Pest identification
Drywood Termites
The termite that does not need soil, does not need a leak, and does not care how well you keep your house. Here is what they are, what they leave behind, and how to tell them apart from everything else that eats wood.
Drywood termites are wood-destroying insects that live entirely inside dry, sound lumber, with no soil contact and no moisture needed. They infest well-kept Orange County homes as readily as neglected ones. The signs are pellets, discarded wings and blistered wood. To find out what you have, call or text 657-608-2488.
Show me the signs
Found something and not sure what it is?
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Quick answers
The short version
01
I found tiny pellets on a windowsill. What are they?
Most likely drywood termite droppings. They are hard, dry, six-sided, roughly the size of coarse sand, and they collect in a small pile below a pinhole in the wood above. Sawdust that is soft and powdery instead points somewhere else, which the comparison further down sorts out.
02
Does finding them in one spot mean the whole house has them?
Not necessarily, and that is the useful part. Drywood colonies stay in the wood they occupy, so activity in one board is genuinely different from activity in the framing. Nobody can tell which you have by looking at the pile, and the difference changes what happens next.
03
What is the first thing I should do?
Leave the evidence where it is and photograph it, including the wood above the pile. Do not vacuum it up and do not paint over the hole. What you found, and exactly where you found it, is the most useful thing you can hand to whoever looks at the property next.
The organism
What a drywood termite actually is
Understanding one thing about how they live explains almost everything else, including why they turned up in your house.
A drywood termite is a social insect that lives its entire life inside a piece of wood. A colony gets started when a winged pair lands on a structure, finds a small opening in exposed or unfinished wood, and seals itself inside. From that point on, the wood is the colony’s food, its water supply and its house. They chew galleries through it, they raise their young in it, and they only leave it in two circumstances: to push waste out, and to send out the next generation of winged pairs.
That is the whole life cycle, and it is the difference that matters. Subterranean termites live in the soil and travel up into a structure to feed, which means they need ground contact and moisture, and it means they leave visible mud trails on the way in. Drywood termites need neither. The moisture in ordinary dry lumber is enough for them. There is no nest in your yard to find and no trail leading in from anywhere.
They are also slow, which cuts both ways. A young colony is small and stays small for a long stretch, so a house can be infested for years before anyone notices a pellet. By the time a homeowner sees the first sign, the colony has usually been there a while, and it has also had time to send out swarmers that started other colonies in other pieces of wood.
A drywood termite infestation is not a sign that anything was neglected. Because they need no moisture and no soil contact, the condition that attracts them is simply accessible wood, which every wood-framed house has. A ten-year-old house that has never had a leak is as available to them as a hundred-year-old one that has.
This matters more than it sounds like it should, because the assumption that termites mean a neglected property is the single most common reason people sit on the evidence for months before asking anyone about it. The pellets on your sill are information, not a verdict on your housekeeping.
- Lives entirely inside the wood
The colony never leaves the board it occupies. There is nothing to find in the soil, the yard or the crawlspace.
- Needs no moisture source
No leak, no damp, no standing water required. The small amount of moisture in ordinary seasoned lumber is enough.
- Needs no soil contact
They arrive by air, not from the ground. A second-floor window frame is as reachable to them as a sill plate.
- Announces itself by its waste
Because the galleries are sealed, the colony pushes droppings out through small holes. That pile is usually the first thing anyone sees.
- Spreads by swarming, not by tunneling
New colonies start when winged pairs fly, land and burrow into another piece of wood. One infestation can seed several more.
Local conditions
Why Orange County housing suits them
Two things line up here that do not line up everywhere: the climate stays in their favor most of the year, and the way houses are built gives them somewhere to land.
01
Warm, dry and mild year round
Drywood termites do best in warm climates without hard freezes, and the coastal Southern California pattern of dry summers and mild winters is close to ideal for them. There is no season here that resets a colony.
02
A long swarming window
Because the weather stays warm well into the fall, the period when winged pairs are out looking for wood runs longer than it does in colder regions. More flights mean more chances for a new colony to start.
03
Wood-frame construction, everywhere
The dominant local housing stock is stucco or siding over a wood frame, which puts a large volume of dry, seasoned lumber inside every structure. That is the resource the colony is looking for.
