Termites, known to most Australians as white ants, are timber eating insects that live in large hidden colonies and feed on the wood inside homes, fences and trees. This OCG Pest Control guide explains how to identify termites, the types of termites found in Australia, the signs they leave behind in a house, and exactly what to do if you find them.
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Termites are pale, soft bodied social insects that live in colonies and feed on cellulose, the material that makes up timber, paper and many plant products. A single termite colony contains a queen, workers, soldiers and winged reproductives, and it operates around the clock, which is how termites can hollow out structural timber while a home looks untouched from the outside.
Termites were once classified in their own insect order, Isoptera, but are now grouped with cockroaches in the order Blattodea. That family history matters in practice: termites behave nothing like ants, so ant sprays, ant baits and surface insecticides from the supermarket do not control a termite colony.
White ants is the everyday Australian name for termites, used because worker termites are pale and ant sized. They are not ants. Ants have a pinched waist, elbowed antennae and darker bodies, while termites have a straight, thick waist, straight beaded antennae and a creamy white colour.
The distinction is worth knowing because ants are actually one of the main predators of termites. If you are seeing dark coloured ants trailing along a wall, that is an ant problem. If you are seeing soft, pale insects inside damaged timber that scatter away from light, treat it as termites until a licensed inspection proves otherwise. Our guide to bugs that look like termites covers the common lookalikes side by side.
Worker termites are 4 to 7 millimetres long, cream to white, blind and wingless, and they make up most of the colony. Soldier termites look similar but have enlarged brown heads with dark jaws, and the winged reproductives, called alates, are darker with two pairs of equal length wings.
Because workers avoid light, most homeowners never see the insects themselves, only the damage and the mud they leave behind. If you have found an insect and want to compare it against clear photos of each caste, see our detailed guide on what termites look like, and if it was flying, start with flying termites, because a swarm of alates is often the first visible sign of a nearby colony.
Termites eat cellulose. In the bush that means dead trees, stumps, roots, leaf litter and grass, and in the suburbs it means wall frames, skirting boards, flooring, fences, sleepers, cardboard and even the paper facing on plasterboard. That diet makes termites valuable decomposers and nutrient recyclers in Australian ecosystems, and a serious pest the moment their food source is your house.
Where termites live depends on the species. Most pest termites in Sydney build a concealed termite nest in the root crown of a tree, inside a stump, or below ground in soil, then forage outward through underground tunnels well beyond the boundary of a single yard. The famous mound building species, such as the compass termite, belong to northern Australia. In Sydney you will almost never see a termite mound; the nest that matters is the one you cannot see, often in a gum tree within foraging range of the street.
Termites hatch from eggs laid by the queen, develop through several nymph stages, and mature into workers, soldiers or winged reproductives depending on what the colony needs. The termite queen can live for many years and lays continuously, so the size of the colony keeps growing while conditions stay favourable, from thousands of termites in a young nest to hundreds of thousands in a mature one.
On warm, humid evenings, usually in spring and summer, mature colonies release swarms of winged alates. These flying termites pair up, shed their wings and attempt to start new colonies in moist, sheltered ground. Piles of identical gauzy wings on window sills or around outdoor lights are one of the clearest indications of termite activity nearby, and a good reason to book an inspection even if you have not seen damage.
Australia has three broad groups of pest termites: subterranean, drywood and dampwood. Subterranean termite species cause almost all of the termite damage to homes in New South Wales, because they nest in soil or trees and travel underground into buildings through gaps as thin as a few millimetres.
Type | Common examples | Where they live | Risk to Sydney homes |
|---|---|---|---|
Subterranean termites | Coptotermes acinaciformis, Schedorhinotermes species, Nasutitermes species | Concealed nests in soil, tree stumps and root crowns, entering buildings from the ground | High. Responsible for most structural termite damage in Australia |
Drywood termites | Cryptotermes species, including the West Indian drywood termite | Inside dry timber itself, with no soil contact | Low in Sydney. More common in warmer regions further north |
Dampwood termites | Porotermes species | Wet, decaying timber such as rotting stumps and logs | Low. Rarely attack sound, dry structural timber |
Two other names worth knowing. The giant northern termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis, is the most destructive termite species in the country but is confined to northern Australia. Closer to home, Coptotermes acinaciformis deserves particular respect: it builds large termite colonies, often inside living eucalypts, and it is the species our technicians confirm most often in termite work across South West Sydney suburbs like Campbelltown, Leppington and Liverpool.
The most reliable signs of termites in a house are mud tubes on walls or piers, timber that sounds hollow when tapped, doors and windows that suddenly stick, blistered or rippled paint, and piles of discarded wings after a warm evening. Termites eat timber from the inside out, so the surface often stays intact until the termite damage underneath is advanced.
