How do you tell if your home has termites?

Identifying damage

Dry wood with and against the grain of the wood with small fecal pellets - the damage will be smooth and clean. Subterranean will have no visible pellets, the damage will be filled with mud/dirt & will only go with the grain of the wood.

I once found that I had termites because there was a "tube" on the interior wall involved. Even though I had the wall taken out, luckily the termite colony had died. The outside wall had a faucet.

Identifying termites

Termite wings will be twice as long as the body, ants right around the same length as the body. Termite antennae will be pointed outwards, ants will be at a 90 degree angle. Dry wood termites are brown/maroon or gold in color. Subterranean termites will be jet black. Subterranean wings will have a whitish appearance, Drywood wings will have an iridescent appearance.It is a really good idea to go through a few termites pictures to get yourself familiar with how termites look like. Going through a few pictures always works better than reading text for me. You may use google image search to find some pictures. I have included a website focused on termites pictures (!) in the related sites list as well.

Getting an InspectionMost pest control firms will do an inspection for free. However, make sure you call a reputable firm and get a couple of estimates before having work done. Most lenders require a clear termite report before making a loan.

The termites can do can be very severe. Keep your eye open for termite swarmers in or around your house. Using spectrum terminate bait stations as a early termite detection kit may also help to protect your home from termites. Their pop-up indicators will let you know if termites are foraging in the ground close to your home. These should only be used as termite monitors and not a stand alone treatment to rid your house of termites.