How to Check Secondhand Furniture for Termites: A 6-Point Inspection Before You Buy

There's a moment at every estate sale, thrift store, and Marketplace pick up where you're standing in front of a great-looking wood piece, phone in hand, about to commit. That's the moment to slow down for sixty seconds — because a quick, deliberate check right there can save you from carrying a termite colony straight into your living room.

The reassuring part: you don't need special tools or training to check furniture for termites. You need a flashlight, your knuckles, and a clear idea of what you're looking for. Drywood termites leave specific, recognizable calling cards, and once you know them, a secondhand piece either passes the check or it doesn't.

Here's a simple 6-point inspection you can run in the field before you buy — plus how to quarantine a piece you're unsure about, and when to walk away entirely.

Quick Answer: The 6-Point Furniture Check

1. Tap test — knock on the wood and listen for a hollow, papery sound instead of a solid one.

2. Exit-hole scan — look for tiny round kick-out holes, about the size of a pinhead, in the surface.

3. Frass check — inspect drawers, joints, and undersides for small piles of six-sided pellets that look like coarse sand.

4. Weight, wings & smell — note unusual lightness, discarded wings in crevices, or a faint musty odor.

5. Quarantine — for anything uncertain, isolate and observe the piece before it enters your home.

6. Skip or call a pro — when signs are present or you're unsure, walk away or get it professionally checked. Call (888) 683-3592.

Why You Can Trust Termike Pest Control

License: California Structural Pest Control Board — License PR8832 (Branch 2 & 3 certified)

Membership: National Pest Management Association (NPMA)

Experience: 20+ years serving Orange County, LA County, Riverside & San Bernardino County

Inspection Technology: FLIR thermal imaging · UV tracking dust · Sealed entry-point audit · Full photo-documented report

Free Inspection: No-obligation residential inspection — confirms whether a piece brought a colony home

Points 1–2: The Tap Test & the Exit-Hole Scan

The first two steps to check furniture for termites take about fifteen seconds combined, and they catch a surprising number of infested pieces.

The Tap Test

Rap your knuckles firmly across the wood — panels, legs, drawer fronts, and thick structural sections. Solid, healthy wood returns a full, solid sound. Wood that's been hollowed out by a drywood colony sounds papery, empty, or noticeably different in one area versus another. Drywood termites eat wood from the inside out, leaving a thin outer shell over empty galleries, so a hollow spot in an otherwise solid piece is a red flag worth taking seriously.

The Exit-Hole Scan

Next, look closely at the wood surface for tiny round holes, each roughly the size of a pinhead. These are kick-out holes — the small openings drywood termites use to push their droppings out of the galleries. The UC Integrated Pest Management Program identifies these small round holes and the pellets beneath them as characteristic evidence of drywood termite activity. They're easy to miss, so tilt the piece toward the light and scan the flat surfaces, edges, and corners.

Points 3–4: Frass in Drawers, Then Weight, Wings & Smell

The next steps to check furniture for termites are about looking where the evidence collects — and using senses beyond just sight.

The Frass Check (The Most Reliable Sign)

Frass — drywood termite droppings — is the single most telling clue. It appears as small piles of hard, six-sided pellets that look like coarse sand, sawdust, or coffee grounds, often in tan or brown. Crucially, it collects in the spots people forget to look: inside drawers and their runners, in the corners of cabinets, along joints, and on the floor directly beneath the piece. Open every drawer and door, run your fingers into the corners, and check underneath. Termike's guide on signs of drywood termites shows exactly what these pellets look like up close.

Weight, Wings & Warning Smells

Three more quick cues:

•       Weight — a solid-wood piece that feels oddly light for its size may have significant internal damage

•       Wings — discarded translucent wings in crevices or drawers are left behind when swarmers emerge, a classic sign of an active or nearby colony

•       Smell — a faint musty or moldy odor can accompany an infestation and the moisture that sometimes goes with wood damage

Point 5: The Quarantine Method for Anything Uncertain

Sometimes a piece is too good to pass up, but you're not one hundred percent sure it's clean. That's where quarantine comes in — a simple way to check furniture for termites over a few days rather than a single glance.

