Texas A&M Entomology Research
Termite Signs & Swarm Timing in Houston, TX
What real signs to look for, and — where the climate matches the underlying research — roughly when swarms actually happen here, not a generic national timeline.
Get Pest Control QuotesReal Signs of Termite Activity
Mud tubes
Pencil-width tunnels of mud on foundation walls, piers, or crawlspace surfaces — subterranean termites build these to travel between soil and wood while staying protected from open air.
Discarded wings
Small, uniform, translucent wings near windowsills or doors after a swarm — termite swarmers shed their wings almost immediately after landing, so a pile of identical wings (not attached to insect bodies) is a real indicator, not just flying insects passing through.
Hollow-sounding or damaged wood
Wood that sounds hollow when tapped, or that crumbles/looks layered when probed — termites eat wood from the inside out, so surface paint or finish can look intact while structure underneath is compromised.
Frass (termite droppings)
Small, ridged, pellet-like droppings (drywood termites push waste out of small holes) — distinct from sawdust, which carpenter ants produce instead.
Swarm timing in Houston — what the research actually supports: Furman & Gold (Texas A&M University Department of Entomology) analyzed swarm dates across nine Texas cities and found native subterranean termites (Reticulitermes spp.) typically swarm only after accumulating roughly 602 heat units (degree-days from December 21), with about 90% of swarms occurring within 3 days of a rainfall event once that threshold is crossed. Houston sits in hardiness zone 9b, broadly consistent with the climates that study covered — so this heat-plus-rain pattern is a reasonable model for swarm timing here, though it was specifically measured in Texas, not directly re-verified for every city we track.
Source: Furman, B.C. & Gold, R.E., Texas A&M University Department of Entomology (published via ICUP proceedings). This describes a regional swarm-timing model, not a live-tracked forecast for Houston specifically — if you see any of the signs above, a local inspection is the reliable way to confirm activity regardless of season.
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