Did Termites cause this?

Did termites cause this? The wood is brittle. It falls apart when I press on it. Back in May i saw a swarm of white bugs crawling about 2 feet away on my tile floor. I can't seem to see any bugs now around the area..

Thanks!







.

 

Welcome to the forums!
While I'm not sure about the first pics the bottom pics look like termite damage.

 

Sure looks like wood eating insect damage. If that wood is anywhere near your home I would seriously consider bringing in a professional for at least an inspection.

 

Termites, and appears to be subterranean termites. Note that the damage that is further from the ends is between the grain as that is the softer part of the wood. Carpenter ants and wood destroying beetles will bulldoze right through the grain, but termites take the path of least resistance. The exception would be in wood damaged by moisture/mold to the point of structurally damage, then termites will eat grain and everything.

The wood at the base/end of the studs/joists also has that "fibrous" appearance that is common with water damaged wood, which is conducive to termite infestation.

In the spring, such as you may have seen, subterranean termites will swarm in mass, sending only the winged reproductives out of the ground/wood to reproduce while the cream colored workers stay in the ground/wood. The winged reproductives look like flying ants, and they lose their wings shortly after emerging. You mentioned "white bugs" but the swarmers are the color of ants. Sometimes people see the many wings all over and it does offer a light colored appearance.

 

Thank you all for your helpful comments. I will try some Fipronil to try to get rid of the bugs.

I also found a winged bug flying inside my house and took a picture. I will start a new thread for bug identification.

 

Is this a Termite? Sorry I was not able to focus very clearly. This bug was flying inside my kitchen and landed on my refrigerator.








​​​​​​​

 

Threads on same topic combined.

 

It could be a termite but as far as I know they only have wings in the spring. A termite only has 2 sections to it's body while an ant has 3. That's how I usually verify if it's a termite.

 

I can't tell from the pics what it is but here in the East, subterranean termites only swarm in the spring with very rare exceptions. They always swarms in large masses at the same time so the behavior of this insect doesn't match up with termite swarmer behavior.

 

I found another winged bug flying in my house last night. Here are more pictures. I caught this one so I'll try to take some pictures of the underside of it as well. The wings cover the body, so I can't see if it has 2 parts or 3 parts to the body to determine if its an Ant or Termite.

 

I don't know what this insect is but I'm confident that it isn't a termite swarmer (reproductive). Take specimens, undamaged, to the local county agricultural extension office for an objective identification. They will be objective as they aren't trying to sell service. These insects may be living in and coming from the damaged wood or nearby, but they aren't termites.

Based on the pictures of the damaged wood in your house, there is, or at least was, a termite and moisture issue that need to be assessed.

 

Thanks PAbugman. Yes I agree its not a terminte. I noticed it created a web and I googled it and found some pictures that look just like a bug called a webspinner.

As for the damaged wood, I'll get some treatment as i'm convinced at some point there was some termites.