# Drywood termite

*Incisitermes spp. / Cryptotermes spp.*

**Identification confidence:** Identifiable with care — The frass pellets are distinctive enough to identify to group with a hand lens.

## How to recognise it

- Fecal pellets are the defining evidence — hard, elongated, roughly 1 mm, six-sided in cross-section with concave faces, and they range from pale cream to dark brown regardless of the wood colour.
- Pellets accumulate in small piles beneath tiny round kick-out holes, resembling coarse sand or pepper.
- Swarmers are larger than subterranean swarmers at 8 to 12 mm, and are typically pale to reddish-brown with a darker head.
- Galleries cut across the wood grain and are clean and smooth inside, with no soil packing — the opposite of subterranean damage.

## What it leaves behind

- Piles of six-sided pellets on windowsills, in cupboards, and on floors beneath infested timber.
- Small round kick-out holes about 1 to 2 mm in the wood surface.
- No mud tubes anywhere, which effectively rules out subterranean termites.

## Why an infestation persists

Drywood termites live entirely inside the wood they eat and need no soil contact and no external moisture source, which is why they infest furniture, picture frames, structural timber, and even wooden objects moved between buildings. Colonies are much smaller than subterranean colonies and grow slowly, so damage accumulates over years. Because there is no soil connection, the entire approach to them differs from subterranean termites — which is precisely why confusing the two wastes time and money.


## Where it occurs

A coastal and southern band — California, Arizona, the Gulf Coast, Florida, the Southeast coastal plain, and Hawaii. Largely absent from the interior and northern states.

## What prevents it

- Screen attic and foundation vents with fine mesh to block swarmer entry.
- Maintain paint and sealant on exposed wood, since swarmers enter through checks and cracks in bare timber.
- Inspect second-hand wooden furniture before bringing it indoors.
- Store firewood and lumber away from the structure.

## Commonly confused with

- **Subterranean termite (swarmer)** (*Reticulitermes spp.*) — The waist is broad and straight — the body reads as a single uniform tube with no pinch. A flying ant has a sharply pinched, narrow waist. This is the most reliable feature.
- **Powderpost beetle** (*Lyctinae and related subfamilies*) — The frass is extremely fine and talc-like, flowing freely like flour when disturbed — this is decisive against drywood termite pellets, which are hard and six-sided.

**Verdict:** professional-recommended. Locating every infested member inside finished construction is the hard part, and the extent determines what response is appropriate. Assessment is the professional task here.


Source: https://againstpest.shop/identify/termites/drywood-termite/