Unlike carpenter ants which tunnel through wood, termites actually eat the wood so the damage they leave behind in the wood is not neat and clean as it is with carpenter ants. The damaged wood will be plastered with a muddy mixture of yellowish‑brown digested wood and soil. When it dries, it looks a bit like oatmeal.

You may find narrow mud tubes leading from the infested wood to the soil where the termites live or tubes packed into cracks or seams in the paneling. The surface of the termite‑damaged wood can have a blistered appearance. The wood inside has a honeycombed or layered look, where the termites have preferentially eaten the softer spring wood layers, leaving the harder layers of summer wood in between.

In between this layered wood, you’ll see the mud we mentioned. Since termites eat and digest the wood, there will be no sawdust present. Whether it’s termites or carpenter ants, it could be old damage or it could be from an active infestation. That’s something you really need a professional to determine.

Both pests usually infest wood that is damp or water damaged. That’s another issue you may need to deal with. Whether it’s carpenter ants or termites, it’s a problem that needs to be addressed to protect your home.

Our trained technicians can inspect your home and supply all the answers. Give Colonial Pest a call today.