How Do I Know If I Have Termites in My House?
The impossible claim Termites cost US homeowners up to $5 billion a year — and these three signs tell you they’re in your walls before the damage is done. The verified facts Three signs extension entomologists check first — in order: Mud tubes — pencil-thick shelter tunnels of soil and saliva climbing foundation walls. Subterranean termites build them to travel between soil and wood while keeping moisture in. Break one open: moist and dark inside = active colony; dry and abandoned = old trail Piles of discarded wings — on window sills, door frames, or spider webs. Reproductive swarmers fly out to mate, land, then deliberately snap off all four wings and start a new colony Hollow-sounding wood — tap baseboards and joists. Termites eat wood from the inside out, leaving the paint and surface intact; solid wood knocks, eaten wood echoes Swarmer vs flying ant: broad waist + four equal-length wings + straight beaded antennae = termite. Pinched waist + two wing pairs of unequal length + elbowed antennae = ant. ...