Termites
How to tell if your house has termites, and what to do if it does
- Fine, sand-like powder under furniture or a door frame: drywood termites.
- Mud tubes on a wall or baseboard: subterranean termites, the kind that attack the structure.
- Identical wings on the floor or windowsill: there was a swarm, and a colony is nearby.
- The inspection is free and is booked with a set date over WhatsApp.
The four signs
- Fine, uniform powder (droppings), the color of the wood, under furniture, a frame or a beam.
- Hollow wood when you tap it with a knuckle, or a surface that gives way under a fingernail.
- Pencil-wide mud tubes climbing the wall, the baseboard or the foundation.
- Same-size wings piled on the floor or the window frame, especially after the first rains.
Drywood or subterranean: not the same thing
Drywood termites live inside the furniture or the frame and need no contact with the soil: they are treated piece by piece. Subterranean termites live in the ground and enter the house through mud tubes to eat the structure: those are the ones that require soil and perimeter treatment. Mixing them up means treating the wrong place. Details in termites in wood.
How it is confirmed
With an inspection: each frame is checked and the wood is tapped to find hollow spots, the technician looks for powder and goes up into the attic to check beams and boards. At EcoPlagas the inspection is free and is booked over WhatsApp with a set date. The diagnosis comes with a written price.
What not to do in the meantime
Do not paint or varnish the area (it hides the sign and does not kill the colony), do not spray a hardware-store aerosol into the hole (it pushes the colony to another part of the wood) and do not remove the furniture without checking the frame and the wall it was resting against.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a charge for the inspection?
No. It is booked over WhatsApp with a set day and time, and the treatment price is given in writing after the inspection.
How much does treatment cost?
A single piece of furniture from ₡59,900. Structures from ₡299,900 to ₡499,900 per 100 m², with six months of follow-up.
Termites or woodworm?
Woodworm leaves round holes with coarse sawdust; termites leave fine, uniform powder and no visible holes. The inspection tells which one it is.