Termite sounds: what you can hear in a wall, and what it means
You can sometimes hear termites. But a noise in the wall is a reason to book an inspection, never a way to confirm or rule anything out.
Can you really hear termites?
Sometimes, yes. In a quiet room, a heavy infestation can produce a faint clicking or a dry rustle from inside timber. It is rare to hear it, and it is easy to mistake it for something else.
The sound has two likely sources. Soldiers of some species bang their heads against the gallery wall when the colony is disturbed, which sends a warning through the timber. And workers chewing and moving through a gallery make a soft, papery noise when there are enough of them.
Hearing nothing tells you nothing. Most Australian houses with live termites are completely silent.
What the noise is more likely to be
Houses make noise all day. Timber expands and contracts as it warms and cools, pipes tick, and roof sheeting pings in the afternoon sun. Mice and possums scratch in ceilings, and a borer beetle can click too.
| What you hear | More likely source | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Rapid dry tapping or clicking, worse when the area is knocked | Termite soldiers, or a house settling | Note where and when, then arrange an inspection |
| Faint rustling like paper in a quiet room | Termite workers, or something else in the cavity | Listen again at night, and record it |
| Ticking that follows the heating or the sun | Timber, pipes or roofing moving with temperature | Probably nothing |
| Scratching and thumping, mostly at night | Rodents or possums | Not a termite sign |
Why a hollow sound matters more
A sound the timber makes when you tap it is far more useful than a noise you hear by chance. Termites eat the inside of a board and leave a thin skin. Tap along a skirting board or a door frame with a screwdriver handle and a sound that goes from solid to dull or papery points to a gallery behind it.
Keep the tapping light. A hard knock on a damaged board can crack the skin and open the galleries. That is the opposite of what you want, which is to leave the damage undisturbed until someone has looked at it. What termite damage looks like covers the other signs worth checking.
Do not open the wall to find out
If you think you hear termites, the instinct is to cut in and look. Resist it. Breaking into a gallery disturbs the colony, and a disturbed colony can seal that gallery and keep working somewhere you cannot see. It also destroys the evidence an inspector reads.
Never spray into the gap either. A supermarket insecticide does not reach the colony, and it does harm. Why spraying termites yourself makes it worse explains what you lose.
How inspectors listen
Inspectors do not rely on their ears. Some use acoustic and moisture instruments that pick up activity inside a wall without cutting it open. Termite inspection instruments explains what those tools can and cannot tell you.
No instrument gives a verdict on its own. A reading is a prompt for the inspector to look closer, and the finding still rests on what they see.
What to do if you hear something
Write down where the noise is, what time you heard it and what it sounded like. Take a short phone recording if the room is quiet. Then book a timber pest inspection and mention the noise, because it tells the inspector where to start.
Do not touch the timber, do not seal anything and do not treat it yourself. The next step is a licensed inspector, and the step after that is theirs to recommend.
Frequently asked questions
Can termites be heard through a wall?
Occasionally, when the colony is large and the room is quiet. Clicking from head-banging soldiers or a faint rustle from workers are the usual descriptions. Most infested houses make no audible sound at all, so silence proves nothing.
Do termites make noise at night?
They are active around the clock, so night is simply when the house is quiet enough to hear them. Night noises are also commonly rodents or possums, which is why the sound alone cannot be trusted.
Should I tap the wall to check for termites?
Light tapping along skirting and door frames can reveal a hollow sound. Keep it gentle, because a hard knock can break the thin skin over a gallery. Either way, the result is a reason to book an inspection, not a diagnosis.
Sources
What this page explains is based on these official sources. If you check one and it does not match what you read here, send it to us and the article gets corrected.
- Department of Health, Victoria. Pest control — termites
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission. Protect against termites — termite management systems and inspections