04
Exposed eaves, rafter tails and trim
Open eaves, exposed rafter ends, fascia boards and wood trim give swarmers bare wood to land on and burrow into. Where paint or sealant has worn through, the opening they need is already there.
05
Attics, and a lot of them
A vented attic is warm, dry, undisturbed and full of accessible framing, which describes exactly the conditions a drywood colony does well in. It is also the part of a house nobody looks at.
06
Outdoor wood that stays outdoors
Patio covers, pergolas, trellises, decking, fences and detached structures weather faster than anything under a roof, and they sit close enough to the house for a colony to seed the structure next.
What you will actually notice
The signs you actually see
The colony is sealed inside the wood, so you almost never see the insect itself. What you see is what it pushes out, what it discards, and what it leaves behind the surface.
What you see
Small piles of pellets, like coarse sand or ground pepper
What it looks like
Hard, dry, six-sided grains, roughly uniform in size, tan through dark brown depending on the wood they came from. They pour rather than smear. Sweep them up and a new pile appears in the same place within days or weeks. Some people are told the word “frass” for this.
Where it shows up
Hard, dry, six-sided grains, roughly uniform in size, tan through dark brown depending on the wood they came from. They pour rather than smear. Sweep them up and a new pile appears in the same place within days or weeks. Some people are told the word “frass” for this.
What you see
A scatter of discarded wings
What it looks like
Small, pale, translucent wings, usually all four together in a set and all the same length, lying loose. The insect drops them deliberately after landing, so the wings are found without any body attached. They collect wherever light and glass draw the swarmers in.
Where it shows up
Window ledges and tracks, sliding door channels, in and around light fixtures, on countertops near windows, and caught in spider webs in a garage or an entry corner.
What you see
Tiny round holes in the surface of the wood
What it looks like
Clean, round openings about the size of a pinhead, sometimes plugged with a small brown cap and sometimes open. These are the kick-out holes the colony uses to push waste out, which is why a pellet pile is almost always sitting directly below one.
Where it shows up
Door and window frames, trim and casing, hardwood furniture, exposed beams, the underside of eaves, and rafter tails. Look on the wood immediately above any pile you have found.
What you see
Wood that looks blistered, rippled or sunken
What it looks like
The surface bulges, waves or dips slightly, as though something under the paint has shifted. It happens because the galleries run just below an intact surface layer. Paint over an infested board can look faintly quilted in raking light even when the wood underneath is largely gone.
Where it shows up
Painted trim, door jambs, window casings, fascia boards and any flat painted wood surface. Easiest to spot in low, angled light rather than straight on.
What you see
Wood that sounds hollow when you tap it
What it looks like
A dull, papery or drummy sound instead of a solid knock, sometimes over just a few inches of a board. In advanced cases a screwdriver or a firm thumb pushes straight through what looks like sound wood, into a honeycomb of galleries behind it.
Where it shows up
Baseboards, door frames, structural beams you can reach, stair stringers, and exposed framing in a garage or attic. Tap along a board rather than in one spot, because the sound changes where the galleries start.
What you see
Winged insects indoors, usually all at once
What it looks like
A short burst of winged insects at a window, typically on a warm day and typically over in an hour or two. They are poor fliers and end up on sills and floors. If they came from inside the structure rather than in through a door, that is the strongest single sign there is.
Where it shows up
Any sunlit window, glass doors, skylights and ceiling fixtures. Note which room and which window, because that is a genuinely useful clue about where the colony sits.
Finding a sign tells you there is activity. It does not tell you how far it has spread, and that second question is the one everything else depends on. The same pellet pile can mean one infested window frame or activity through the framing, and there is no way to tell them apart from the pile. Settling that is what a termite inspection is for. Photograph what you found, leave it in place, and call or text 657-608-2488.
Consequence
What it does to a structure
Drywood termite damage has four characteristics, and taken together they explain why it tends to be discovered late rather than why it is dramatic.
01
It is slow
A colony works at a pace measured in years, not weeks. Nothing about finding pellets means the house is in danger tonight. It also means the activity you just found has probably been running for a while.
02
It is hidden
The galleries run beneath an intact outer layer, so a board can be extensively hollowed while the painted surface still looks fine. What you can see is never the extent of it.
