Drywood termites are wood-destroying pests primarily found in southern states, such as Texas, North Carolina, California, and Florida. These insects live in sizable colonies within dry wood and feed on the cellulose, which can cause structural damage to your home and other wooden items, such as furniture.
If you spot damaged wood, fecal pellets, or shed wings around your home, you may have a drywood termite problem. We recommend immediately contacting a termite control provider to get rid of these pests rather than trying do-it-yourself (DIY) treatments, which often won’t work for termites or can become dangerous if misused. Learn what you need to know about drywood termites, signs you have these insects in your home, treatment options, and the best pest control companies.
What Are Drywood Termites?
Drywood termites are a species of wood-boring insects that nest inside wood and feed on the material, rather than building external colonies. You can typically find drywood termites in dry and wooden structures, such as flooring, cabinets, windows, walls, furniture, and doors. In contrast, subterranean termites build large colonies and extensive tunnels called mud tubes in moist, underground locations such as wooden fences and live trees. Drywood termites don’t need mud tubes as they don’t come into contact with moisture or soil, so if you spot any type of mud tube, this is a sign of a different termite species.
On the other hand, dampwood termites require lots of contact with water and moisture and typically build colonies in moist wood, mulch, old trees, and fence posts. You may even find this species in gutters filled with moist leaves. Dampwood termite colonies are usually smaller and cause less damage than subterranean and drywood termites. Subterranean termites create larger colonies, comprising up to one million individual pests, particularly with the destructive Formosan termite species. Comparatively, drywood termites grow in nests of a couple of hundred to thousands of insects.
While we cover common signs of drywood termites in the following section, if you’re unsure what type of termite is living in your home, we recommend contacting a professional pest control company for an inspection.
Signs of Drywood Termites
Overall, the best way to identify drywood termites is to look for swarmers, pellet-like droppings near walls, and the absence of mud tubes. Check for the following signs of drywood termites to help you assess your pest situation:
- Droppings: Look for pellet-like droppings, also known as frass, near the floor beside infested wood. These droppings may resemble sawdust or small pellets.
- Discarded wings: Drywood termites swarm, typically during warmer months, when they reproduce. If you find shed wings near windows and light fixtures, you may have an infestation nearby.
- Hollow wood: Termites are wood-destroying insects that eventually hollow out wood. Go around your home checking for damaged wood and knocking on it to see if it sounds hollow.
- Blisters on wood: In advanced stages of infestation, your home will begin to “blister” or warp. While this isn’t a clear indication of drywood termites specifically, you likely have some kind of wood-destroying pest in your home, such as carpenter ants.
- Swarmers: Drywood termite swarmers, otherwise known as alates, are young termites that develop wings during the spring and summer months to find mates. If you see flying termites, this is a strong sign that you have a colony in your home or nearby.
Drywood Termite Removal Methods
In most cases, we recommend consulting with a professional exterminator rather than using DIY methods since drywood termites live inside wood, making colonies challenging to access with over-the-counter products. Professional pest control companies can use multiple treatment methods to remove termites from your home, such as fumigation for larger colonies.
Fumigation
Fumigation is performed by a trained pest control professional in the case of severe drywood termite infestations. Since drywood termites live within their food source, they’re challenging to treat because many methods, such as pesticides, can’t easily penetrate these areas. So, a technician may recommend fumigation.
With fumigation, a pest control expert will place a tent over your home before releasing a poisonous gas. The fumigant circulates throughout the home, penetrating the wood and all otherwise inaccessible areas, such as cracks and crevices. Once termites breathe in this gas, they die, effectively eradicating the entire colony. Once the fumigant has circulated your home, the pest control technician removes the tent and allows the fumigant gas to disperse.
After six or more hours, the technician will test your home with a fumiscope, which measures how much fumigant gas remains in the air. Once it’s safe, your family is allowed back in your home. The benefit of this treatment is that it quickly kills the entire termite colony and doesn’t leave residue on your household belongings. But, it’s far more expensive than other termite treatment methods and you must leave while it’s being administered.
Heat Treatments
For whole structure infestations, experts may recommend heat treatments depending on your home’s structure. Heat treatments are highly effective and can access hidden sites that chemical treatments can’t reach. The biggest limitation with heat treatment is technicians must achieve a lethal temperature throughout the entire home and into the core of all infested wood. Some household items and roofs, depending on the material, may have heat sensitivities, so speak with a pest control professional to learn if this treatment is ideal for your home.
Chemical Treatments and Foams
If your drywood termite infestation is localized, an expert may present a spot treatment plan using chemical liquids, dusts, or foams. With this method, a pest control technician drills holes into the wood to access hidden nooks and crannies where drywood termites live. Then, they’ll inject pesticides into these holes. This method typically has successful results as long as it’s paired with detection equipment, which allows the professionals to scope out where the termites live. While over-the-counter liquid treatments and foams are available to homeowners, professional-grade products are more potent.
If you prefer not to use chemicals, you can possibly tackle smaller issues with other forms of termite killers, such as boric acid and diatomaceous earth.
