The clearest signs of termites in a home are mud tubes running up slab edges, piers or walls, timber that sounds hollow when tapped, paint that bubbles over a frame, and piles of equal-sized wings near windows and doors. White ants and termites are the same insect. The Australian Museum's termite page explains that termites are sometimes called white ants, but they belong to a different insect order (Isoptera) from true ants (Hymenoptera). If you see any of these signs, leave the area as it is and book an inspection.
Mud tubes on slabs, piers and walls
Subterranean termites build shelter tubes from soil, saliva and droppings so they can cross concrete, brick and other surfaces they cannot eat. The tubes are about the width of a pencil and the colour of dry earth. They keep the workers in humid, dark conditions between the soil and the timber they are feeding on.
Check where the house meets the ground: slab edges, brick piers in the subfloor, ant caps, the base of external walls behind garden beds, and the inside of cupboards on outside walls. A tube that is broken and rebuilt within days means the colony is still active.
A Jannali home on brick piers with a fresh mud tube climbing one pier towards the bearers has termites moving from the soil into the floor frame, so book a termite inspection in Jannali and leave the tube intact so the technician can trace it.
Hollow timber, bubbling paint and sticking doors
Termites eat timber from the inside and leave a thin outer skin, so damage is usually hidden until something gives way. The signs show up as:
- skirting boards, door frames or window sills that sound papery or dull when tapped
- paint or veneer that bubbles, ripples or sags over a frame
- small patches of dried mud packed into cracks, joints or nail holes
- doors and windows that start to bind without an obvious reason
- floorboards that feel soft or spongy underfoot
The Australian Museum notes that subterranean termites can only become pests in buildings where they have a constant water source, and names leaking pipes, leaking roofs and indoor plants on pavers as major causes. That is why damage often starts near bathrooms, laundries and kitchens.
In a Como house where a laundry door frame next to a long-running tap leak has started to sound hollow, the moisture and the timber are right next to each other, so arrange termite treatment in Como after an inspection confirms where the activity is.
Discarded wings after a flight
Mature colonies produce winged reproductives, called alates, that fly out to start new nests. They drop their wings soon after landing. According to the Australian Museum, termite reproductives have two pairs of equal-sized wings, while the workers that do the damage never grow wings, are blind and have thin skin.
Small piles of identical wings on window sills, under outdoor lights, along door seals or in spider webs are a sign that a colony is close enough to the house to release a flight nearby.
White ants vs termites: how to tell them apart
White ants is just an old Australian name for termites. True ants and termites look alike at a glance, but the Australian Museum lists clear differences:
- Waist: termites have no waist between the thorax and abdomen. Ants have a narrow, pinched waist.
- Antennae: termite antennae have bead-like segments and are straight. Ant antennae are bent at an elbow.
- Wings: termite reproductives have four wings of equal size. Flying ants have front wings larger than the back wings.
- Colour: termite workers are pale brown to white with a darker head. Most ants are darker and harder-bodied.
The difference matters. Ants in a kitchen are a nuisance that follows food. Termites feed on the sapwood in house frames, fences and stumps and can damage the structure of a home.
Where hidden termite damage usually starts
Termites prefer timber that is damp, dark and in contact with the ground or close to it. In most homes the first damage sits in places people rarely look:
- Subfloor: bearers, joists and piers, especially under wet areas
- Roof void: timber near plumbing penetrations and leaking roof sheets
- External walls: where garden beds, paving or soil sit above the slab edge or cover weep holes
- Yard timber: stumps, old sleepers, fence posts and firewood stacked against the house
A Grays Point backyard with old timber sleepers retaining a garden bed that runs right up to the house wall gives termites a hidden path from the soil to the frame, so ask for a termite inspection in Grays Point that includes the retaining wall and the slab edge behind it.
Why spraying or breaking open termites makes it worse
Spraying a surface product into a mud tube or onto damaged timber usually kills only the termites you can see. The rest of the colony moves away from the disturbance and keeps feeding somewhere else in the house, which makes the activity harder to find and treat. Breaking open a tube or pulling off damaged timber has the same effect.
Take photos, note where and when you saw the signs, and leave everything in place until a technician has inspected it.
Buying a home with signs of past termite activity
Old mud tubes, repaired skirting or patched frames in a property you are about to buy tell you termites have been there before. A Gymea buyer who notices packed mud in the subfloor during an open home should book a pre-purchase pest inspection in Gymea before exchanging contracts, so active and past termite damage are both documented.
Before you book
Have photos of the mud tubes, wings or damaged timber ready, and note which rooms are affected and when you first noticed them. Send those details when you contact Sutherland Shire pest control, and you will get clear steps for the inspection so the termites are found at the source.