Georgia is home to three main types of termites, and each one looks different depending on the caste you’re seeing. Most people first spot termites as swarmers (the winged ones flying around their home) or as pale, soft-bodied workers exposed when breaking into damaged wood. Knowing which type you’re looking at helps you understand the threat level and what to do next.
Eastern Subterranean Termites
This is by far the most common termite in Georgia and the one most likely to show up in or around your home. A colony contains three distinct castes, and they look nothing alike.
Workers are the termites you’ll see if you crack open a piece of infested wood or break a mud tube on your foundation. They’re completely white, soft-bodied, wingless, and blind. They’re small, roughly the size of a grain of rice. Because they spend their entire lives underground or inside wood, they have no pigmentation at all. If you see tiny white insects spilling out of a piece of wood, you’re almost certainly looking at termite workers.
Soldiers look similar to workers from the neck down, with the same soft, pale body. But their head is noticeably enlarged, yellowish to yellowish-brown, with long, dark mandibles (jaw-like mouthparts) they use to defend the colony against ants. You’ll typically see soldiers mixed in with workers when you disturb an active colony.
Swarmers are the ones most people notice first, since they’re the only caste that leaves the colony and flies in the open. Eastern subterranean termite swarmers are brownish-black to black, with two pairs of long, narrow wings that are equal in size. They have functional eyes and pigmented skin, making them look like an entirely different insect from the pale workers. In Georgia, these swarmers typically emerge between February and May, often on the first warm, sunny day (70°F or higher) after a rainstorm.
Formosan Subterranean Termites
Formosan termites are an invasive species that has established itself in parts of Georgia, particularly in coastal areas. They’re considered more aggressive than native subterranean termites because their colonies can grow much larger.
The easiest way to tell Formosan termites apart from eastern subterranean termites is by their swarmers. Formosan swarmers are larger, about half an inch from the tip of the head to the tip of the wings, and their bodies are caramel to brownish-yellow rather than the dark brown or black of native species. They swarm later in the year, typically May through July, and they swarm at night. If you see termites clustering around your porch lights on a warm summer evening, Formosan termites are a strong possibility.
Formosan soldiers have a distinctive defense mechanism: when disturbed, they release a white, glue-like secretion from the top of their head. This is unique to the species and a reliable way to confirm identification if you’re examining a colony up close. Their soldiers also tend to have a more oval-shaped head compared to the rectangular head of eastern subterranean soldiers.
Drywood Termites
Drywood termites are less common in Georgia than subterranean species but do show up, particularly in the southern part of the state. Unlike subterranean termites, they don’t need contact with soil. They live entirely inside the wood they’re eating, which means you may not see the insects themselves for a long time.
Drywood termites range from three-eighths of an inch to one inch long, making them generally larger than subterranean species. Their color ranges from pale brown or light yellowish-tan to dark brown, depending on the caste. Swarmers tend to be the darkest, while workers and immature termites are lighter. Drywood termite swarms in Georgia are less predictable but usually occur in late summer or early fall, from August through November, often in the evening.
The most common sign of drywood termites isn’t the insects themselves but their droppings, called frass. These are tiny six-sided pellets that look like coffee grounds and feel gritty to the touch. The termites push frass out of small holes in the wood, so you might find small piles of these pellets on a windowsill, floor, or shelf below infested wood before you ever see a live termite.
How to Tell Termites From Flying Ants
This is the most common identification mistake in Georgia, since flying ants and termite swarmers emerge around the same time of year and look superficially similar. Three features make the distinction straightforward once you know what to look for.
- Antennae: Termites have straight or slightly curved, beaded antennae. Flying ants have distinctly elbowed antennae with a sharp bend.
- Waist: Termites have a broad, straight waist with no pinch between body segments. Ants have a very narrow, pinched waist that gives them a segmented hourglass look.
- Wings: Termite swarmers have two pairs of wings that are equal in length and typically clear. Flying ants also have two pairs, but the front wings are noticeably larger than the back ones, and the wings often have a brownish tint.
If you find discarded wings near a window or door, that’s a strong indicator of termite swarmers. Termites shed their wings shortly after landing, and you’ll often find dozens of identical, translucent wings in a small area.
Signs of Termites You’ll See Before the Insects
In most Georgia infestations, you’ll notice evidence of termites before you see the termites themselves. Subterranean termites build mud tubes, pencil-width tunnels made of soil and saliva, along foundation walls, piers, and other surfaces connecting the ground to the wood they’re feeding on. These tubes protect them from air exposure and predators. If you see brown, dirt-colored lines running up your foundation or along a basement wall, that’s a classic sign of subterranean termite activity. Breaking one open may reveal live workers and soldiers inside.
Other visual clues include paint that appears to bubble or peel on wood surfaces, wood that sounds hollow when tapped, and small piles of frass beneath wooden structures (a drywood termite signature). Swarmers emerging indoors, especially near windows where they’re drawn to light, are one of the most reliable indicators of an active colony already inside the structure rather than one approaching from outside.
Georgia’s Swarming Calendar
Knowing when each species swarms helps you identify what you’re seeing. Eastern subterranean termites swarm earliest, from February through May, during the daytime on warm days after rain. Formosan termites follow from May through July, swarming at night and congregating around lights. Drywood termites come last, from August through November, usually in the evening. Georgia’s warm, humid climate means the state essentially has termite swarming activity for most of the year, with the highest risk window starting in early spring when temperatures first consistently hit the 70s.