Home Repair forum - Something growing inside drywall?

Author

Something growing inside drywall?

nospam@none.com

2005-08-29, 5:21 pm

I just noticed on my bedroom drywall (exterior wall) some dark spots.
At first I thought it was dust. Upon closer examination, it appears to
be a kind of a brown particle like thing sticking to the drywall. It
scraped off easily, and I noticed some small holes in the drywall.

The next day, the particles grow back, and that's when I realized
something bad is probably growing inside. I spray some bug spray
around that spot, and the particles did not grow back. But I also
noticed there are multiple dark spots on the same side of the wall
about a foot or two away.

Anyone know what these things are? Termite? I am in Bay-Area
California and it's fairly dry during the day, temperature is about
60-80.

How do I get rid of it? I called a local pest control company and they
are going to come out to take a look. In the mean time, I hope to find
out more so I can ask the guy some good questions...

Thanks!

Raymond

Patch

2005-08-29, 6:21 pm

<nospam@none.com> wrote in message news:devpre$2s8g$1@agate.berkeley.edu...
>
>
> I just noticed on my bedroom drywall (exterior wall) some dark spots.
> At first I thought it was dust. Upon closer examination, it appears to
> be a kind of a brown particle like thing sticking to the drywall. It
> scraped off easily, and I noticed some small holes in the drywall.
>
> The next day, the particles grow back, and that's when I realized
> something bad is probably growing inside. I spray some bug spray
> around that spot, and the particles did not grow back. But I also
> noticed there are multiple dark spots on the same side of the wall
> about a foot or two away.
>
> Anyone know what these things are? Termite? I am in Bay-Area
> California and it's fairly dry during the day, temperature is about
> 60-80.
>
> How do I get rid of it? I called a local pest control company and they
> are going to come out to take a look. In the mean time, I hope to find
> out more so I can ask the guy some good questions...
>
> Thanks!
>
> Raymond

Sounds like mold.

Alex

2005-08-29, 6:21 pm

Hi Raymond,

I don't know if this is what you have, but a friend of mine had dirt
dobbers and wasps start building nests in his walls due to some
openings he didn't know about under a window seal. At first he heard
some scratching every so often then he saw similar things to what
you're describing. It wasn't until he started seeing 2-3 wasps and
dobbers a day that he started putting the pieces together.

Putting your ear to his wall you could hear the buzzing and sounds of
the critters, and just pushing the wall with a finger it went through
exposing a massive nest in several places inside the wall. He ended up
removing the drywall and after an exterminator found the spot they were
coming in, he fixed the hole and all was good.

Just a thought... walk around your house and see if you see massive
accumulations of flying bugs (dirt dobbers, wasps, yellow jackets,
anything) flying to a point where you see no nest. Chances are they
might be going inside the brick or walls and nesting. In my house I
saw hornets starting to do this.. coming in and out a spot in my brick,
and I used some mortar and a little caulk to seal the hole.

HTH,

Sam

Charles Spitzer

2005-08-29, 7:21 pm

nospam@none.com

2005-08-29, 8:21 pm

In alt.home.repair Alex <samalex@gmail.com> wrote:

> Just a thought... walk around your house and see if you see massive
> accumulations of flying bugs (dirt dobbers, wasps, yellow jackets,
> anything) flying to a point where you see no nest. Chances are they
> might be going inside the brick or walls and nesting. In my house I
> saw hornets starting to do this.. coming in and out a spot in my brick,
> and I used some mortar and a little caulk to seal the hole.

Hi Alex, thanks for the tip. I'll take a look. At night, I do hear
some very subtle knocking noise in the middle of the night. Sometimes
I thought it was my bed/head-board making strange noise...

Would it be mice? It doesn't sound like something's chewing on wood,
more like subtle knocking noise...

Raymond

TURTLE

2005-08-29, 11:21 pm

Suzie-Q

2005-08-30, 12:21 pm

In article <devpre$2s8g$1@agate.berkeley.edu>, nospam@none.com wrote:

-> I just noticed on my bedroom drywall (exterior wall) some dark spots.
-> At first I thought it was dust. Upon closer examination, it appears to
-> be a kind of a brown particle like thing sticking to the drywall. It
-> scraped off easily, and I noticed some small holes in the drywall.
->
-> The next day, the particles grow back, and that's when I realized
-> something bad is probably growing inside. I spray some bug spray
-> around that spot, and the particles did not grow back. But I also
-> noticed there are multiple dark spots on the same side of the wall
-> about a foot or two away.
->
-> Anyone know what these things are? Termite? I am in Bay-Area
-> California and it's fairly dry during the day, temperature is about
-> 60-80.
->
-> How do I get rid of it? I called a local pest control company and they
-> are going to come out to take a look. In the mean time, I hope to find
-> out more so I can ask the guy some good questions...
->
-> Thanks!
->
-> Raymond

If they're real small spots, then my vote is for termites, too.
--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/

nospam.house@none.com

2005-08-30, 3:21 pm

In alt.home.repair Suzie-Q <sme617x@earthlink.net> wrote:

> If they're real small spots, then my vote is for termites, too.

