Drywood Termites: Identification & How to Get Rid of Them (2026 DIY Guide)

Estimated reading time: 9 to 11 minutes

Drywood termites are wood-destroying insects that live entirely inside sound, dry lumber above ground, with no soil contact and no mud tubes. If you spotted tiny six-sided pellets under a baseboard or a small pile of discarded wings on a windowsill, you are almost certainly looking at a drywood termite infestation, not carpenter ants and not subterranean termites. This guide walks through identification, damage risk, DIY treatment with borate and foam products, and when the job has grown past what a homeowner should tackle alone. If you are not sure which species you have yet, start with our overview on how to get rid of termites and come back here once you have confirmed drywood termites.

Adult drywood workers stay hidden inside galleries their entire lives, which is why homeowners almost never see one until wood is opened up.

What Are Drywood Termites?

Drywood termites (family Kalotermitidae, most commonly Incisitermes and Cryptotermes species) are social insects that nest inside the wood they eat. A mature colony holds roughly 2,500 members according to the UC IPM drywood termite guide, split between a worker caste, soldier termites with enlarged dark heads, and winged reproductive termites that leave to found new colonies.

What do drywood termites look like?

Worker termites are about 3/8 inch (~9.5 mm) and can be up to 12 mm long, pale cream to tan, and soft-bodied. Soldier termites are similar in length but carry oversized mandibles and a dark brown head. Alates (swarmers or flying termites) are darker, roughly one-half inch including wings, and shed those wings the moment they land. Their fecal pellets, called frass, are the single most reliable ID clue: hard, oval, about 1 mm long, with six concave sides and a color that matches the wood they were chewing. For comparison, they are smaller than a grain of rice.

Where do drywood termites live?

Drywood termites live inside sound, dry, above-ground structural wood. They pull all the moisture they need from the cellulose they digest, so they do not need soil contact, and they do not build mud tubes. This lets them survive without soil contact because the wood they consume supplies enough moisture. That is the key behavioral split from subterranean termites, which must return to soil daily. Common nesting sites include attic rafters, window and door frames, fascia boards, hardwood floors, wooden furniture, dry structural wood in crawl spaces, other wooden structures, and source wood from damaged or dead trees.

Drywood termites vs. subterranean termites vs. dampwood termites

The three groups look similar at a glance but behave very differently. Use this table to sort them fast, and see our post on drywood vs. subterranean swarmers for a photo comparison of alates.

For visual identification support, our guide on what do termites look like covers each caste in detail.

Left to right: drywood, subterranean, dampwood. Note the drywood's uniform tan body compared with the subterranean's darker abdomen.

Common species and range

The western drywood termite (Incisitermes minor) dominates California, Arizona, and Nevada. The southeastern drywood termite (Incisitermes snyderi) is the most common species along the Gulf Coast, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and eastern Texas. The West Indian drywood termite (Cryptotermes brevis), tracked by Texas A&M Urban Entomology, is the most destructive of the group and is now established in South Florida.

Each pellet is about 1 mm long. The six concave sides are diagnostic. Sawdust does not have them.

Are Drywood Termites Dangerous?

Drywood termites do not bite people or pets in any meaningful way. The danger is structural. A single colony can chew continuously inside a wall for years before any exterior sign appears. Each year, termites cause well over a billion dollars in damage, close to 7 billion, to be exact.

Termite damage: what drywood colonies do to a house

Drywood termite damage shows up as hollowed studs, weakened joists, sagging or warped hardwood floors, and blistered paint over infested wood. Because drywood termites eat cellulose in wood and tunnel across the grain, they leave a paper-thin outer skin intact, so damaged wood can look normal from the outside until a screwdriver punches through it. The termite damage vs. water damage FAQ covers the screwdriver-tap test in detail.

How fast does drywood termite damage progress?

Slowly, but around the clock. A mature colony of about 2,500 workers eats 24/7. Major damage typically takes years, which is why annual inspection matters more than any single treatment. The bigger risk is that a small colony spawns satellite colonies inside the same structure before you find the first one.

