Termite checklist for buying a house

Termite damage is rarely obvious at a viewing, and it is better found before you sign than after. Take this round the house with a flashlight and a screwdriver, and tick as you go.

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Where to look, in one pass

1Mud tubes on the foundation, about as thick as a pencil, from the soil up to the first wood.
2Wood touching the soil: posts, fences, stair stringers, stacked lumber.
3Door and window frames: tap and press; hollow or soft wood, and shed wings on the sills.
4The backs and bases of built-ins, where wood fixed against a wall hides tubes longest.
5The underside of the stairs, especially where the stringers meet the floor.
6The ceiling and roof framing, through the hatch if there is one: sagging boards, tubes, soft wood.

Drawn to explain, not to scale. Each number is a section of the checklist below; the signs themselves are sourced there.

Outside, walking the walls

Start here. Subterranean termites, the kind that do most of the damage in Central Luzon, come up from the soil.

Mud tubes on the foundation, posts, steps or walls Earth-coloured tubes, usually about as thick as a pencil, that termites build to travel from the soil to wood.
Wood touching the soil Posts, fences, stair stringers and lumber stacked against a wall. Termites attack wood in contact with the ground first.
Soil, plants or mulch banked up against the wall It hides tubes and gives termites a way in above the foundation.
Water pooling against the house Leaking gutters, aircon drips and a yard that slopes toward the walls keep the soil and the wood damp.
Old stumps or buried timber in the yard A colony nearby can feed there first and move to the house later.

Inside, the ground floor

Take a flashlight and a screwdriver. Tap and press rather than stab.

Mud tubes where walls meet the floor Behind skirting boards, in cracks and joints, around pipes, under the stairs.
Door and window frames that sound hollow or feel soft Tap along them with the screwdriver handle and press the corners. Termites eat wood from the inside and leave the surface.
Piles of shed wings on sills and floors Left by swarming termites (gamu-gamo). Termite wings are all about the same length; a flying ant’s front wings are longer.
Small piles of hard, sand-like grains Under furniture, cabinets or door frames, below tiny holes in the wood: the pellets of drywood termites.
Fresh paint or new panelling on one wall only Not a sign on its own, but worth asking about. It can cover old damage.

Built-ins, stairs and the ceiling

The places a viewing usually skips.

The backs and bases of built-in cabinets and wardrobes Open them. Wood fixed against a wall is where tubes and damage stay hidden longest.
The underside of wooden stairs Especially where the stringers meet the floor.
Ceiling boards that sag, stain or crumble at the edges Damage above, or a leak that invites it.
The roof framing, if there is a ceiling hatch Look along the trusses and beams for tubes and soft wood.

Ask the seller or the agent

Has the house ever had termites? Where?
Has it been treated? When, by which company, and was it soil treatment or baiting? Is there paperwork or a warranty that transfers to you?
Was the ground treated before the house was built?
Has any damaged wood been replaced, and was the cause treated first?
Why was that wall repainted or panelled?

If you find signs

Do not judge the damage from what you can see. The colony lives in the soil and eats wood you cannot see from a room.
Book an inspection before you sign. It tells you where they are coming from, how far the damage goes and what treatment the house needs, which is information to take into the negotiation.
Treatment first, then repairs. Replacing damaged wood while the colony is still active feeds it new wood.

We inspect houses across Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan, Tarlac and Olongapo, including before a purchase. How the treatment works is on termite control and anay treatment. Treating the ground before building is called soil poisoning; ask the seller whether it was done. Send the town and what you found and we will set a time.

Sources

A checklist finds signs; it cannot rule termites out. Share or print this page freely. More on what to do about them: how to get rid of termites.

Tell us what you have found

Send the pest, the town and roughly how long it has been going on. That is enough for us to say what the treatment would involve and what it depends on.

Send us the details Check we cover your town

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