Wood Damage: What Every Homeowner Should Know
Your home’s wood can be damaged in three primary ways: by drywood termites, subterranean termites, and wood rot caused by fungus.
Before your home existed, your lot was just nature—trees, brush, and soil. When the land was cleared, termites and fungi didn’t just disappear. These organisms are nature’s recyclers, breaking down dead trees. Now, they see your home’s wood as their next food source.
That’s why routine inspections are so important. When a termite inspector evaluates your home, they’re looking closely at the type of wood damage to determine what caused it, because each wood-destroying organism leaves behind its own unique signature.
Drywood Termites:
Drywood termites live directly in the wood they consume, eating it from the inside out. They chew through both the hard and soft parts of the wood, often leaving behind little more than hollowed-out paint.
Drywood termites live inside the wood they eat, tunneling through both hard and soft layers. They leave behind smooth, hollowed-out sections, and when infested wood is probed, it often cracks and releases tiny, hard droppings—known as frass—that look like grains of sand.
In severe cases, all that remains is a thin shell of paint over completely hollow wood.
Subterranean Termites:
Subterranean termites—or “subs”—only eat the soft parts of the wood, creating a distinct channeled or layered appearance. Unlike drywood termites, they don’t live in the wood. Instead, they travel back and forth, through mud tubes, from underground nests.
If you break open wood damaged by subs, it’s usually filled with soil and droppings. Their damage tends to look messier and more erratic, and because they remain hidden, the infestation can go unnoticed until significant damage is done.
Fungus:
Wood rot caused by fungus is different from termite damage. Fungus feeds on the cellulose in wood, causing it to shrink, warp, and eventually crumble. From the outside, the wood may look deflated.
You usually don’t need to probe fungus-damaged wood to identify it—it often looks and feels soft or spongy. If you do test it, it breaks with a dull sound, falling apart into crumbly chunks without any droppings.
The Cost of Ignoring the Signs
While termites and fungi serve a purpose in nature, in your home, they’re destructive—and expensive. It’s estimated that one out of every ten trees harvested for lumber is used to repair fungus-damaged wood alone. Termites, meanwhile, cause billions of dollars in damage every year across the country.
Protect Your Home
The reality is: termites and fungus are part of life. But wood damage doesn’t have to be.
At California Termite, we recommend whole-house warranties that include regular inspections and necessary treatments. Early detection is key—especially since a drywood termite colony can destroy a rafter tail in just a year if left unchecked.