Any one of these signs justifies an inspection, and two or more together should be treated as urgent. We break each sign down with photos in our guide to the early warning signs of termites. Remember that the absence of visible signs is not the same as the absence of termites, which is why Australian Standard AS 3660.2-2017 recommends a professional termite inspection at least once every 12 months for existing buildings.
Seen something that matches? Do not disturb it. Send us a photo and your suburb, and a licensed local technician will tell you what you are looking at and the sensible next step.
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Subterranean termites enter houses from the ground, through paths you cannot easily see: soil bridging over the slab edge, garden beds or paving built up against the wall, cracks and joints in concrete, gaps around plumbing penetrations, and any timber in direct contact with soil, such as deck posts, sleepers and stored firewood. Foraging workers move through mud tunnels that protect them from light and dry air, so a colony can feed inside a wall for a long time without a single termite being seen.
This is why termite management is really about the building as much as the insect. Moisture from leaking taps, air conditioning overflow and poor drainage keeps soil attractive, and anything stacked against the house gives termites a hidden highway past a termite barrier. Homes in Australia are not termite proof by default, whether they are 1970s brick veneer in Campbelltown or a new build in Leppington.
Subterranean termites thrive where established gum trees, garden moisture and concrete slab homes sit close together, and that describes most streets in Campbelltown, Liverpool, Camden and the growing estates around them. Termite colonies nest in street trees, stumps and retained bushland, then forage outward underground into nearby yards and homes.
New builds are not exempt. Landscaping, attached decks, raised garden beds against walls and leaking taps can all bridge or bypass a termite management system over time. If you are buying, building or renovating in the area, our pre construction termite barrier page explains how protection is designed in from the slab up, and our Campbelltown pest control page covers the local service area in detail.
You cannot make a house termite proof, but you can make it far less inviting and much easier to inspect. To help prevent termite problems: fix leaking taps and hot water overflow, keep garden beds and mulch below the slab edge and away from walls, store firewood off the ground and away from the house, remove stumps and buried timber, and keep the perimeter of the building clear so termite activity has nowhere to hide.
Then back the housekeeping with professional pest management: regular termite inspections at least every 12 months, and where risk justifies it, a monitored termite bait system or a chemical or physical termite barrier installed to Australian Standards. Prevention is a fraction of the cost of repairing structural termite damage, and it is the part of the problem completely within your control.
Do not disturb them. Do not spray them, pull apart the damaged timber or break their mud leads, because the colony will simply retreat and re-enter somewhere you cannot see. The termites you can see are a tiny fraction of a colony that remains protected underground or inside a tree.
Close the area off, take a photo if you can do so without disturbing the timber, and book a licensed termite inspection. An inspection to AS 3660.2-2017 maps where the termite activity is, how the termites are entering and what condition the surrounding timber is in, and it is the required first step before any treatment can be honestly recommended.
OCG Pest Control treats termites with an inspection first approach: a licensed technician inspects and reports to AS 3660.2-2017, then recommends a termite treatment plan matched to the termite species, the construction of your home and where the activity is. Depending on the situation, that plan may involve Termidor treated zones, Trelona ATBS baiting and monitoring, or a Termseal physical barrier, all systems our team holds current accreditations for.
Termite work is quoted after inspection, never as a flat price over the phone, because the right treatment depends entirely on what the inspection finds. You can read about the full range of options on our termite control page, or go straight to a free quote request and we will call you back.
Nothing available to homeowners kills a termite colony instantly. Surface sprays only kill the individual termites they touch, while the colony of many thousands remains protected in its nest and simply reroutes. Professional treatments such as treated zones and baiting work over days to weeks because they are designed to transfer through the whole colony, which is the only outcome that actually protects the house.
Leave them completely undisturbed and book a licensed termite inspection. Do not spray them, break open the timber or mud leads, or disturb the area, because the colony will retreat and resurface somewhere harder to find. Note where you saw them, keep the area closed off, and call OCG Pest Control on (02) 9820 5534.
Termites are not a health risk to people or pets. Soldier termites can nip if handled, but termites do not sting, spread disease or seek out people. The risk is to the timber in your home, which is why finding termite activity early matters far more than avoiding the insects themselves.
Generally no. Most Australian home insurance policies treat termite damage as gradual and preventable, and exclude it. Check your own policy wording, and treat regular termite inspections as the practical way to manage the risk rather than relying on insurance.
At least once every 12 months. Australian Standard AS 3660.2-2017 recommends termite inspections at least annually for existing buildings, and more frequently in higher risk situations, such as homes near heavy tree cover or with previous termite activity.
Leave them undisturbed and talk to a licensed local technician today. Inspections are carried out to AS 3660.2-2017 across Campbelltown, Liverpool and South West Sydney.