Do drywood termites bite humans or pets?

No. Soldier mandibles are built for defending galleries against ants, not for feeding on skin. Focus on the structure, not on personal safety.

Galleries follow the grain and leave a thin outer shell intact, which is why exterior wood often looks fine until it collapses under pressure.

Why Do They Appear? (Signs of Infestation)

Drywood colonies almost always start after a swarm flight. Reproductive termites land, shed their wings, pair off, and chew a tiny entry hole into exposed wood. Here is the diagnostic checklist to help homeowners determine whether the signs point to drywood termites rather than another termite species or wood pest.

Drywood termite pellets (frass): the #1 sign

Small piles of tiny pellets under a baseboard, in a window track, or on an attic joist are the clearest sign of an active infestation and a common sign homeowners can spot early, often appearing as tiny mounds that resemble sand or coffee grounds. Mississippi State Extension notes that drywood pellets are hard, elongated ovals with six concave sides, roughly 1 mm long, and colored to match the wood the colony is eating. Learn how to identify drywood termite droppings with side-by-side photos.

Kickout holes and blistered wood surface

Termites push frass out through small holes about the diameter of a BB, called kickout holes. Look for pinhole-sized openings in the wood surface with a smooth, sanded look around the rim.

Discarded wings from reproductive termites

After a swarm, alates twist off their own wings. Piles of identical, translucent wings on a windowsill or in a spider web are a giveaway.

Hollow-sounding wood when tapped

Tap suspect wood with the handle of a screwdriver. Infested boards sound papery or hollow.

When and why do drywood termite swarmers appear?

Swarms happen on warm, humid days, typically late spring through early fall depending on region. In Florida and South Carolina, expect flights from May through October. See our guide on flying termites and swarm season for a regional calendar.

Frass piles are usually replenished within days. If the pile returns after you sweep it away, the colony is active.

Alates shed all four wings after landing. The wings are equal length, unlike ant swarmers.

How to Get Rid of Drywood Termites: Step by Step

Follow these six steps in order. They map to the products stocked on our website.

Step 1. Confirm the species with a thorough inspection

Walk the attic, crawl spaces, garage, window frames, and hardwood floors with a bright flashlight. Look for frass color, gallery direction along the grain, and the absence of mud tubes. No mud tubes plus six-sided pellets equals drywood.

Step 2. Mark every kickout hole and gallery entry

Circle each hole with a pencil so you can inject them all in step 4. Missed holes mean survivors.

Step 3. Choose between localized treatments and whole-structure treatment

If the infestation is confined to one or two accessible members, localized (spot) treatments will work. If frass appears in three or more rooms or inside load-bearing framing, plan for whole-structure fumigation, which encloses the building and releases a lethal gas to eliminate the colony. Our termite pillar page compares spot treatment vs. fumigation in more detail.

Step 4. Apply spot treatments: drill and inject foam or borate

Localized treatment methods use insecticides injected into galleries. Drill 1/8 inch pilot holes into the gallery every 8 to 10 inches, then inject an expanding foam such as Termidor Foam until it backs out of adjacent kickout holes. Plug the pilot holes with wood filler.

Step 5. Treat surrounding sound wood with a borate barrier

Brush or spray Bora-Care (a 1:1 water dilution) onto all raw structural wood within 3 feet of the infestation. Bora-Care penetrates up to 4 inches into raw wood and remains active for the life of the wood, blocking re-infestation.

Step 6. Re-inspect at 30, 60, and 90 days

Sweep every frass pile clean after treatment. Any fresh pellets in a follow-up inspection means live colony members and calls for a repeat injection.

Drill, inject until foam backflows, plug. Repeat on every marked gallery.

Best Products to Use (with links)

These four picks cover every DIY drywood scenario. Browse the full termite control products category to compare specs.

