Why Drywood Termites Are Easy to Miss During a Home Showing (2026)

The home shows beautifully. Fresh paint, clean floors, staged furniture. The windows look great. The trim is crisp. Everything reads as well-maintained. You walk through every room, check the closets, look at the kitchen, and leave feeling confident about the property.

What you didn't see: the six-sided pellets that were vacuumed off the windowsill an hour before the showing. The kick-out holes in the attic framing that nobody enters during an open house. The hollow door frame that feels solid because it's been painted over. And the frass pile behind the couch in the living room that the staging company covered with a decorative basket.

Drywood termites are the most common termite species in San Diego homes, and they are remarkably easy to miss during a property showing. They live inside the wood they eat, they don't build mud tubes on visible surfaces, and the only evidence they leave behind (frass pellets, kick-out holes, and occasional discarded wings) is small, subtle, and easily cleaned up or concealed.

This guide covers why drywood termites stay hidden during showings, where the evidence actually lives, and why a WDO inspection catches what a walkthrough can't.

Why Drywood Termites Don't Announce Themselves

Subterranean termites leave mud tubes on foundation walls. That's a visible, hard-to-hide sign that even a non-expert can recognize. Drywood termites leave almost nothing visible unless you know exactly what to look for and where to find it.

According to the Dewey Pest Control 2026 California termite report, drywood termites live entirely inside the wood they consume. They don't need soil contact, don't need external moisture, and don't build structures outside the wood. Their colonies are small (typically a few thousand individuals compared to the millions in a subterranean colony), and they can feed inside a single piece of wood for years before any evidence reaches the surface.

The evidence they produce is minimal and periodic. Frass pellets are pushed out of kick-out holes when the termites need to clean their galleries. This can happen in bursts followed by quiet periods. A seller who sweeps the windowsills before a showing removes the only visible indicator, and the termites don't produce new frass on a predictable schedule.

The kick-out holes themselves are 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter. On painted wood, they're nearly invisible unless you're examining the surface at close range with good light. On natural or stained wood, they blend in with the grain. From a normal viewing distance during a walkthrough, you won't see them.

What Gets Hidden During Showing Prep

This isn't about sellers deliberately concealing termite problems (though that happens). It's about the normal process of cleaning and staging a home for sale coincidentally removing the evidence that termites leave behind.

Vacuuming and sweeping removes frass. Frass pellets accumulate on horizontal surfaces below the infested wood: windowsills, baseboards, door thresholds, and closet floors. Normal cleaning before a showing sweeps them away. The next pile might not appear for days or weeks.

Fresh paint covers kick-out holes. Paint fills or obscures the tiny holes where termites expel frass. A recently painted room looks crisp and clean. The holes are still there under the paint, but they're invisible to anyone who doesn't know to look for the slight bumps or depressions in the paint film.

Staging blocks view of common locations. Furniture, artwork, and decorative items placed along walls and in front of windows can cover areas where frass accumulates. The back of a couch against a baseboard, a bookshelf against a wall, picture frames on a windowsill. Staging creates a visual barrier between the buyer and the evidence.

Curtains and blinds cover window frames. Window frames are one of the most common drywood termite locations in San Diego homes. During a showing, curtains are often drawn for light control and aesthetics. The frame itself (where kick-out holes and frass appear) is hidden behind the window treatment.

Where Evidence Hides That Showings Don't Reveal

Location	Why Termites Infest Here	Why Showings Miss It
Attic framing (rafters, ridge beam)	Exposed wood, accessible to swarmers through vents	Nobody enters the attic during a showing
Behind baseboards	Wood trim against wall provides food	Furniture covers the baseboard
Inside closet door frames	Unfinished wood on frame interior	Closets viewed briefly, frames not examined
Window frame undersides	Common swarmer landing point	Curtains, blinds, and window treatments block view
Garage header and framing	Exposed, unpainted wood	Garage given cursory glance during tour
Eaves and fascia (exterior)	Exposed wood at roofline	Buyers look at landscaping, not the eaves above them
Exposed beams (decorative)	Attractive to buyers, attractive to termites	Beams admired for aesthetics, not examined for holes

What a WDO Inspection Does Differently

A WDO (Wood Destroying Organism) inspection is performed by a licensed Branch 3 pest control operator who is trained specifically to find evidence that a buyer walkthrough can't detect.

The inspector probes wood. Using a sharp implement (usually an awl or screwdriver), the inspector probes accessible wood components to check for internal damage. Wood that's been consumed from the inside gives way under probing pressure even when the surface looks intact.

The inspector checks concealed areas. The attic, the crawl space (if accessible), the garage framing, the interior of closets, the undersides of window frames, and any accessible wood behind furniture placement are all examined. These are the areas a showing doesn't cover.

The inspector looks for frass patterns, not just frass. Even if the frass has been cleaned up, residual pellets in cracks, joints, and crevices tell the story. The inspector knows where to look and uses flashlights at angles that reveal pellets trapped in gaps that vacuuming missed.

The inspector taps and sounds wood. Tapping wood with a hard implement and listening to the response reveals hollow galleries beneath the surface. Solid wood sounds sharp and ringing. Consumed wood sounds dull, papery, or hollow. An experienced inspector can identify infested wood by sound alone in many cases.

