Damage From Wood-Boring Insects

Termites

• Termites cause more damage to wooden structures in the southern United States than any other wood-boring insect, according to North Carolina State University Extension. Serious damage can occur between three and eight years after they’ve invaded your home. Look for winged adults swarming around your house during the day, especially on a warm day after it’s rained. Termites construct mud tubes from soil and wood particles. Look for mud tubes on foundation walls, floor joists or sticking out of cracks between boards and beams. Other signs of termite damage include the presence of a gritty gray-brown film on the surface of wood, sheet rock, and carpeting or paper products, which are other substances that termites like to eat. A professional exterminator usually handles termite control.

Beetles

• Several types of beetles, including powderpost beetles, round-headed borers and flat-headed borers, damage wood by boring into it. Larvae and adults can both be a problem, depending on the species. Look for “shot holes” in the surface of the wood, along with small piles of sawdust, or frass. Although beetles may attack hardwood furniture, ladders and wooden tool handles, they’re more likely to infest subflooring, hardwood flooring, interior trim, joists, sills and beams. Beetles can cause structural damage to a building, but the harm they cause is often minor. Damage tends to be more serious in homes with moisture problems or homes that aren’t occupied all the time. Chemical treatment is only necessary if you see fresh sawdust around the shot-holes, or if you see the beetles themselves.

Carpenter Ants

• Carpenter ants don’t eat wood, but they do cause damage tunneling into it. Unlike termites, the tunnels they make are smooth and clean and you won’t find any sawdust remains. The amount of damage they cause depends on how long the ant colony has been present. Severe ant infestations can cause structural damage to your house. Since carpenter ants like high moisture, one way to prevent problems is to fix any moisture problems you have. To eliminate ants, you need to find the nest and destroy it. Homeowners can control ants on their own, but it can be a difficult job and should, perhaps, be left to a professional.

Wasps

• Wood wasps infest newly dead or dying conifer trees and aren’t usually a problem in homes. However, if lumber is made from an infested tree, you might see a small number of wasps emerging from wood in a new home. These wasps aren’t harmful and won’t re-infest your wood. They’re merely completing their life cycle. The damage they cause is only cosmetic and is easily repaired.