Thanks everyone.

I had a guy from Okins come out this morning. He looked at it and said
it was Termites.

Since it's just on that side of the wall, he said he could spot treat
for about $1200 (foam, and treat the wood from attic and craw space)...

He could also fumigate the whole house for about $4700. The house is
about 1500 sqft.

I was hoping for some several hundred dollar repair. Both options are
expensive. Although only one wall is showing symptons, it might be
safer to fumigate the whole house. I don't know when the last time the
house was fumigated, but I'd estimate it was more than 10 years ago...

Are there any foam like thing I could buy from HD? Ie, a tube would
punch a tiny hole on the wall and I just spray the foam inside the
area?

Would fumigate the whole house really kill everything? even those
between drywalls? Do they need to punch holes in drywalls?

Thanks.

Raymond

Norminn

2005-08-30, 6:21 pm

nospam@none.com wrote:
> I just noticed on my bedroom drywall (exterior wall) some dark spots.
> At first I thought it was dust. Upon closer examination, it appears to
> be a kind of a brown particle like thing sticking to the drywall. It
> scraped off easily, and I noticed some small holes in the drywall.
>
> The next day, the particles grow back, and that's when I realized
> something bad is probably growing inside. I spray some bug spray
> around that spot, and the particles did not grow back. But I also
> noticed there are multiple dark spots on the same side of the wall
> about a foot or two away.
>
> Anyone know what these things are? Termite? I am in Bay-Area
> California and it's fairly dry during the day, temperature is about
> 60-80.
>
> How do I get rid of it? I called a local pest control company and they
> are going to come out to take a look. In the mean time, I hope to find
> out more so I can ask the guy some good questions...
>
> Thanks!
>
> Raymond

First, if the "dust" is dry, you should be able to vacuum it off the
wall. Try it, and you might get some bugs in the process.

If you have termites, you should see blistering of the surface of the
drywall because they eat the paper coating. They do not chew through
paint or drywall. You would very likely have baseboards in the same
area (or window frames) that sound hollow if you tap on them. Wood
would also likely - not always - have a blistery or wavy surface because
they have eaten away just TO the surface. Also look for shed wings in
the same area. All signs most common around entries - doors and windows
- but also can come up through small cracks in slab, plumbing openings,
inside or outside of foundation or crawl space.

Now, since you have holes in the wall, dig out a little bit to see if
you can find bugs. Termites that do the chewing are immature white or
light brown things that do not like light and will move away from it
when exposed. If you find a critter, take one to your county extension
service. Extension websites are also a good place to get termite info.

If you have a roach problem, you might find the same droppings in or
around electrical receptacles or places you store food/paper. We had an
infestation in our camper that was out of hand before discovery - they
chewed up rubber flipflops, chewed through unopened wax paper packets of
Ritz crackers, etc. Lots of egg cases which look sort of like a dry,
shiny brown tape worm. Good luck.

nospambob

2005-08-30, 7:21 pm

I've used the spray can to spot treat termites with success but felt
like an ostridge (SP?) with my head in the sand doing it. Our 1600SF
house was tented in So. Calif. coast several years ago for about $1900
and we've not seen any sign since.

On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 17:20:13 +0000 (UTC), nospam.house@none.com wrote:

>In alt.home.repair Suzie-Q <sme617x@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>
>Thanks everyone.
>
>I had a guy from Okins come out this morning. He looked at it and said
>it was Termites.
>
>Since it's just on that side of the wall, he said he could spot treat
>for about $1200 (foam, and treat the wood from attic and craw space)...
>
>He could also fumigate the whole house for about $4700. The house is
>about 1500 sqft.
>
>I was hoping for some several hundred dollar repair. Both options are
>expensive. Although only one wall is showing symptons, it might be
>safer to fumigate the whole house. I don't know when the last time the
>house was fumigated, but I'd estimate it was more than 10 years ago...
>
>Are there any foam like thing I could buy from HD? Ie, a tube would
>punch a tiny hole on the wall and I just spray the foam inside the
>area?
>
>Would fumigate the whole house really kill everything? even those
>between drywalls? Do they need to punch holes in drywalls?
>
>Thanks.
>
>Raymond

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