is larger than the other. The most important thing to note is that there is no such thing as a white ant. If you think you have spotted an insect that looks like a white ant in or around your home, then you may have a termite problem on your hands, or among your furniture!

4. Sounds of hollow wood

Termites consume wood from the inside out, leaving a thin layer of wood or just paint on the surface. When an area that has termite damage is hit or touched, it will sound hollow. This is because some or all of the wood inside has been eaten away.

Some of the most common stories you can read about termites are that a problem is discovered when the vacuum cleaner hits a skirting board and suddenly disappears in front of your eyes.

5. Recessed doors and difficult-to-open windows

The humidity associated with their presence and the tunnels they create inside the door and window frames causes the wood to deform, making windows and doors difficult to open.

6. Tunnels in the wood

The tunnels, also known as ‘galleries’, are obviously very difficult to see from the outside, but if you see them in a broken piece of wood like a beam or, as we said before, in a skirting, it is clear evidence that the tunnels termites have invaded your home.

7. External laces

Termites flee from light, their skin does not protect them enough from light radiation. When they need to go outside to find a new wood grain, they build with their saliva, mud, and excrement cords attached to the wall that allow them to stay protected from light. Sometimes they even build authentic stalactites and stalagmites. If you see any of these cords, you clearly have termites.

A curiosity, if you break one of them you will see a kind of two-way road, in one, you will see the workers ascending from the termite mound, and in the other direction, you will see them go down to the termite mound with their load of wood to feed the queen and the nymphs. You will also be able to observe how the soldier termites immediately appear to defend the cordon and a group of workers who will begin to repair the structure. to

If you have detected some of these signs on your property, it is very possible that you suffer from a termite infestation.