Termites in Commercial Buildings: What Long Island Facility Managers Should Watch For

Termites have always been the bane of buildings with wooden components. There probably isn’t a facility manager alive who doesn’t dread spotting mud tubes along a foundation wall or finding little piles of frass inside a cabinet. Unfortunately, termite activity in commercial facilities is a problem that doesn’t take care of itself. Here’s how to tell if you’ve got a problem on your hands, how to keep it from getting worse, and how to send these bugs packing.

The Growing Risk of Termite Damage in Commercial Properties

Termites alone are responsible for about $5 billion in property damage every year. Virtually no building is safe, even ones that don’t have wooden components in direct contact with the ground can still end up with a serious termite problem. These insects are remarkably resourceful when it comes to finding their way to food sources higher up in a structure.

One of the biggest challenges with termites is that they can keep destroying wood for a long time, potentially years, without producing any visible signs. By the time a facility manager or maintenance worker spots the damage, there could already be tens of thousands of dollars in structural losses. That makes early detection and prevention critical for any managed property.

On Long Island, several factors make commercial buildings especially vulnerable. A large share of the region’s commercial stock is several decades old, and aging structures tend to have more entry points, more exposed wood, and more moisture issues than newer construction. Coastal humidity creates ideal conditions for Eastern subterranean termites (Reticulitermes flavipes), the dominant species throughout the Northeast and the most common termite on Long Island. Mulch and landscaping close to foundations, exterior wood structures like decks and framed entryways, and crawl spaces or unfinished basements all add to the risk. Deferred maintenance, which includes small things like cracked caulking, minor roof leaks, or unsealed utility penetrations, gives termites even more of an opening.

Spotting a Termite Infestation

Termite infestations have a few hallmarks. If you see any of these in your facility, it’s time to take action:

1. Mud tubes.

This is a telltale sign of subterranean termites. They build narrow tubes out of soil and wood debris to protect themselves and retain moisture as they travel between their nests and food sources. According to the University of Kentucky Entomology Department, mud tubes are one of the most reliable indicators of an active infestation. Look for them along foundation walls, crawl space piers, interior concrete surfaces, and around utility penetrations.

2. Frass.

Frass is the term for termite droppings. It typically looks like small piles of light brown pellets and is often found at the base of walls or inside cabinets and storage closets. In commercial facilities, frass can show up in utility rooms and mechanical areas where it’s easy to miss during routine cleaning, which is exactly why scheduled inspections matter.

3. “Hollow” wood.

Termites eat wood from the inside out. That’s what makes them so damaging; they compromise structural integrity while leaving the exterior surface largely untouched. If you knock on a piece of wood and it sounds hollow, termites may already be using it as a food source. Soft spots, blistering paint, or warped surfaces on wooden elements are other warning signs worth investigating.

4. Shed wings.

Termites drop their wings once they’ve found a mate and a spot to establish a new colony. You’ll typically find these discarded wings near points of entry like doors, windows, floor drains, or expansion joints. Finding shed wings inside your building is a serious signal that a colony may already be forming inside or directly adjacent to the structure.

5. Swarming termites.

Swarmers are roughly a half-inch long, dark-colored, and look a lot like flying ants at first glance. On Long Island, swarming events typically happen in spring, especially after rain, when warmer temperatures send reproductive termites out in search of mates and new colony sites. The National Pest Management Association notes that swarmers emerging from inside a building are a strong indicator that an established colony is already present. That’s not a situation to wait on.

Preventing Termite Infestations in Your Facility

If you haven’t spotted any of the signs above, consider yourself fortunate. Keep it that way by working these steps into your regular maintenance schedule:

• Maintain at least a four-inch gap between mulch or landscaping materials and your building’s foundation.
• Fix moisture problems around foundations, regrade where needed, repair drainage, and direct downspouts away from the building.
• Seal all gaps around gas lines, water pipes, and conduit entry points.
• Swap wood mulch for pine needles, gravel, or rubber mulch alternatives near the building perimeter.
• Address storm damage promptly. Even minor roof leaks or cracked window seals create the moisture and exposed wood that attract termites.
• Inspect exterior wood elements, decks, fencing, pergolas, framed entryways, on a regular schedule.
• Where possible, replace wood-to-ground contact elements like wooden steps or sill plates with metal or concrete alternatives.

What to Do if You Notice an Infestation

If you spot any of the signs listed above, it’s time to act. By the time hollow wood or piles of frass are visible, termites have already been working on your structure for a while. Do-it-yourself treatments are largely ineffective; they may clear up the visible signs in one area, but the colony remains intact, and the insects will find another part of the building to damage.

The right move is to contact a licensed pest control professional. They can eliminate an existing infestation, identify the full extent of the damage, and set up monitoring to catch any future activity early. The EPA’s Integrated Pest Management guidelines are also a useful framework for building a long-term pest prevention protocol into your facility management plan.

It’s also worth scheduling a professional inspection annually, even when there are no visible warning signs. Given the age of a lot of Long Island’s commercial building stock and the year-round presence of Eastern subterranean termites in the region, catching a problem early is always going to cost less than dealing with it after significant structural damage has already been done.

Don’t let termites destroy your facility. Keep an eye out for the signs, keep your building’s exterior conditions unappealing to swarming insects, and bring in a professional to treat and monitor any infestation you find.

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