If you feel like you are hearing a very soft sound coming from your walls, you’re not the only one. More than 1000’s of homes in Australia have been hearing the same. And the sinister reason behind the mystery is nothing but tiny termites eating their homes away.
Although termites are very small – about 0.7mm to 1cm in length – they can make faint but rapid noises when they act as a colony. A colony of termites has 60, 000 to 1 million in population, and when they all start chewing your wood and making tunnels, they can produce a dry-paper rustling sound.
It’s not easy to spot termites when they enter your home. Once they start nibbling on your wood, they produce a noticeable sound that you can hear very faintly. Obvious signs of termite infestation can include a mud tube forming around your wooden ceiling or wall. If termites are not controlled, they can build nests in many other areas in your home. As colonies of termites multiply, the structures in your home gradually become hollow. So, keep on reading to understand more about termites and the different sounds they produce.
Is it possible to hear termites and how loud can they sound?
The sounds that termites create when they start eating your wood and digging tunnels are faint. You can barely hear it if you stand 2 feet away from the wall. But if you try to put your ears on the wall, you would hear weird sounds like dry paper rustling. Or you could knock the wood and if it produces a hollow sound, it could mean that termites have eaten away the interior parts of your wood.
If the infestation is severe, you will hear loud noises of ravenous termites eating through ceilings and walls. Termites are very pervasive pests, which is why you should act on them immediately before they eat your house away.
Do termites only make noise at night?
The short answer is no. Termites work and eat all the time, however, their sound becomes clearer at night when everyone is sleeping and the night becomes silent. When you lay on your bed and put your ears on the side of the walls, you could hear the faint rustling sound of termites eating the wall behind.
What do termites sound like on your walls?
Termites can produce different sounds depending on what they are doing. The following are the most common noises that should tell your home has termites.
Paper Rustling
Whenever termites feel threatened and scared, they bang their heads on the wood to warn other termites. With millions of termites banging their heads on the wall, they produce a rustling sound that humans can hear. But since termites cannot hear, they will only be warned through the vibration that the banging produces.
Buzzing
In addition to the occasional rustling sound, termites can also produce buzzing and humming sounds as they chew on the wood. The amplitude of sound produce through the banging of the woods is weaker compared to when they bang their heads. Termite specialists may need to use a stethoscope to spot areas where they’re just starting to chew.
Faint clicking
Depending on the type of wood they’re chewing, termites can also produce a faint clicking sound. You can hear this type of sound from wall cavities where their tunnels are usually found.
Swarming
Termites reproduce every spring season and produce a swarming sound. With an ever-growing colony of termites, the noises will only get louder and louder. But as they chew on your wood, it can get hollow. Eventually, you will notice that some parts of your wooden floors produce a creaking sound caused by extensive damage within.
Termite swarms can take place inside or outside your home when mature termites leave their nest to start new colonies. Soon after taking flight, they shed their wings and find other areas to settle. They could relocate to your home’s foundation, window sills, or wooden cabinets. Anywhere where there is wood and moisture is prone to termite infestation.
Conclusion
Since the sound of termites is faint you could hardly spot their location. Look for more signs like the visible mud tubes forming patterns on your wall. Other signs can include discoloration, cracking paint, tiny holes on the wall, and flying termites swarming anywhere on your property.
If you see suspicious damage to your wooden structures, this could be a sign that there are termites in your home. A termite inspection might be useful to determine whether there are indeed termites in your home and the severity of infestation.
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We offer a bunch of services and treatments to control pest infestation for the masses all across Australia. Our pest control services can manage:
- Flying insects (wasps, bees, flies, mosquitoes, etc.)
- Crawling insects (termites, spiders, cockroaches, ants, etc.)
- Birds and rodents (rats, mice, birds, etc.)
Our team of experts works towards returning your home back to you just so you can resume your life without any disruption or hassle, which is exactly what makes The Local Guys Pest Control the absolute best in the game!