White Ants: What They Look Like and What to Do

By Nick, Active Termite Control, licensed pest controller (NSW licence 5074559), Earlwood. Updated 20 October 2026.

White ants are termites. It's the common name people use in Australia, not a separate insect. If you've heard the term and you're wondering what it means for your house, it means the same risk as termites: they eat structural timber from the inside, often without visible damage until well into an infestation.

For the fuller comparison between the two names, see white ants vs termites in Sydney homes.

What do white ants look like

White ants come in three main forms, and each one tells you something different.

Workers are the ones you're most likely to see if you disturb a nest or open up a damaged section of timber. They're pale, almost cream, soft-bodied and wingless, about 3 to 5 mm long, roughly the size of a grain of rice. The body is straight-sided from front to back with no narrow waist, which is one of the fastest ways to rule out ants. There are usually many together if you've opened an active gallery.

Soldiers look similar but with a noticeably bigger, darker head and strong mandibles. Their job is defending the colony, so you'll see far fewer of them than workers. On a Coptotermes soldier the head is pear-shaped, and it releases a milky fluid if you disturb it. Same pale, straight-sided body, same lack of a pinched waist. The soldier's head is also how you tell one kind of termite from another; my termite ID guide walks through it.

Alates are the winged form, the ones that swarm to start new colonies. They're darker than workers and soldiers, usually a dull brown or black, about 7 to 10 mm including the wings, with two pairs of wings that are equal in length and clearly longer than the body. After landing and pairing off they shed the wings. In Sydney the swarms I get called to cluster around November, going on what turns up on jobs year after year. It is not a fixed date. For the fastest way to tell a termite swarmer from a flying ant on the spot, see flying termites in your house.

Across all three forms, the straight-sided body and the missing pinched waist is the most reliable visual difference from ants. If the insect has a narrow, nipped waist, it's an ant, whatever the colour or size.

You rarely need to get near a live colony to check this. Workers and soldiers usually turn up when affected timber is disturbed: during renovation, moving stored items in a subfloor, or lifting old decking. If that's how you found them, the description above is enough to know what you're dealing with. What matters next is how far it has spread, and that's where an inspection comes in. Seeing workers in one spot doesn't tell you how big the colony behind them is, or whether it has moved on to other parts of the building.

Most of the work I do on Sydney houses is Coptotermes. It's a subterranean termite: it nests in or under the building, or in a stump or tree nearby, and reaches the timber through the soil. That's why you usually find mud tubes and workings before you ever see the insects.

White ants vs termites

There's no difference. White ant is the everyday Australian name for termites, and a "white ant inspection" or "white ant treatment" is a termite inspection or a termite treatment. The name is misleading in one way: they aren't ants. Ants and termites are different insects, which is why the waist test above matters. If you want the longer version, it's in white ants vs termites in Sydney homes.

The dust test: is it termites or ants

Before you call anyone, there's a test you can run yourself with a torch and five minutes, and it settles the most common false alarm in this business: the dust on the floor.

People find fine powder near skirting boards, in a subfloor or around old timber, and assume termites. Most of the time it isn't.

Ant frass is fine, black and dusty. It looks like ground pepper or very fine dry soil, and it falls in small loose piles near skirting boards, doorframes or window sills, wherever ants are excavating nearby. Sweep it up and it comes back within a day or two if the ants are still active.

Termite frass, or more accurately termite workings, is nothing like that. It's brown mud, not a powder at all. Solid in texture, closer to the earthen material termites use to build mud tubes than anything you'd call dust. You'll find it packed into galleries inside affected timber or pushed out through small openings. It doesn't sweep away and reappear, because it isn't loose material sitting on a surface. It's built into the timber.

So the test is simple. Fine, dusty, and it brushes between your fingers like powder: that's ants, and it's a general pest matter, not a termite one. If you're not sure, send me a photo. Solid, mud-like and it holds together when you touch it: that's termite workings, and it's worth an inspection before you do anything else, including disturbing the area further or reaching for a spray.

Signs of white ants in a house

Beyond the dust test, three signs are worth knowing. Each one means the same next step: get it looked at rather than guess.