The inspector identifies species and activity level. The report distinguishes between drywood and subterranean activity, identifies whether the infestation is active (fresh frass, live termites) or historical (old damage without current evidence), and recommends specific treatment based on the findings.

Why San Diego Is Drywood Termite Territory

San Diego's warm, dry climate is ideal for drywood termites. They don't need moisture from the soil (unlike subterranean termites), and the consistent warmth supports colony activity year-round. According to Bite Away Pest Control's San Diego termite species guide, drywood termites are the more frequently encountered species in San Diego County's residential structures, particularly in attics, window frames, door frames, and exposed wood elements.

Swarm season runs September through November, when winged reproductives leave existing colonies and fly to new wood. Homes near existing infestations (the neighbor's house, nearby trees, old fences) are at elevated risk during swarm season because the distance the swarmers travel is limited.

Every San Diego neighborhood with wood-frame construction has drywood termite activity. North Park, Normal Heights, Hillcrest, Pacific Beach, Clairemont, Mira Mesa, Escondido, La Mesa, and every other community with homes built using wood are in the active zone.

What This Means for Buyers

A home showing is designed to make you fall in love with the space. A termite inspection is designed to tell you what's living in the walls. The two serve completely different purposes, and assuming the showing told you what you need to know about termites is the most common mistake San Diego home buyers make with regard to wood-destroying organisms.

The WDO inspection costs $75 to $200. The treatment for an infestation you should have caught before closing costs $500 to $3,500 for treatment, plus potentially thousands more for structural wood repair if the damage is extensive.

For the broader scope of what a home inspection evaluates (beyond termites), our home inspection buyer's guide covers every system.

Schedule online or call (858) 707-7066.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why are drywood termites hard to spot during a home showing?

Drywood termites live inside wood and leave minimal external evidence. The primary signs (frass pellets and tiny kick-out holes) are small, easily cleaned during showing prep, and located in areas that showings don't thoroughly examine (attics, behind furniture, inside closets, under window treatments).

Q: Can fresh paint hide termite damage?

Yes. Paint fills and obscures kick-out holes and can cover surface deterioration on wood that's been consumed from the inside. A freshly painted window frame or door frame may look perfect while containing an active drywood termite colony behind the paint.

Q: What's the most common sign of drywood termites?

Frass pellets. Small, hard, six-sided pellets that look like coarse sand or coffee grounds, accumulating below the wood where termites are active. If new pellets appear after cleaning, the infestation is active.

Q: Where do drywood termites most commonly infest in San Diego homes?

Attic framing (rafters, ridge beams, collar ties), window frames, door frames, eave fascia boards, exposed decorative beams, garage headers, and any exterior wood that's accessible to swarmers entering through vents or gaps.

Q: Does the seller have to disclose known termite problems?

In California, sellers must disclose known material defects, which includes known termite infestations or prior termite treatment. However, sellers aren't required to have a termite inspection performed. The buyer can (and should) arrange their own WDO inspection during the contingency period.

Q: Can I check for termites myself during a showing?

You can look for frass on windowsills and baseboards, tap wood surfaces and listen for hollow sounds, and check the garage and attic if accessible. But a showing doesn't provide the time, tools, or access for a thorough evaluation. The WDO inspection is the proper evaluation.

Q: How much does drywood termite treatment cost in San Diego?

Localized (spot) treatment costs $500 to $2,500 depending on accessibility and extent. Full-structure fumigation (tenting the home) costs $1,200 to $3,500 or more depending on home size. Structural wood repair for significant damage adds $2,000 to $10,000 or more.

Q: When do drywood termites swarm in San Diego?

September through November, typically on warm afternoons. This is when winged reproductives leave existing colonies and fly to new wood. Finding discarded wings near windows or light fixtures during this period indicates swarming activity near or inside the home.

Q: Is a termite inspection separate from a home inspection?

Yes. A home inspection evaluates all major systems in the house. A WDO inspection is a separate, specialized evaluation performed by a licensed Branch 3 pest control operator that focuses on wood-destroying organisms. Both are recommended before purchasing a San Diego home.

Q: Can staging intentionally hide termite evidence?

It can, whether intentionally or not. Furniture against baseboards, curtains over window frames, decorative items on windowsills, and rugs over hardwood floors can all cover areas where frass accumulates. The WDO inspector moves through these areas methodically and checks behind, beneath, and inside the spaces a showing only presents at surface level.

What the Showing Showed You (And What It Didn't)

A showing shows you the home at its best. Clean surfaces, good lighting, strategic staging. It answers the question "do I like this space?" It doesn't answer "is anything eating it from the inside?"

Drywood termites don't care about your escrow timeline, your emotional attachment to the kitchen, or how beautiful the beams look in the living room. They're inside the wood, producing damage that's invisible until someone who knows the signs goes looking for them.

The WDO inspection is that someone. Schedule it during your contingency period and find out what's living in the walls before you sign for the building.

Cost estimates in this article reflect general ranges for the San Diego County market as of 2026. Treatment and repair costs vary by species, extent, accessibility, and contractor.