# Dead termites on the floor: time to panic? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 11, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-termites-on-the-floor-time-to-panic/298833 "2005-04-11T18:59:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-termites-on-the-floor-time-to-panic/298833/1 "2005-04-11T18:59:05Z")
Spring is here, and with it we’ve begun opening the windows during the day. They’re screened, but sometimes things get in. Over the past several days, we’ve found something that might be sinister: a few dozen corpses of what look awfully like termites. (I’ve checked websites with pictures of both termites and flying ants, and these definitely look like termites). Is this a sure sign that our house is infested? Is it a completely benign occurrence? Or is it something where we should shell out the nontrivial cost of getting a termite inspector out to our house to take a look? We had a termite inspection in September 2003, before we bought the house, and got a clean bill of health then. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![katie1341](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-termites-on-the-floor-time-to-panic/298833/2 "2005-04-11T19:08:33Z")
Have you done anything since the termite inspection in 2003 to prevent termites? It might be a ploy by the pest control companies, but I always thought you had to have regular treatments to prevent termites. We have Terminix, they come out once a month and spray for other bugs and check the termite thingies they have in the yard and do a written report on whether they found any signs of infestation. I’d have someone come over and look, they can do a lot of damage fast. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-termites-on-the-floor-time-to-panic/298833/3 "2005-04-11T19:09:27Z")
Important Questions! Are they with or without wings? Were they very light in color, darkening over time? Where do you live? ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-termites-on-the-floor-time-to-panic/298833/4 "2005-04-11T19:29:42Z")
Ask a pest control person to stop by your house just in case. I sincerely hope you have better luck then we do. My husband saw a few dead termites last week. This morning the pest people said $1700 to get rid of them. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-termites-on-the-floor-time-to-panic/298833/5 "2005-04-11T19:32:22Z")
Has your aardvark been sick? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-termites-on-the-floor-time-to-panic/298833/6 "2005-04-11T19:35:49Z")
I live in the mountains of NC; these guys were black when I found them, winged. We’ve done nothing to prevent termites since moving in, and in fact we’ve been absent a single strip of siding on the side of our house for a few months now due to a poorly-done contract job and our own incompetence at home repair. I’ll go ahead and call someone to come take a look–thanks! Daniel ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-termites-on-the-floor-time-to-panic/298833/7 "2005-04-11T21:39:33Z")
Ah for the good old days of Chlordane-killed the little buggers and left a barrier, too. The missing siding isn’t causal-subterranian termites gain egress via mud tunnels, hence the 6-12" of exposed block/cement between the first course of siding and grade, otherwise known as an “inspection band”. Sending you anti-termite karma-they can tear up a house in short order.