1.     Keep it isolated. Set the piece in a garage, on a patio, or in a spare room — on a hard, non-wood surface like tile or concrete, and away from any structural wood, wood flooring, or other wood furniture

2.     Lay down white paper. Place clean white paper or a light sheet underneath and around the piece so anything that falls is easy to spot

3.     Watch for one to two weeks. Check the paper daily. Fresh pellets accumulating over time are a strong indication of an active colony working inside the wood

4.     Then decide. No new pellets and no other signs after a couple of weeks is reassuring. Fresh frass means the piece should not come inside until it's been professionally assessed

This step is especially worth it for higher-value solid-wood antiques and reclaimed pieces, where the reward is real but so is the risk of importing a colony. For the bigger-picture view of why secondhand wood carries this risk in the first place, see Termike's companion guide on whether termites can come in on used furniture.

Point 6: When to Skip the Piece — or Call a Pro

The final step is knowing what to do with what you found. Here's a simple decision rule for when you check furniture for termites:

•       Multiple clear signs (fresh frass plus kick-out holes plus a hollow sound) — walk away. No deal is worth introducing an active colony to your home

•       One ambiguous sign — quarantine and observe before deciding, or ask the seller about the piece's history and storage

•       You already bought it and now see signs — isolate it immediately and have it inspected before it contacts any structural wood

•       You're simply unsure — a professional inspection removes all doubt and is the safest call for a piece you love

Store-bought sprays deserve a specific warning here: they don't reach a colony living deep inside the wood, and they can mask the problem while it continues. A localized issue caught early is far easier to resolve than a colony that's spread — Termike's guidance on DIY versus professional termite treatment explains why. If in doubt, Termike's free inspection gives you a definitive answer before a questionable piece becomes a household problem, and its drywood termite prevention tips help keep your home protected going forward.

A Sixty-Second Habit Worth Keeping

Learning to check furniture for termites turns secondhand shopping from a gamble into a confident choice. The vast majority of used pieces are perfectly safe, and the ones that aren't almost always show the signs above if you take a minute to look. Flashlight, knuckles, a peek in the drawers and underneath — that's the whole routine, and it's the difference between a great find and an expensive mistake.

Frequently Asked Questions About Check Furniture For Termites

Q: What is the fastest way to check furniture for termites at a store or sale?

A: The tap test plus a quick frass check is the fastest reliable screen. Knock on the wood and listen for a hollow, papery sound, then open the drawers and look in the corners and underneath for small piles of six-sided pellets that resemble coarse sand or coffee grounds. Those two steps take under a minute and catch most infested pieces. Add an exit-hole scan for tiny pinhead-sized round holes if anything seems off.

Q: Where exactly do termites hide in used furniture?

A: Drywood termites live inside the wood itself, so the evidence collects in specific places: inside drawers and along their runners, in the corners of cabinets, at joints, and on the surface directly beneath the piece. The frass (pellets) falls to these low, hidden spots. Always open every drawer and door, feel into the corners, and check the underside — the tap test and exit-hole scan cover the visible surfaces.

Q: Should I quarantine used furniture before bringing it inside?

A: For any piece you're unsure about — especially solid-wood antiques or reclaimed items — yes. Isolate it on a hard, non-wood surface away from other wood, lay white paper underneath, and watch for one to two weeks. Fresh pellets accumulating on the paper indicate an active colony inside. No new pellets and no other signs after that window is reassuring. It's a simple way to check furniture for termites over time rather than in a single glance.

Q: I found signs of termites after buying a piece — what now?

A: Isolate it immediately, away from structural wood, wood flooring, and other wood furniture, and don't rely on store-bought sprays, which can't reach a colony deep inside the wood. Then have it professionally inspected before it contacts any part of your home's framing. Catching it at the single-piece stage is the best-case scenario and far simpler to resolve. Termike offers free inspections across Southern California — call (888) 683-3592.

Not Sure What You're Looking At? Termike Can Confirm It

If a piece you're eyeing — or one already in your home — shows pinholes, pellets, or a hollow sound, don't guess. Termike's free FLIR inspection reads inside the wood to confirm whether a live colony is present before it can spread to your framing.

Call: (888) 683-3592

Or book online → Schedule Your Free Inspection