How to Know If You Have Termites: 7 Warning Signs Homeowners Miss

Termites are called the silent destroyer for a reason: a mature colony can feed on your home for two to five years before the first visible sign appears. By then, the average repair bill tops $3,000 — and your homeowner's insurance almost certainly won't cover a cent of it.

The good news is that termites do leave evidence, if you know where to look. After seventeen years and tens of thousands of Central Texas inspections, these are the seven signs our inspectors check first.

1. Mud Tubes on the Foundation

Subterranean termites — the kind responsible for the vast majority of Texas damage — must stay moist to survive. They build pencil-width mud highways from the soil up your foundation to reach wood. Check your slab edges, garage corners, and plumbing penetrations. An active tube, broken open, reveals cream-colored workers inside.

2. Hollow-Sounding Wood

Termites eat wood from the inside out, leaving a thin veneer of paint or surface grain. Tap baseboards, window sills, and door frames with a screwdriver handle: healthy wood sounds solid, infested wood sounds papery. In advanced cases, the screwdriver punches straight through.

3. Discarded Wings on Window Sills

Each spring, colonies release winged reproducers called swarmers. After their brief flight, they shed their wings — and piles of identical, translucent wings on window sills or in spider webs are a definitive sign a colony is nearby, possibly inside.

4. Blistered or Bubbling Paint

Termite activity introduces moisture into walls, which shows up as blistered paint or drywall that looks water-damaged when no leak exists. If your painter can't explain it, your inspector probably can.

5. Sticking Doors and Windows

As termites feed, they deposit moisture-laden soil into galleries, warping frames. Doors and windows that suddenly stick — especially in spring — deserve a closer look at the surrounding wood.

6. Frass (Drywood Termite Droppings)

Drywood termites push tiny, ridged pellets — resembling coarse sand or ground pepper — out of kick-holes near their galleries. Small conical piles under wooden furniture, beams, or window frames warrant immediate inspection.

7. Pinholes in Drywall

Termites occasionally break through drywall paper and reseal the hole with soil. A scattering of pinpricks with tiny dirt specks is subtle — and one of the most commonly missed signs on this list.

What to Do If You Spot Any of These

Don't disturb the evidence — breaking tubes or spraying store-bought products scatters the colony and makes professional treatment harder. Photograph what you found, note the location, and schedule a professional inspection. GreenShield termite inspections are free, take about 45 minutes, and give you a documented answer either way.

And if you find nothing on this list? In Central Texas, an annual professional inspection is still the cheapest termite insurance that exists.