What Attracts Termites?
Key Points
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Wood + Moisture: Termites are drawn to damp or dry wood depending on species; moisture issues like leaks, poor drainage, and humidity significantly increase termite activity.
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Soil Contact: Subterranean termites require moist soil and easily infest wood that touches the ground or sits near foundations, often using mud tubes to travel.
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Mulch & Wood Chips: These materials retain moisture and provide food, making them attractive to termites, especially when placed close to the home’s foundation.
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Exterior Gaps: Cracks in foundations, siding, windows, and doors create entry points for both subterranean termites and swarming termites of all species.
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Foundation Risks: Firewood piles, overgrown shrubs, and wood debris near the house give termites direct pathways to structural wood.
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Best Protection: Reduce moisture, keep wood away from the foundation, fix exterior gaps, and rely on professional termite inspections for effective long‑term control.
Understanding what draws termites to your home is the first step in protecting your property from these wood-destroying pests. Let's break down the key factors that make your home a termite magnet.
Types of Termites
The three common types of home-invading termites, dampwood, drywood, and subterranean, are drawn to homes for different reasons.
Most dampwood and drywood termites live inside the woods they eat, while subterranean termites mostly live in the ground and venture to and from the wood they consume back to their underground colony. Subterranean species are also most likely to live in large groups.
What Attracts Termites to Your Home?
While all termites are attracted to wood, they each have specific preferences. As their names would suggest, dampwood and drywood termites seek out moist or dry woods respectively. Subterranean termites must have moist soil nearby and infest any wood that is in contact with the ground.
In addition, subterranean termites will construct mud tubes they use to move from the soil to wood. Mud tubes in essence become a "link" for the termites to use in order to provide protection against dehydration and a route to wood that may be located above ground. Homeowners might unknowingly bring termites inside in firewood or untreated lumber.
In addition to wood inside the home, termites are drawn inside by moisture, wood in contact with house foundations, and cracks in building exteriors. Different combinations of these factors attract different species. Additionally, geographic location plays a role in how likely homeowners are to deal with infestations. Warm weather and consistent humidity make southern residents most likely to experience termite activity.
Do Termites Need Moisture?
Leaky pipes, improper drainage, and poor airflow all create moisture issues that attract termites. Dampwood and subterranean termites in particular thrive in humid environments. While dampwood termites prefer water-damaged wood, subterranean termites are unable to live unless surrounded by enough moisture.
Does Mulch Attract Termites?
Yes, mulch can attract termites. Made from wood, bark, and organic matter, mulch provides both food and moisture, a termite buffet, essentially. When placed too close to your home's foundation, mulch creates an easy bridge for termites to access your property. Keep mulch at least six inches away from your foundation, farther is even better. Consider using pebbles or rocks as landscaping alternatives to reduce termite risk.
Do Wood Chips Attract Termites?
Wood chips present a similar risk to mulch. These organic materials retain moisture and provide food, making them attractive to termites. If you use wood chips in your landscaping, follow the same precautions as mulch: maintain distance from your foundation and monitor moisture levels. Rock or gravel alternatives offer termite-resistant landscaping options without sacrificing curb appeal.
How to Protect House Foundation from Termites
Since some species, like subterranean termites, need to move through wood or soil in order to get inside houses, having wood touching the foundation of homes makes those buildings susceptible to infestation. Mulch, overgrown shrubs, and firewood placed too close to homes are just some types of wood that grant termites access to structural wood.
Create a barrier by:
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Removing wood debris near your foundation
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Trimming shrubs and vegetation away from your home
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Storing firewood at least 20 feet from your house
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Using termite-resistant materials for landscaping near your foundation
Cracks in Building Exteriors
Any crack or fissure in home foundations or gaps in siding offer termites the opportunity to come inside. Subterranean species build mud tubes in these imperfections and use these to move indoors. Additionally, cracks around windows and doors allow swarmer termites of all species to get inside and start colonies.
How to Remove Termites
Homeowners can look for conditions around houses that are inviting to termites. Checking for high levels of moisture and reducing humidity in the home, as well as treating and covering any exposed wood in contact with the soil, helps prevent encounters. Examining building exteriors for broken window screens, imperfectly sealed plumbing lines, and cracked shingles and fascia boards helps limit termite access. However, contacting pest control experts is the best and most efficient way to effectively treat termite infestations and prevent further activity since DIY kits often do not work on large populations.
If you need some help to determine whether or not you have activity, call Orkin today for a free termite inspection of your home.
More Termite Resources
How to know if you have termites
Learn how to identify potential termite activity in your home by recognizing early warning signs and understanding where infestations commonly occur.
Explore the most common indicators of termite presence, including mud tubes, discarded wings, and subtle structural changes around your property.
Discover how termites impact wood and structural materials, along with the visual clues that can signal hidden or progressing damage.
For many homeowners, a termite swarm may be the most visible sign of a termite infestation as it indicates that a current colony is flourishing nearby.
