These are social insects living in colonies in the soil. The colony is made up of workers, soldiers and reproductives. Subterranean Termite colonies feed on wood or other cellulose material such as paper, cardboard and fiberboard. They do excessive damage in the U.S. every year. Workers are blind and cream colored, entering homes while foraging for food, through cracks as small as 1/64". The workers return to feed the other members of the colony on a regular basis. Winged reproductives (swarmers) are dark, and many lose their wings shortly after their swarming flight.

This termite species does not live in the ground, but lives inside wood. They are most likely to be found in humid, coastal areas. Their colonies are much smaller than subterranean termites, and infestations found in wood are usually confined to a small area. One sign of a drywood colony is the presence of fecal pellets, often found in piles like tiny stones. Drywood termites push out these pellets through small "kick-out" holes they make. The holes are later resealed.

Adults are reddish brown to black and very slender. The Powder Post Beetle damages seasoned hardwoods such as flooring, furniture and structural woods. The larva, living in and eating the wood, can take up to four years to develop. Their presence is often indicated by piles of fine dust and by small exit holes in the wood. Control requires treatment by fumigation or replacement of the infested wood.

This is a member of the group known as "long-horned beetles". Eggs are laid in crevices of the bark of cut logs. The whitish larva live 3-5 years or more, eating through the wood. During quiet times, their feeding may be heard as clicking and rasping sounds. Adults leave infested wood through oval holes about 1/4" in diameter.

These large dark bees that resemble bumble bees are often seen hovering around the eaves of a house, wooden fences or the underside of deck in the late spring. They bore round holes into wood to nest. They will nest in a wide range of woods, but prefer weathered and unpainted wood. Typically they do not cause serious structural damage unless a large number of bees are involved over a long period of time. Male carpenter bees tend to be territorial and can become aggressive towards humans by hovering close by. But this is merely a show as they have no stinger.

Decay fungi can cause severe structural damage to any wood member, even wood species such as redwood and cedar. All that is needed is a source of water in contact with the wood. Decay will occur in untreated wood in direct contact with ground, cement or concrete, or exposed to a source of moisture such as rain seepage, plumbing leaks or condensation.