Signs of termites? 5 checks first, treatment $225 to $2,500

National figures for what follows a positive inspection. The inspection itself is often free when no formal report is needed (Texas A&M).

Do this now: 5 checks before you call

1. Catch a few of the insects in a bag or on tape. The EPA's test: termites have wings of equal length and straight antennae; ants have longer front wings and elbowed antennae. The table below has the rest.
2. Look for shed wings on sills and in spider webs. Texas A&M says swarmers often drop their wings shortly after flight.
3. Walk the foundation for mud tubes. Texas A&M describes hollow soil tunnels running from the ground to the house; leave part of any tube in place for the inspector.
4. Probe exposed wood. The EPA says to probe for hollow spots; UC IPM says infested wood is thin at the surface and punctures easily with a knife or screwdriver.
5. Check sills and floors for pellets. UC IPM says drywood termite pellets have six hexagonal sides and are diagnostic; carpenter ant debris is coarse, stringy wood with insect parts (Penn State).

Is it urgent? What each sign means, per the sources

Swarmers indoors are the one sign Texas A&M calls a reliable signal of infestation; a swarm outdoors, or termites in a fence or woodpile, does not necessarily mean the house is involved, and UC IPM says swarming alone does not confirm an infestation because most soil around a home holds buried wood debris. None of it is an overnight emergency: UC IPM says a new colony may have only about 75 individuals after a year. What a pest control company would do with each sign is below; inspections run $0 to $250 (HomeGuide).

Termites vs flying ants: the 3-part test

EPA (Oct 2026), Texas A&M AgriLife ENT-2002, UC IPM 7415 and 7440, Penn State Extension (Jun 2026).

The EPA notes that ant swarms are sometimes mistaken for termite swarms, and the reverse costs more: ants are priced at $200 to $300 in HomeGuide's figures while a termite treatment starts at $225 and runs to $2,500. A company's inspector settles it from a sample, which is why bagging a few insects is the first step.

Flying termites in the house: what a swarm means

Flying termites indoors in spring are a reliable signal of infestation in Texas A&M's words, because swarmers emerge from an established colony and can occasionally come in through a door or window but rarely in numbers. UC IPM says subterranean swarms happen on warm, sunny days after rain, in the afternoon for the most common native species, in spring or fall; Texas A&M puts the Texas season at February to May; NPMA says spring across the US and late winter in Florida, with indoor swarms possible in winter in heated buildings. Drywood swarmers fly in daytime in summer and fall (UC IPM). Swarmers are dark brown to black and about 3/8 inch long (Texas A&M). A company would trace where they emerged, look for tubes and damage nearby, and price treatment from there; see termite treatment cost.

Mud tubes: the most common sign of subterranean termites

Mud tubes are the most commonly seen evidence of a subterranean termite infestation in UC IPM's words. Texas A&M describes them as hollow soil tunnels extending from the soil to the house, and NPMA says they look like long tunnels made of wood and soil that keep the termites from drying out. Look on the foundation, piers, inside crawl spaces and where plumbing enters. NPMA says subterranean termites can enter through cracks less than 1/16 inch wide, and a mature colony can hold 60,000 to two million workers. Break a tube open and UC IPM says you may see live workers and soldiers; leave part of it for the inspector (Texas A&M).

Signs of termites in walls and wood

Wood that termites have been in is thin at the surface and easily punctured with a knife or screwdriver, with galleries that follow the grain and hollow, enclosed tunnels, per UC IPM; the EPA says to probe exposed wood for hollow spots. UC IPM also lists darkening or blistering of structural wood. Inside a wall the signs are indirect: paint that bubbles, baseboards that give under a thumb, a screwdriver that sinks into a sill. Carpenter ants excavate wood too, but Penn State says their galleries are smooth-sided with no soil or fecal pellets, while termite tunnels contain soil and fecal material.

Drywood termites: pellets and kick-out holes

Drywood termites leave six-sided fecal pellets below kick-out holes less than 2 mm across, and UC IPM says the pellets are diagnostic for the species. Pellets alone cannot show whether the infestation is active or how far it spreads; UC IPM's test is to clean up the pellets around a kick-out hole and check a few days later, with the caveat that building vibration can also shake pellets out. Drywood colonies live in the wood itself, so there are no mud tubes; treatment is spot work or whole-home fumigation, priced in the termite tenting cost guide.

Carpenter ants vs termites: frass, rustling and big black ants

Large, wingless, dark ants indoors are usually the first sign of carpenter ants, per Penn State, followed by piles of coarse, stringy wood particles mixed with dead insect parts near cracks, behind moldings or under porches, and a rustling sound in walls and ceilings. Their nests sit in damp wood around roof and gutter leaks, condensation and leaking tubs, in porch pillars, sills, joists and wall studs, with the parent colony often in a tree or log within 100 yards of the house. Penn State says the ants return within days or weeks unless both parent and satellite nests are found, and that satellite colonies often need professional treatment. HomeGuide prices ants at $200 to $300, severe cases up to $1,200.

What a termite inspection would check

A termite inspection runs $0 to $250 in HomeGuide's figures and takes 30 minutes to 2 hours; HomeGuide says the inspector covers the foundation, crawl spaces, basement, attic, garage, exterior perimeter and visible wood, looking for tubes, damage, live termites, droppings, moisture and wood-to-soil contact. UC IPM says the telltale signs often sit in dark or hazardous spaces such as attics and crawl spaces, and that a licensed professional must inspect before any treatment. The termite inspection cost guide covers sale reports and the VA rule; the EPA's hiring questions are in the pest control cost guide.

Prevention: what the EPA and NPMA say you can do yourself

• Keep the soil around the foundation dry with grading, gutters and downspouts, and fix leaks right away (EPA).
• Keep firewood and wood debris away from the house and do not let plants grow against exposed wood (EPA).
• Keep a one-inch gap between soil and any wood part of the building, seal foundation cracks and ventilate crawl spaces (NPMA).
• Homes with a termite history: inspections every 3 to 5 years (UC IPM); HomeGuide's general schedule is yearly.

Start at the pest control hub; city pages: pest control in Houston, pest control in San Antonio, pest control in Dallas, pest control in Austin, pest control in New York, pest control in Atlanta, pest control in Charlotte, pest control in Denver. Calls go to an independent pest control company that serves your area and takes this kind of job; hours vary and the company quotes its own inspection or first-visit fee. How calls work.