How to Check Inside Walls for Termites

Use a flashlight to look for evidence of a termite infestation in the wall. This will be in the form of drywood termite frass, or dusty residue, and tiny fecal pellets or subterranean termite mud tubes.

Once a suspected area is located, use the screwdriver to tap the wall in order to find the nearest wall stud.

At the wall stud nearest the signs of a termite infestation, use the hole saw to cut a 4-inch hole in the wall at waist height, or about 3 feet, next to the wall stud.

Using the flashlight, look for further evidence of a termite infestation on the wall stud itself including frass, fecal pellets, mud tubes and boring tunnels that appear as weakened lines running along the grain of the wall stud.

If no evidence of a termite infestation is found at this location, increase the size of the hole large enough to place your head and a flashlight in the hole and check the entire length of the stud as well as nearby studs and wall plates above and below.