Yes — drywood termites can live in a wooden table or antique just as easily as in your framing. Here's how they get there, the signs, and what to do.
It surprises people, but yes — termites can absolutely get into furniture. Drywood termites live inside dry wood and don't need soil contact, so a wooden table, dresser, bed frame, or antique is fair game, just like the framing in your walls. A homeowner once brought us frass they kept finding under an inherited hutch; the piece itself was the colony. Here's how it happens and what to do about it.
How Termites End Up in Furniture
There are two common paths:
- The piece arrived infested. Antiques, secondhand furniture, and imported wooden items can carry an established drywood colony from a previous location. You bring the furniture home, and the colony comes with it.
- A nearby colony spread to it. Drywood swarmers seeking exposed wood can start a new colony in a wooden piece near an existing infestation, especially stored furniture in a garage or attic.
Because drywood termites need so little — just dry wood and the right climate — furniture in a Southern California home is a viable home for them.
The Signs in Furniture
The evidence is the same as anywhere drywood termites live, just smaller and closer:
- Frass — tiny ridged pellets in drawers, on shelves, or in a small pile underneath the piece (see how to identify termite damage)
- Tiny kickout holes — pinhead-sized round holes in the wood
- Hollow or papery sound when tapped
- Swarmers or discarded wings near the piece (our post on what color termites are helps you confirm)
Recurring frass under one specific piece of furniture is a strong sign the piece itself is infested.
Can It Spread to the House?
This is the real concern, and the answer is yes — an infested piece of furniture can act as a source, with swarmers moving from it into the home's structural wood (or vice versa). That's why an infested item isn't just a furniture problem; it's a reason to check the surrounding structure too.
What to Do
- Don't ignore it or just clean the frass — the colony is inside the wood, and cleanup doesn't touch it.
- Isolate the piece if practical to reduce the chance of spread, and avoid moving it around the house.
- Get an inspection — both the piece and the nearby structure. Depending on value and extent, options for a single item can include localized/spot treatment or heat; a broader problem in the home may call for whole-structure treatment. Our treatment overview covers how that's decided.
For a valuable antique, an inspector can advise whether a targeted approach can save the piece. Either way, the important step is confirming whether it's just the furniture or the surrounding wood too.
A free inspection checks the piece and the structure around it, and tells you exactly what you're dealing with.