Spring is swarming season for termites in Texas, so even though subterranean termites can be active all year, you may see them in the spring. And if you didn’t have them before, you might acquire them in the spring. We are nothing if not timely here at Upon Closer Inspection, so it feels like a great time to talk about termites, the most familiar species of the dreaded wood-destroying insect.
If you are asking yourself whether you need to get a termite inspection in North Texas, the answer is yes. If you were tacking, “in Spring,” at the end of that sentence, the answer is really, really yes.
Signs of Termites Outdoors
When you get a home inspection in North Texas, you should always get a termite inspection to see if there are signs of a current or previous infestation. The proper name is a WDI inspection, or wood-destroying insect inspection because termites aren’t the only bugs that want to eat your house. Why? Because we have a prevalence of WDIs in our area, which, as I just mentioned, would like to eat your house. Plus, it’s pretty inexpensive to check.
The inspector will look for telltale signs of infestation, like you see in the video: termite mud tunnels, or tubes. Termites build these tubes to protect them as they travel from their nests to food and water sources and they’re made out of a combination of soil, wood, and termite saliva. Simultaneously fascinating and gross, right? If you see a tube, you can tap on it to break it. If anyone is scurrying through there, you know you have an active infestation.
Signs of Termites Indoors
This is a really cool video because you get a chance to see some indoor signs of termites that are really difficult to see. Those tiny holes termites make – where they accidentally pop their little heads out like Bugs Bunny tunneling to Palm Springs?
In an active infestation, they will fill those holes back up with soil or chewed drywall. So you see the inspector has poked that back through to see if a termite fills it back in. He also takes you outside at the same house where you can see some different-looking evidence of infestation, as well as frass, or termite droppings.
Conducive Conditions For Termites — What Not to Do
As the inspector mentions in the video, this was just good timing. He just happened to be there as they were installing drainage next to the foundation and noticed that the builder had neglected to remove the form boards they use during framing. Might not seem like a big deal, but these attract wood-destroying insects, especially as they begin to degrade in the ground over time.
This is another part of the WDI Inspection: the inspector will look for conducive conditions for termites and other WDIs. Conducive conditions would be things like wood piles/wood planters up against the house or foundation, any kind of wood-to-ground contact, or heavy foliage around the house. You can see a full list here.
Really, Really Don’t Do This
If you have termite tubes on the wall in your LIVING ROOM … I don’t even know what to say. It’s serious. Let’s move on.
What is swarming season?
What is swarming season anyway? It’s when termites are most active. The spring swarm in our area can be as early as February and last through May, depending on the weather. But basically, like everything else in spring, it’s mating season. Some of the termites in a nest decide it’s time to make a new nest and crown a new queen. So they sprout some wings and fly until they find a likely spot, start mating like crazy, drop their wings, build nests, and commence eating your house. More or less. Ants are also doing kind of the same thing, so it can be confusing. If you aren’t sure which you have, ants have three body parts, and termites have two parts. They both have wings for a bit.
Listen, if you want better than that, call your pest guy or maybe an entomologist. Home inspectors are generalists. The point is that termites are active enough in North Texas that it’s a good idea to have a pest control plan to include regular checks, and yes, you should have a termite inspection when you buy a home in North Texas.
