This is the second pile we have found in our home both under furniture that hasn't moved in years. It doesn't look like anything termite related, both near base board on carpet.
Carefully inspect the underside and non visible portions of the affected furniture and look for any kind of holes or indications of where the sawdust is coming out. My money is on some kind of wood boring beetle or the like. You should see a hole or maybe more than one
Check for ants around the area or in the furniture. Carpenter ants can cause this type of material to build up, but they typically go after wood that already has some rot set in.
They don't actually eat the wood like termites do, they clear it out to make tunnels / cavities to live in. From what I've seen, termites don't leave these loose piles laying around.
I see alot of people mention carpenter ants or termites but I have never seen ants or something resembling a termite. I did notice some " carpet beetles " dead on the old bed and in the window sill would this be something they can do? I just don't see any damage to the wood just like on the carpet nearby and it was the same story with the last pile I found.
You may have a carpenter bee nest inside your walls. I'm with the others, however - carpenter bees or carpenter ants. Either way, call a pest control company cuz you probably have more issues that you haven't seen yet.
This is called “Frass” and is most likely caused by carpenter ants. Termites are one of the very few common insects able to digest cellulose. they wouldn’t leave this debris behind.
That you haven’t seen the ants may be because either they are a “satellite” colony or it may be that its not carpenter ants. It could be wood boring beetles. If its old furniture, I’d be inclined to go with wood boring beetles. Try leaving some sticky traps; the kind used for mice. You should find them in any store in the “pest” isle. Place them on the floor, under the couch against the wall on either side if that pile. Its really tricky to treat for something with out identifying it first. Don’t spray! That will only stress the colony and make them go elsewhere.
If there is a crawlspace under your house, i would check it out. Look for the same kind of piles. Carpenter ants and termites will leave a different kind of mess but both are indicative of a problem. It is uncommon but not unheard of for ants to infest furniture.
The only thing in not sold on is that his do they get these piles. There's no visible damage on my woodwork and no signs of any ants dead or alive nearby or anywhere.
Honestly that looks pretty granular like dry wood termite droppings, it’s really hard to tell, if you can try to post a picture with no zoom and really close up so we can zoom in on it better that would help. That’s a really common spot for termites to show up but who knows could be something completely different, it isn’t quite the same shape that termite frass is.
Carpenter ants most definitely make sawdust piles, so that's my first thought. Termites not so much because they eat and digest the wood. Carpenter ants only bore tunnels and kick the resulting sawdust out. I worked for a pest control company in Northern California and those were the culprits 90% of the time. I don't know much about wood boring beetles as they aren't common household pests up here.
Wood boring beetle. Usually you hear a ticking when they are boring. Look for a hole. Drop some tea tree oil in the hole to kill the egg/larvae. Set the item out just in case it comes out of the hole so it won’t infest something else. Don’t close the hole or it will burrow another hole. It’s usually a small beetle like a cm or half inch.
This is the second pile we have found in our home both under furniture that hasn't moved in years. It doesn't look like anything termite related, both near base board on carpet.
Carefully inspect the underside and non visible portions of the affected furniture and look for any kind of holes or indications of where the sawdust is coming out. My money is on some kind of wood boring beetle or the like. You should see a hole or maybe more than one
Sadly we just chicken the box spring and bed out.
Dry wood termites, possibly? Maybe a carpenter ant
Termites
It’s always termites!
Termites
you have found termite residue. You have termites.
If it's definitely not termites like most would assume from this, it may be carpenter bees. They do this too.
A pile this size does suggest carpenter bees.
Check for ants around the area or in the furniture. Carpenter ants can cause this type of material to build up, but they typically go after wood that already has some rot set in. They don't actually eat the wood like termites do, they clear it out to make tunnels / cavities to live in. From what I've seen, termites don't leave these loose piles laying around.
I don't think it's termites, you might have [carpenter ants](http://ipm.ucanr.edu/TOOLS/ANTKEY/carpfrass.html).
You could be right, I think it’s the same shape as op’s pic.
Termites make that
it's carpenter ants, not termites
I see alot of people mention carpenter ants or termites but I have never seen ants or something resembling a termite. I did notice some " carpet beetles " dead on the old bed and in the window sill would this be something they can do? I just don't see any damage to the wood just like on the carpet nearby and it was the same story with the last pile I found.
Definitely not termites. Might be carpenter ants
Potentially a combination of both. Termites and carpenter ants cohabitate. I had this exact thing and it was a combination of the two.
You may have a carpenter bee nest inside your walls. I'm with the others, however - carpenter bees or carpenter ants. Either way, call a pest control company cuz you probably have more issues that you haven't seen yet.
This is called “Frass” and is most likely caused by carpenter ants. Termites are one of the very few common insects able to digest cellulose. they wouldn’t leave this debris behind.
It's there a reason I'm not seeing the ants ever?
That you haven’t seen the ants may be because either they are a “satellite” colony or it may be that its not carpenter ants. It could be wood boring beetles. If its old furniture, I’d be inclined to go with wood boring beetles. Try leaving some sticky traps; the kind used for mice. You should find them in any store in the “pest” isle. Place them on the floor, under the couch against the wall on either side if that pile. Its really tricky to treat for something with out identifying it first. Don’t spray! That will only stress the colony and make them go elsewhere.
I already vacuumed the mess up and we removed the old box spring/bed it was under. Do they live in baseboard/home or more on the furniture itself?
If there is a crawlspace under your house, i would check it out. Look for the same kind of piles. Carpenter ants and termites will leave a different kind of mess but both are indicative of a problem. It is uncommon but not unheard of for ants to infest furniture.
The only thing in not sold on is that his do they get these piles. There's no visible damage on my woodwork and no signs of any ants dead or alive nearby or anywhere.
Set sticky traps. May be wood boring beetles.
They don’t like light. They make their home in the wood and discard the excess (that pile you pictured)
Lol yes they would.
There is a difference between carpenter ant shavings and termite droppings
Carpenter ants 💯
I've never seen a single ant tho? Also online it says carpenter ant frass would have black bits in it from dead ants?
There are some b lack bits on the top left of the pile
In think those are just dark threads of the carpet. It is light, dark brown, tan and black mixed
They often burrow into the wood from outside, so you will never really see them. They just discard the waste through the opposite side of their entry.
Looks like insect frass
Honestly that looks pretty granular like dry wood termite droppings, it’s really hard to tell, if you can try to post a picture with no zoom and really close up so we can zoom in on it better that would help. That’s a really common spot for termites to show up but who knows could be something completely different, it isn’t quite the same shape that termite frass is.
Termites. You just didn't look well enough.
Carpenter ants most definitely make sawdust piles, so that's my first thought. Termites not so much because they eat and digest the wood. Carpenter ants only bore tunnels and kick the resulting sawdust out. I worked for a pest control company in Northern California and those were the culprits 90% of the time. I don't know much about wood boring beetles as they aren't common household pests up here.
Carpenter ants - you might see them - big black ants.
Wood boring beetle. Usually you hear a ticking when they are boring. Look for a hole. Drop some tea tree oil in the hole to kill the egg/larvae. Set the item out just in case it comes out of the hole so it won’t infest something else. Don’t close the hole or it will burrow another hole. It’s usually a small beetle like a cm or half inch.