Said It Here

Are these bugs termites or carpenter ants eating my wood?

It is difficult to tell whether wood-eating insects are termites or carpenter ants, especially when clues like woodpecker damage, bathroom moisture, or old gutters are involved. Figuring out the source of the damage is necessary before repairing holes and chewed wood posts, but uncertainty about the pests delays action.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    manually killing visible bugs
  2. 2
    checking the inside of the house and basement for signs of bugs or damage
  3. 3
    using a screwdriver to check the condition of the wood
  4. 4
    Having pest control companies inspect and treat the area
  5. 5
    Inspected the roof and replaced gutters
  6. 6
    Planning to repair the siding and debating whether to replace the entire shower

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/Pestcontrol2 people · September 2026

“I found these today. I'm not sure if they're termites or ants, but I suspect it's the former.”source ↗

“I'm no expert but it looks like they're subterranean and have eaten part of the 4x4 wood post in the photo.”source ↗

BBGonda · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“We just bought a new house. We have seen carpenter ants in the bathroom (not many and no wings).”source ↗

“We just had a woodpecker come and rip apart our wood siding, several holes all around the outer part of that bathroom area and below.”source ↗

“We need to repair the siding damage but I want to get to the source of the problem first.”source ↗

“It might be the shower or just old damaged wood from the poor gutters, I am not sure.”source ↗

thatsthekicker · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

r/Pestcontrolantscarpenter antshome maintenancepest controlproperty maintenancetermites

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