Termite damage rarely looks like what people expect. There is usually no pile of sawdust and no visible hole — subterranean termites, responsible for almost every case in our own South-East Queensland inspections, eat timber from the inside out and often leave a thin skin of paint or surface timber intact over the damage underneath. What you can actually see, if you know where to look, is different: shelter tubes (sometimes called mud tubes) tracking up a pier or foundation wall, a hollow or dull sound when timber is tapped, floors that feel spongy or slightly out of level, doors and windows that start sticking, and blistered paint that can look exactly like a water leak. None of these confirm termites on their own — but each is worth a closer look, and in our own inspections that closer look most often starts outside the house, not inside it.

Why does termite damage hide so well?

The reason termite damage is so easy to miss comes down to how subterranean termites feed. They travel from the soil through shelter tubes built from mud and saliva, then work through timber from the inside, following the grain and leaving the surface layer more or less intact to avoid light and drying out. A skirting board, a door jamb or a structural bearer can look completely normal at a glance, or even feel solid to a light touch, while carrying real loss of timber underneath. That is exactly why a visual inspection alone has limits, and why sounding — lightly tapping timber elements such as skirting, architraves and door jambs to listen for a hollow or dull response — is a standard part of a non-invasive timber pest inspection, alongside tools such as thermal imaging and moisture meters where useful. None of it replaces the written report, and none of it can see inside a wall cavity or under a slab that is not accessible at the time of inspection.

The signs worth learning to check yourself

You do not need any tools to notice most of these — they are just easy to walk past if you do not know to look for them:

  • Shelter (mud) tubes — pencil-width tracks of soil and mud running up piers, foundation walls, fence posts or subfloor framing, built by termites to travel between the ground and timber without exposure to open air
  • A hollow or dull sound when timber is tapped, rather than the solid knock of sound timber
  • Floors that feel slightly spongy, springy or out of level underfoot
  • Doors and windows that have started sticking or binding in their frames
  • Paint that has blistered, rippled or bubbled — this can be moisture or termite activity underneath, and either way it is worth a closer look
  • Discarded, papery wings on a windowsill, in a light fitting or along skirting after rain — a sign of a recent termite swarm, though not proof a colony is established nearby

Any one of these is a reason to get a professional inspection, not a diagnosis by itself.

Where our own inspections actually find it

Across 50 of our own combined building and pest inspections, confirmed termite activity or damage appeared in 12 properties — and 11 of those 12 were older, standalone houses, not units or newer builds. The pattern in the houses was consistent, and it starts outside the walls: a 45-year-old two-storey house had active termites established in a tree stump in the yard, with damage tracking into a structural beam and the floor system. A 28-year-old house had active termites, with mudding and workings found in the rear boundary fence. An 18-year-old house returned confirmed termite damage. In each case, the yard — a stump, a fence line, garden timber — was where the activity had its foothold, well before it reached the structure of the house itself.

For more on that yard-first pattern and what to check around the outside of a property, see our article on termite season on the Gold Coast.

A clear result today is not a guarantee for tomorrow

A pre-purchase timber pest inspection to AS 4349.3 reports on what was observed at the time of inspection, in the reasonably accessible areas of the site and building — it is not a permanent clearance. Even where no active termites or damage are found, an inspection commonly identifies conducive conditions — things like excessive moisture, timber in contact with the ground, garden beds built up against external walls or stored timber close to the house — which do not mean termites are present but do mean the conditions that attract them exist. That is also why the report draws a clear line between active termite activity and old termite damage: they are recorded and treated differently, and both call for careful consideration rather than alarm.

Our FAQs cover both of these terms in more detail, including what "conducive conditions" means and how active activity differs from old damage.

What happens if damage is flagged in your report

If termite activity or damage is identified, the report records exactly what was observed and where, and recommends further assessment by a suitably licensed timber pest manager — and, where structural timber such as a bearer, joist or beam is involved, a structural engineer as well. We do not estimate repair costs or timeframes in the report; that is a matter for the licensed trade carrying out the further assessment. What the report gives you is the specific, written finding for that property, so any negotiation, budgeting or further investigation starts from facts rather than a guess formed walking through an open home.

Ground-floor and lower-level units carry a related but different version of this risk — see our guide on why ground-floor units face higher termite risk than you'd think. For older Gold Coast homes specifically, our article on the defects we find most often covers the fuller pattern beyond termites alone.

A timber pest inspection to AS 4349.3 is included in every combined building and pest inspection. Call 0431 114 815 to book — the fixed price is confirmed before you book.