Termite Damage: Signs, Repairs and Insurance in QLD (2026)

Termite damage is timber that termites (white ants) have eaten out from the inside. The surface often looks normal, but underneath are hollow, layered galleries packed with mud. In Queensland homes it usually shows up as hollow-sounding skirting boards and door frames, bubbling paint, mud leads on stumps or slab edges, sticking doors and sagging floors. Most of it can be repaired once the termites are treated, although Queensland home insurance rarely pays for it. The order that protects your house is: confirm, treat, repair, then keep a termite management system and yearly inspections in place.

In summary

• Termites eat timber from the inside and leave the surface, so damage is often found late, when someone taps or presses the timber.
• The common signs are mud leads, hollow or papery timber, bubbling paint, tight doors or windows, sagging floors and discarded wings.
• Leave the damage alone. Breaking it open or spraying it makes the colony harder to find and treat.
• Treat first, then repair. Damaged trims are a carpentry job; damaged stumps, bearers, joists or wall framing need a QBCC-licensed builder.
• Most home insurance excludes termite damage (see what RACQ, Suncorp and CHOICE say below). Yearly inspections and a maintained termite management system are what protect the house.

What does termite damage look like?

Termite damage looks like timber hollowed out along the grain, leaving thin layers or a honeycomb pattern with soil or mud packed into the gaps. From the outside you may only see a thin skin of paint or timber that dents or cracks when pressed. Damaged timber feels light, sounds hollow when tapped and breaks into a papery, muddy mess.

Where it shows up depends on how the house is built:

• Slab-on-ground homes: skirting boards, architraves, door jambs and cabinetry near kitchens, bathrooms and laundries, where termites come up through a slab joint, a crack or a hidden gap at the slab edge.
• Highset and lowset homes on stumps: timber stumps, bearers, joists and floorboards in the subfloor, then the wall framing above.
• Roof spaces: roof timbers and battens, often reached through the wall cavities.
• The yard: fences, garden sleepers, retaining walls, stored timber and old tree stumps, which is often where activity starts before it reaches the house.

Is it termite damage or something else?

Borers, wood rot and water damage can all look like termite damage at first glance. The difference is in the detail.

Water damage and termites often turn up together, because termites follow moisture. Bubbling paint beside a known leak may be water alone. Bubbling paint with mud on the nearby skirting is a reason to book an inspection. More false alarms, and how to rule them out, are in our guide to signs of termites in Queensland homes.

What are the signs of termite damage in a house?

The clearest signs of termite damage are mud leads (mud tubes) on stumps, walls or slab edges, timber that sounds hollow or feels soft, bubbling paint, and doors or windows that start to stick. Each sign on its own is easy to blame on something else, so pay attention when two or more appear in the same area.

To check without making things worse:

1. Look first. Run a torch along the skirtings, the slab edge and the subfloor.
2. Tap gently with the handle of a screwdriver and listen for hollow or papery sounds.
3. Press lightly on soft spots, and stop if the surface gives way.
4. Leave mud leads and damaged timber intact. Take a photo from a distance and note where it is.

Flying termites usually show up on warm, humid evenings after rain in Central Queensland. If you are not sure what you are looking at, compare them with our guide to flying ants or termites after rain, and see where termites live in a house for the spots they favour.

Why does termite damage stay hidden for so long?

Termite damage stays hidden because termites avoid light and dry air. Subterranean termites, the kind behind most house damage in Queensland, nest in the soil or in trees and stumps. They reach timber through the ground, inside mud leads or through hidden gaps in slabs and walls. Inside the timber they eat along the grain and leave the outer surface in place to keep their galleries dark and damp.

Moisture draws them in and keeps them going. Leaking pipes and taps, hot water system and air-conditioner overflows, poor drainage, garden beds built up against the walls and weep holes covered by soil or mulch all raise the risk. Our Rockhampton termite risk guide and how termites get into Queensland homes cover these property conditions in detail.

Central Queensland adds its own pressure. Rockhampton sits on the Tropic of Capricorn, which is roughly the southern limit of the giant northern termite (Mastotermes darwiniensis), a tropical species found across northern Australia (USDA Forest Service). Add humid wet seasons, storm rain and plenty of older timber homes on stumps, and the termite risk here does not switch off in the cooler months.

How can you tell if termite damage is old or active?

Only an inspection can say for sure, but there are clues. Active damage usually has fresh, damp mud, live termites in the galleries, or mud leads that look dark and moist. Old damage tends to have dry, crumbly mud and empty galleries, and there may be records of a past treatment.

On an inspection we use thermal imaging and moisture detection to track activity behind walls and trims without tearing them open. What we find goes into a digital report with photos. A patch of old damage with no activity is a very different job from a live colony in the wall framing, and the report should tell you which one you have. How to read a termite inspection report explains the sections you will see.

If your home is newer, look for a termite management notice, usually inside the electrical meter box. According to QBCC, it states the termite protection method used on the building, the installation date and how often the property should be inspected. That tells you what protection the house started with, and whether anyone has kept it up.

What should you do if you find termite damage?

If you find termite damage, leave it as it is and have it inspected before anyone sprays, cuts or repairs anything. Disturbed termites retreat from the area you can see, which makes the colony harder to trace and treat.

1. Stop. Do not break open mud leads, pull off skirting boards or spray the area with household insecticide.
2. Record it. Take photos from a distance and note the location, plus anything that changed recently, such as a leak or a new garden bed.
3. Book a termite inspection. It confirms whether termites are active, how far the workings run through the areas that can be reached, and what is drawing them in.
4. Treat the activity. The method depends on the findings: termite baiting to target the colony, a chemical soil treatment that forms a treated zone around the building, or both. Our guide to choosing between termite treatment, barriers and baiting sets out the differences.
5. Confirm the termites have left the damaged area. Then plan the repair.
6. Protect the house from here on. Keep a termite management system in place and book regular inspections.