Boric Acid
Boric acid is widely available to homeowners through big box retailers as a natural treatment that works against many pests, including cockroaches, ants, and termites. Boric acid dehydrates termites slowly, disrupting their nervous system and eventually killing them. While this method is effective, it’s slow acting. Another downside is that reaching the inside of wood with boric acid is challenging, so it may not completely kill a drywood termite colony. However, you can create bait stations with cardboard or wood soaked in boric acid solution for a small infestation and place them near the infested area. Over time, termites that eat the bait will die. However, you’ll need to repeat the application frequently to maintain this treatment’s effectiveness.
Diatomaceous Earth
A non-toxic termite treatment option is diatomaceous earth, which is created from fossilized remains of small, aquatic organisms, also known as diatoms. These skeletons are made up of silica, which dries out an insect’s exoskeleton upon contact. However, this pest control method is limited to the termites that come into contact with the substance, meaning other termites in the colony will remain unharmed.
It’s important to avoid contact with diatomaceous earth yourself, since inhaling it can cause coughing and shortness of breath. Getting it in your eyes or on your skin can cause irritation, so wear protective clothing and goggles when handling the product.
Remove Infested Wood
Drywood termites live in their food source—wood. If the colony is limited to a small area, such as a wooden dresser or stacked firewood near your home, you can try to dispose of the infested wood. If the drywood termites haven’t spread to other parts of your home, this method can eliminate the problem entirely.
How To Prevent Drywood Termites
Once your home is rid of drywood termites, you can take the following steps to prevent them from returning, especially if you live in termite-prone areas like the Southern U.S.
- Annual termite inspections: Getting regular termite inspections from a qualified expert can ensure the detection of pest problems early, making the issue easier and cheaper to tackle in many cases.
- Seal gaps: Periodically check your home for gaps in wood or around water and gas lines. When you find gaps, immediately seal them to eliminate entry points into your home and access to food sources.
- Barrier screens and paints: Over-the-counter paints and screens can discourage termites from breaching your home, but feeding damage may still occur. Paints and treatments also need to get continually applied to remain effective.
- Choosing resistant woods: It’s believed that some species of wood, such as heartwood, are less attractive to drywood termites, but this isn’t a foolproof method.
- Reduce food sources: Drywood termites live in and eat wood, so removing their food source can reduce interest in your home. Remove extra cellulose materials from around your property, such as mulch, cardboard boxes, piles of leaves, and stacks of wood. If you must keep any of these sources, make sure they’re at least six inches away from your home’s foundation.
- Apply fresh paint: A fresh coat of paint seals small crevices in wood, discouraging drywood termites from entering.
DIY vs. Professional Drywood Termite Removal
Termites are tricky pests to tackle. Unfortunately, most homeowners can’t handle a drywood termite removal on their own without the help of a professional. While you’ll find an abundance of over-the-counter remedies and online tips and tricks, drywood termites are invasive pests that deeply burrow into the structure of your home. You don’t want to risk the infestation getting worse and new colonies forming. Consider both the cost of the termite treatments and the repairs to your home before deciding to put off professional intervention.
Another issue is that most homeowners don’t have the know-how and experience to complete a detailed termite inspection. You may miss smaller secondary infestations in your home, leaving parts of your home defenseless against these wood-destroying pests.
A benefit of professional drywood termite treatment is the use of professional-grade products and tools. Licensed pest experts have undergone specialized training and have access to fumigation products, which fully penetrates all the wood in your home. If you try to address termite activity yourself and fail, you can give the termites more time to feed and destroy your home. Pest control providers also have licenses for performing termite treatments and can ensure your home and family stay safe when using pesticides, making professional pest control worth it. If misused, DIY treatments containing toxic or dangerous ingredients can harm your family, pets, the environment, or household belongings.
Our Conclusion
Drywood termites build large colonies within wooden fixtures and structures in homes. They’re challenging to access, making DIY treatments largely ineffective and potentially dangerous if used improperly. We recommend consulting with a local pest control professional for next steps if you notice any signs of termite damage or the presence of these insects in your home. Termites can quickly destroy wooden furniture and belongings and even jeopardize your home’s structure. The sooner you reach out to a pest control provider, the better chances the expert can eliminate the infestation with less invasive treatment methods—and at a lower cost.
FAQs About Drywood Termites
Are drywood termites hard to get rid of?
Yes, drywood termites are hard to remove without professional pest control help. In many cases, an exterminator may tent and fumigate your home or use professional-grade treatment methods, such as potent termiticides. As a result, homeowners typically can’t address drywood termites effectively using DIY methods alone.
How long does it take for drywood termites to destroy a home?
Drywood termites are smaller than subterranean termite colonies, so it takes longer for damage to progress over time. Some pest control companies estimate that it takes as long as 3–8 years for drywood termites to cause significant damage to a home. However, most homeowners won’t realize they have a drywood termite infestation until the colony is well-established—often after years—so don’t put off getting professional help.
What are the most effective natural remedies for termite control?
The most effective natural remedy for termite control is boric acid, which dehydrates termites it comes in contact with, disrupting the insect’s nervous system. This is a slow-acting, but effective, natural method for killing termites. Other options include orange oil, vinegar solutions, diatomaceous earth, and nematodes. While these methods may work on one or two termites, we generally recommend calling a pest control company for termite removal services.
Is termite fumigation effective?
Termite fumigation is highly effective against insects like drywood termites that live inside wood. Structural fumigation completely permeates the structure and wood areas otherwise inaccessible with pesticides.
