Besides the obvious presence of small ant-like insects or flying swarmers, you can look around your home to try and find out if termites have taken up residence with you in your residence or building.
Basically, termites are discovered by home owners in one of three ways. First, when a colony swarms in the first warm part of early spring, winged adults can be seen on the inside or outside of a house moving toward the light, a window, or other lit opening.
Second, as we have already said, termites build mud tubes to move between the ground and a structure. These mud tubes can often be found on the outside of a slab between the earth and brick line, or on piers which form the foundation of a building.
Finally, because termites like to eat the cellulose surface of sheet rock, pin holes are left behind when sheet rock has been damaged. There also will be some mud tubes in the wood indicating that termites have been eating through the wood and making their way from one side of the area to the other.
You will probably hardly ever see any actual termites because they tend to avoid light and open air spaces. The mud tubesgive them the ability to travel virtually undetected while reaching their food source, food source. Therefore, damagecan be "hidden" as well.
If there is any area of your house where moister has accumulated, chances are good that termites are going to be in that area. We will talk about preventive ideas later on, but just about the only way you can tell on your own if you have termites is to look for tell-tale signs that they may be around.
While we have already described the damage, you might be better served with some visuals to help you pinpoint termite damage.

For more information about termites, please refer to my website