Mud tubes are the clearest sign. These are narrow, brown, earthen tracks running from soil or a pier surface up toward timber, built by termites travelling between the ground and a food source while staying protected from open air. Find one on a brick pier, a foundation wall, or running up into a subfloor, and that's active or recent termite activity. Don't knock it off and forget about it. There's more in what to do about termite mud tubes.

Hollow-sounding timber is the second. Tap a skirting board, an architrave or a structural timber that should be solid. If it sounds hollow or flexes under finger pressure where it should feel firm, termites may have hollowed it out from the inside while leaving the surface looking fine. That's why damage often isn't visible until it's advanced.

Moisture is the third. It's less a direct sign than the condition that invites the other two. Damp subfloors, leaking pipes, poor drainage or ground sloping toward the house all raise the risk, because moisture is what termites need to keep working. Persistent damp near timber is worth fixing on its own merits, termites or not.

How to get rid of white ants

If you've found any of the signs above, the first rule is don't disturb the area. Don't poke at mud tubes, don't pull damaged timber apart, and don't reach for a can of surface spray. Disturbing a colony can scatter it rather than deal with it, and a surface spray only kills the insects it touches. It doesn't reach the colony causing the damage.

Treatment always starts with an inspection, not a product. I check the property with a thermal imaging camera and a moisture meter to find activity you can't see from a walk-through, work out how far it has spread, and find what's feeding the problem, usually a moisture source nearby.

White ant control: what I do

What happens next depends on what I find. An active colony with a workable access point is often treated with a Termidor chemical barrier around the affected area and the foundation. In other cases a Trelona or Nemesis baiting and monitoring system is the better fit, particularly where ongoing monitoring matters more than an immediate barrier, or where access for a barrier isn't straightforward. Neither is automatically right, and choosing before an inspection is guesswork. Diagnosis decides which one. You can see how each works on the white ant treatment page, and the wider picture on the main treatment page. To compare the options side by side, see termite barriers in Sydney and chemical barrier vs monitoring system.

A Termidor chemical barrier carries my 8-year installation warranty. If termites cross the treated area, I re-treat it at no charge. The warranty covers that re-treatment, not building damage or repairs, and it stays valid as long as you keep up your yearly inspection with me.

I won't quote a treatment before I've inspected, because a real recommendation depends on what's there. Most chemical barrier and baiting systems on a Sydney home come in at around $5,000, depending on the size of the house and access. You get a written, itemised quote before anything starts.

What it costs to find out

Finding out what you're dealing with starts with a termite and timber-pest inspection. Inspections start from $330 (single storey) or $350 (two storey), and the thermal camera and moisture meter are included. I confirm the price before I start. I write the report on-site and hand it to you before I leave. My report is written on the AS 4349.3-2010 timber pest inspection form. If treatment turns out to be needed, the quote comes after the inspection, in writing, once I know what I'm pricing.

Common questions

Are white ants actually termites?
Yes. “White ant” is the common Australian name for termites, not a different insect. Anything true of termites, including the structural risk, is true of white ants.

What do white ants look like?
Workers are pale, soft and straight-sided, about 3 to 5 mm long, with no pinched waist. Soldiers have a bigger, darker head. The winged form is darker and about 7 to 10 mm including the wings.

Is the dust I found termites or ants?
Fine, black, dusty powder that behaves like pepper is ant frass, a general pest matter. Solid brown mud that holds together is termite workings, and it’s worth an inspection.

Can I treat white ants myself?
Surface sprays only kill what they touch and won’t reach the colony. Disturbing mud tubes or affected timber can scatter activity rather than resolve it. An inspection first is the safer path.

How do you get rid of white ants?
It starts with an inspection to find where the colony is and how far it has spread. Treatment is then a Termidor chemical barrier or a Trelona or Nemesis baiting system, depending on what I find.

How much does white ant treatment cost?
Most chemical barrier and baiting systems on a Sydney home come in at around $5,000, depending on the size of the house and access. You get a written, itemised quote before anything starts.

How much does a white ant inspection cost?
Inspections start from $330 (single storey) or $350 (two storey). I confirm the price before I start.

Get it checked

If you've found something and you're not sure what it is, book a termite and timber-pest inspection. Call 0405 790 927.