If you have found live termites, what to do if you find live termites in your house covers the first steps in more detail.

Can termite damage be repaired?

Yes. Most termite damage can be repaired once the termites are treated and the activity has stopped. Minor damage to trims can be filled or replaced. Damage to structural timbers such as stumps, bearers, joists or wall framing needs a QBCC-licensed builder, and sometimes an engineer.

The order matters. Repair before treatment and the termites can move straight into the new timber, and the repair can hide the evidence of where they were getting in. Even heavily damaged homes can usually be repaired, although severe damage to the frame can mean replacing large sections of it.

Repair cost depends on how much timber is affected, whether it is structural, how hard it is to reach, and what has to come out to get to it, such as plaster, flooring or cabinetry. The cost of treatment depends on the property and the method; see what affects termite treatment cost in Rockhampton.

Before you hire anyone for structural work, look them up on the QBCC licence register. In Queensland, building work above a set value needs a QBCC licence.

Does home insurance cover termite damage in Queensland?

Usually not. Most home insurance policies in Queensland exclude damage caused by termites, insects and vermin, because insurers treat it as gradual damage that maintenance and regular inspections could have prevented.

Here is what two Queensland-based home insurers and CHOICE say:

There is a second catch. RACQ points out that many insurers require your home to be in good condition, and "any existing termite damage could void your cover for other things." Untreated termite damage can cost you more than the repair itself.

To check your own policy, open the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and any supplementary PDS and search for "termites", "insects", "vermin", "pests", "gradual" and "good condition". If anything is unclear, ask your insurer in writing. This is general information, not advice about your policy.

In practice, termite repairs come out of your own pocket, so the protection has to come before the damage. QBCC tells homeowners to have a licensed pest controller inspect and report on the property every year, or more often in high hazard areas (QBCC). Its homeowner guide says regular inspections of a termite management system should be carried out by a QBCC-licensed contractor with the appropriate termite management licence (QBCC guide to termite management systems).

We stand behind our termite management work. We are the only business in Central Queensland offering a $15,000 repair guarantee on our termite management systems (T&Cs apply). Ask about the guarantee terms when we quote your management plan.

What if you find termite damage when buying or renting?

If you are buying, a pre-purchase timber pest inspection before you commit tells you whether there is termite damage, whether termites are active and what puts the house at risk. Timber pest inspections in Australia are commonly reported against AS 4349.3. See pre-purchase pest inspection in Rockhampton and what happens if a pest inspection finds termites before purchase.

If you rent, report any signs to your property manager or landlord in writing straight away, and leave the area undisturbed. Who pays for pest control in Queensland rentals explains how the costs usually fall.

How do you prevent termite damage?

You prevent termite damage by making the house harder for termites to reach, removing the moisture and timber that draw them in, and having the property inspected every year. Treatment lowers the risk; inspections catch what gets through.

• Fix leaking taps and pipes, and hot water or air-conditioner overflows that wet the soil beside the house.
• Keep garden beds, mulch and soil below the slab edge and clear of weep holes.
• Store timber, firewood and building offcuts off the ground and away from the house.
• Remove old stumps, formwork and timber debris from under and around the house.
• Keep the subfloor dry, ventilated and easy to get into, so it can be inspected.
• Have your termite management system checked before you add paths, pavers, decks, garden beds or extensions against the house, so nothing bridges it.
• Book a termite inspection at least once a year, and again after renovations or landscaping.
• Keep the system maintained: bait stations serviced and treatment records kept.

How often termite inspections should be done in Central Queensland covers inspection timing by property type, and our termite barriers and termite baiting pages explain both systems.

How we help with termite damage in Rockhampton and Central Queensland

We are Insight Termite & Pest Solutions, a locally owned termite and pest business based in Gracemere, serving Rockhampton and Central Queensland. When you call about termite damage, you deal with Brendan Bartley, the owner and technician. Brendan has 10 years of industry experience across pest and termite work.

• An inspection that looks past the surface. We use thermal imaging and moisture detection, and you receive a digital report with photos showing what we found, where, and what we suggest next. See termite inspection in Rockhampton.
• Treatment matched to the findings. Termite treatment, barriers and baiting, with a plan for ongoing inspections.
• Licensed work. Brendan holds QBCC licence 15399151 (Termite Management, Chemical and Physical) and Cert 3 Urban Pest Management, and is an Infraspection Institute Certified Thermographer.
• A clean record. Zero failed termite management systems, and 5.0 stars on Google from 82 reviews (October 2026).

Pricing is on application. The cost depends on the property, the access, how far the activity has spread and the treatment method that suits it.

Next step: get the damage checked

Leave the damage as it is, take a photo, and call Brendan direct on 0490 304 848 (available 24/7), or send the details through our contact page. We will tell you whether termites are still active, what treatment fits your property and what needs to happen before any repair.

Sources

• RACQ, How to choose the right home insurance policy, section "Does home insurance cover termite damage?", retrieved October 2026.
• Suncorp, Is animal damage covered by home insurance?, retrieved October 2026.
• CHOICE, Does home insurance cover animal damage?, last updated 15 April 2026.
• QBCC, Protect against termites.
• QBCC, Termite management systems: information for homeowners and builders.
• USDA Forest Service, Giant termite (Mastotermes darwiniensis) pest risk assessment.