What to Look For During a Termite Inspection

28 March 2022
 Categories: , Blog


Termites may be small creatures but their colonies can grow rapidly unless you take effective measures against them. Things like termiticides made from borax are good at offering a targeted termite treatment, but it is so much easier to deal with them before their numbers get out of hand and they start to cause substantial damage to your property. As such, many home and business premises owners undertake a termite inspection once in a while to look out for the tell-tale signs that they are nearby. Ask a pest control professional to help you if you are unsure of what you find. That said, many of the indications that they are present are reasonably easy to detect. What should you be looking out for during a termite inspection?

Cracked Concrete

Some species of subterranean termites make nest colonies near foundations or tracks. If they do, the structural integrity of the concrete above them will start to give way. You will often detect this when the concrete begins to crack or splinter. Of course, there could be other reasons for this other than the presence of a termite colony. However, if there is an old tree stump close to where the damage is found, then this may well indicate that a termite nest is nearby. Rotting wood serves as food for termites, so dig up old roots and lift piles of firewood off the ground so that the wood is inaccessible to them.

Hollowed Out Timbers

Drywood termites are a big problem in Australia. They bore their way into sheds and fences with small holes that are left behind as a sign they've got in. Even worse, they will eat their way into roof rafters and weatherboarding if they can get in, which will mean a potentially catastrophic infestation could occur. Tap on your home's timbers. If they rattle or simply sound hollow, then it is a sign that they are inside causing damage within. A good pest control measure that will prevent this is to paint or varnish your wood so that they are put off to begin with.

Clicking Sounds

Some termites will be very hard to detect from a visual perspective. Therefore, you need to use your ears, as well. At dusk, walk into a room with the lights turned off. If you hear clicking or buzzing that stops as soon as you make a noise or switch your lights on, then this means there are probably termites in the wall or ceiling cavities. If that's the case, then you will need to call a pest control professional to help get rid of them.


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