01
It is cumulative
Nothing repairs itself and nothing stops on its own. Every month the colony works, the amount of wood removed goes up, and swarmers from it can start colonies in other parts of the same structure.
01
It is structural, not cosmetic
Because they favour dry, seasoned lumber, the wood they occupy is often framing, beams and joinery rather than decoration. That is what turns a pest problem into a repair problem.
The reason drywood damage costs what it costs is almost never speed. It is the years it went unseen before anyone looked.
Identification
How to tell them apart
Three different wood-destroying pests turn up in Orange County houses, they leave different evidence, and the differences are visible without a magnifying glass once you know what separates them. This table is about identifying the organism, nothing else.
| Drywood termite | Subterranean termite | Powderpost beetle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A social insect whose whole colony lives sealed inside a piece of wood. | A social insect whose colony lives in the soil and travels into a structure to feed. | A beetle. The damage is done by its larvae boring through wood before they emerge as adults. |
| Where it lives | Inside dry, sound, seasoned lumber. No nest outside the wood it occupies. | In the ground. The nest is in the soil, not in the structure. | Inside the wood, usually hardwood, often having arrived already in the timber. |
| What it needs | Nothing but accessible wood. No soil contact and no moisture source. | Soil contact and moisture. It has to keep a route back to the ground. | Hardwood with the right starch content. Softwood framing is generally not the target. |
| The giveaway | Small piles of hard, dry, six-sided pellets below a pinhole in the wood. | Mud tubes: pencil-width earthen tunnels running up foundations, stem walls and piers. | Fine, soft, flour-like powder, and small round exit holes that look like shot holes. |
| What the waste feels like | Gritty and granular, like coarse sand. Pours cleanly and does not clump. | You generally do not see waste. Damaged wood is packed with soil and looks dirty. | Talc-soft and floury. Smears between your fingers rather than rolling. |
| Winged stage | Swarms on warm days, often late in the year here. Sheds four equal-length wings. | Swarms in large numbers, commonly around rain. Also sheds four equal-length wings. | Adults are small hard-shelled beetles. They do not swarm and they do not shed wings. |
| How the damage looks | Smooth, clean galleries cut across the grain, with an intact surface layer left over them. | Galleries follow the softer grain and are lined or packed with soil and mud. | A network of fine tunnels packed with powder, opening at round exit holes. |
| Where in a house | Attic framing, eaves and rafter tails, window and door frames, trim, furniture, exposed beams. Any floor of the building. | Low and near the ground: crawlspaces, sill plates, foundation walls, wood in contact with soil. | Hardwood flooring, cabinetry, stair parts, trim, hardwood furniture and hardwood plywood. |
| Read more | You are on this page. | Subterranean termites |
Powderpost beetles |
Think it might be subterranean instead?
The quickest check is the ground. If there are pencil-width mud tubes running up a foundation or a crawlspace pier, and no pellet piles anywhere, you are looking at a different insect with a different life cycle. It is also treated differently, at the soil rather than by tenting the structure, so do not follow the treatment routing further down this page.
Subterranean termites →
Is the powder soft rather than gritty?
Rub a little of it between two fingers. Drywood pellets stay separate and feel like sand. Powderpost beetle waste is closer to flour and smears, and the holes it comes from are rounder and cleaner.
Powderpost beetles →
Next step
What to do about it
Identification is where this page stops. The order from here is simple: find out how far it has spread, then match the treatment to the extent. Nobody can do the second part honestly without the first, which is why every path below starts in the same place.
Start with a termite inspection
Establishes what you have and how far it has spread. A separate, paid service.
Whole-structure fumigation
For activity that is widespread or out of reach.
Local termite treatment
For activity that is genuinely contained and reachable.
Compare the methods
The full, honest comparison of the treatment options.
Where a structure is fumigated, everyone and every pet leaves, and nobody goes back in until clearance is posted. The process page covers the rest. Treatment estimates are free. Call or text 657-608-2488.
Fast facts
Drywood termites at a glance
The scannable version of everything above.
