Termites work out of sight
Subterranean termites move from soil into a building through wall junctions, plumbing shafts and expansion gaps, and they eat wood from the inside out. By the time a door frame or skirting visibly fails, the colony has usually been active for a long time. Learning the early signals is the cheapest form of termite control there is.
The five signs that matter most
- Mud tubes. Thin brown lines of packed soil running up walls, along skirting or across ceilings — the shelter tubes termites travel inside.
- Hollow-sounding wood. Tap door frames, window frames and furniture legs; a papery or hollow sound means the interior has been eaten away.
- Discarded wings. Small equal-sized wings collected on window sills, near tube lights or in corners after a swarm.
- Blistered or buckling surfaces. Paint that bubbles, plywood that ripples, or laminate that lifts in patches, often with pinholes.
- Frass and soil deposits. Fine grainy residue or soil pushed out of joints, especially behind wardrobes and under sinks.
Where to check first
Termites need moisture, so start where water and timber meet: kitchen and bathroom walls, the base of wooden wardrobes on the floor, skirting on external walls, window and door frames on the ground floor, wooden flooring near balconies, and any spot with old seepage. In flats, check the shared wall with a bathroom or duct.
What to do — and what not to do
- Do not break open mud tubes or spray them; disturbed colonies simply move to another part of the wall.
- Photograph what you find and note the locations for the inspecting technician.
- Fix the moisture source — leaking pipes, seepage, blocked drainage — or the problem returns.
- Move stored paper, cartons and unused plywood away from walls and floors.
- Get an inspection before any renovation, since new woodwork over active galleries is quickly damaged.
Related treatments
- Termite treatment for active infestations in occupied property.
- Anti-termite treatment including soil-barrier work.
- Wood borer pest control when damage is powdery rather than soil-packed.
- Home pest control for whole-property protection plans.
Termite FAQs
Termite damage usually follows the grain of the wood and leaves a thin surface layer with soil-packed galleries underneath. Damp alone softens and stains wood but does not create mud tubes, packed tunnels or discarded wings.
Swarmers appearing indoors, especially after the first rains, usually mean a mature colony is nearby or inside the structure. Piles of shed wings near windows and lights are a stronger indicator than the flight itself.
Surface sprays kill the termites you can see but not the colony, and disturbing galleries often makes them relocate within the same wall. Effective control needs treatment of the soil and the timber, which is why it is done by a trained technician.
A full inspection to map activity, then either drill-fill-seal treatment of the floor junction and affected walls, timber injection, or a chemical soil barrier for pre-construction and post-construction work, followed by review visits.
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