Bora-Care for whole-wood treatment

Bora-Care product page. Borate concentrate that soaks into raw wood up to 4 inches deep and stays lethal to termites for the life of the wood. Best for new construction, attic sheathing, and any exposed structural wood inside a treated area.

Termidor Foam for localized gallery injection

Termidor Foam. Non-repellent fipronil foam that expands 30 times its liquid volume, filling galleries and coating every insect it contacts. This is the go-to for injecting active kickout holes.

FUSE Foam as an alternative injectable

FUSE Foam. Dual-active-ingredient foam (fipronil plus imidacloprid) that works well when you want broader coverage against secondary pests such as carpenter ants in the same wood.

Full termite control product category

For sprays, dusts, baits, and applicators, see the complete termite control products catalog. For editorial rankings, our roundup of the best termite killers breaks down each option by use case.

These three products cover 95% of DIY drywood termite scenarios. Bora-Care prevents, and the foams kill on contact.

Drywood Termite Prevention Tips

Prevention is cheaper than treatment. Focus on entry blocking and moisture control.

• Seal cracks, crevices, and attic vents with 20-mesh screens to block reproductive termites from landing on exposed wood.

• Paint, stain, or varnish all exposed wood. Alates cannot chew into finished surfaces.

• Inspect used furniture and lumber before bringing it inside. Drywood colonies spread through infested wood items, especially antique furniture and reclaimed lumber. Freezing infested wood for two weeks can kill drywood termites.

• Reduce attic and crawl space humidity even though drywood termites need less moisture than subterranean termite colonies. Lower humidity discourages every wood-destroying insect on the list.

• Do an annual DIY inspection each spring before swarm season. Our prevention checklist walks you through every checkpoint.

When to Call a Professional Pest Management Expert

Some infestations are past DIY. Know the line.

Signs the infestation is beyond DIY

Frass in three or more rooms, damage across load-bearing framing, visible sagging in a floor or roofline, or a mature colony that has already swarmed inside the structure. Any of those calls for a pest management professional.

What a pest management professional will do

Whole-structure fumigation with sulfuryl fluoride is the standard for widespread drywood infestations. Alternatives include whole-structure heat treatment and a full borate barrier application. Our main termite page covers professional termite pest control options in more depth.

Typical cost ranges

Localized professional treatment runs $300 to $900 per site. Whole-structure fumigation typically runs $1,200 to $3,500 for a single-family home, depending on cubic footage.

Questions to ask before hiring

Ask for the state pest control license number, the specific active ingredient, the warranty length, and whether the quote includes a follow-up inspection at 90 days.

The Bottom Line

Drywood termites hide inside sound wood, spread slowly, and give themselves away with six-sided frass pellets. Confirm the species, mark every kickout hole, inject with Termidor or FUSE Foam, and seal the surrounding wood with Bora-Care. Re-inspect at 30, 60, and 90 days. If frass turns up in multiple rooms or inside load-bearing framing, call a pro. To start the treatment, shop termite control products and pick the foam and borate combo that fits your infestation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do drywood termites need soil contact?

No. Unlike subterranean termites, drywood termites live entirely inside above-ground wood and pull moisture from the cellulose they digest.

How long can a drywood termite infestation go unnoticed?

Often five to ten years. The colony grows slowly and hides all activity inside the wood.

Can I treat drywood termites without tenting?

Yes, if the infestation is localized. Spot treatments with foam plus a Bora-Care barrier work well for one or two infested members. Widespread infestations still need fumigation.

What do drywood termite pellets look like vs. sawdust?

Pellets are hard, oval, 1 mm long, and have six concave sides. Sawdust is fibrous and irregular. See how to tell frass from sawdust for a photo guide.

Are drywood termites active in winter?

Yes. The colony feeds year-round inside heated structures. Swarming pauses in cold months, but chewing does not. And if you saw wings but are not sure of the insect, our flying ants vs. termites guide sorts it out in 30 seconds.