What it is
A wood-destroying social insect whose entire colony lives sealed inside a piece of wood
Where it lives
Inside dry, sound, seasoned lumber. No nest in the soil and no colony outside the wood it occupies
What it needs
Accessible wood, and nothing else. No soil contact, no leak, no moisture source, no neglect
How it arrives
Winged pairs fly in, land on exposed wood, burrow in and seal themselves inside
Signs to look for
Hard six-sided pellets in small piles, discarded wings, pinhole kick-out holes, blistered or rippled paint, hollow-sounding wood, a short indoor swarm
Where it shows up in a house
Attic framing, eaves and rafter tails, fascia, window and door frames, trim and casing, exposed beams, hardwood furniture, patio covers and detached wood structures. Any floor of the building
How the damage behaves
Slow, hidden beneath an intact surface, cumulative, and structural rather than cosmetic
Commonly confused with
Subterranean termites, which leave mud tubes near the ground, and powderpost beetles, which leave soft flour-like powder and round exit holes
What treats it
Whole-structure fumigation where activity is widespread or out of reach, or localized treatment where it is genuinely contained. Which one applies is decided by inspection, not by the signs
Warranty position
Our flat 2-year retreatment warranty covers fumigation work only, including bed bug fumigation. It does not cover inspection, and it does not extend to any non-fumigation treatment whatever it is called
Registration
California Structural Pest Control Board: PR8476 for fumigation, PR9321 for inspection and treatment
Phone
657-608-2488, call or text
Questions
Drywood termite FAQ
Identification and consequence, answered plainly.
How do I know it is drywood termites and not something else?
Start with the waste, because it separates the three most likely culprits quickly. Drywood termites leave hard, dry, six-sided pellets that feel like coarse sand and pour cleanly, usually in a small pile under a pinhole. Powderpost beetles leave soft, flour-like powder that smears, coming from round exit holes. Subterranean termites leave no visible waste at all, but they build pencil-width mud tubes up foundations and crawlspace piers.
The comparison table above sets all three side by side. What none of them can tell you is the extent, which is a different question and one that gets settled by an inspection.
Can I really have them in a house this clean, or this new?
Yes, and this is the single most common thing homeowners get wrong about this insect. Drywood termites do not need moisture, damp, rot, a leak or soil contact. They need accessible wood, which every wood-framed house has regardless of its age or how well it is looked after. A newer home with sound framing is a perfectly good target, and in some ways a better one, because there is more intact seasoned lumber in it.
Cleanliness and maintenance affect a lot of pest problems. This is not one of them. Finding them says nothing about how you keep your house.
How fast does the damage happen?
Slowly, in a way that is genuinely reassuring in the short term and genuinely not in the long term. A colony works over years rather than weeks, so nothing about finding pellets this morning means the structure is unsafe tonight. The problem is the other side of the same fact: because it is slow and because the galleries sit under an intact surface, most infestations have been running for a long time before anyone notices the first sign.
Anybody who tells you how much wood is gone without having looked at the structure is guessing. Getting that answered is what an inspection is for.
Do I have to deal with it if I am not selling the house?
Nothing forces your hand on a timeline, so it is your call. What is worth weighing is that the damage does not pause and does not reverse, so the wood removed between now and whenever you do act is not coming back, and swarmers from an established colony can start new ones elsewhere in the same structure in the meantime. Repairs to framing are usually the expensive part of this, not the treatment.
It is also worth knowing that a sale later will surface it anyway, because a transaction generally brings a wood-destroying organism report with it, and findings on that report have to be dealt with on the buyer’s timeline rather than yours.
Will they spread to my neighbors, or come back from theirs?
Drywood termites do not tunnel from house to house, because they do not travel through soil at all. They spread when winged pairs fly, and a flight can cross a fence line as easily as it crosses a room. So a nearby infestation does raise the odds for everyone around it, but not through anything underground and not through a shared wall.
The practical consequence is that treating your structure protects your structure. It does not immunise it against a future flight from anywhere else, which is one of the reasons our fumigation work carries a 2-year retreatment warranty. That warranty covers fumigation work only. It does not cover inspection, and it does not extend to any non-fumigation treatment whatever it is called. Full terms are in our warranty information.
Not sure what you found?
Send us a photo of the pellets, the wings or the wood, and tell us where in the house you found them. You will get a straight answer about what it is, including when the answer is that it is nothing. Estimates are free.