Is This A Termite Infestation, or Something Else ?

[RoyG]

Just noticed something disturbing in our spare room this morning. The room is used as a storage room, so we don't go in there much, and as the storage room is pretty full we couldn't see the window frame/sill easily until some stored items were moved out. My guess is that this infestation has appeared in the last six to twelve months.

Little piles of "dirt", for want of a better description, have formed on the window sill, around four old wood screw holes. The four wood screw holes were used to secure inside fly screens, before we had the old casement windowss replaced with sliding glass windows. Double Click on the photos to get a much larger and more detailed view. To give you some sense of scale, those old wood screw holes in the photographs used to have #6 wood screws in them, so the holes are about 3 mm diameter.

In the top photo, I've wiped away most of the saw dust to try and see what sort of insect is living down that hole. So far, I've not seen any insect in or around the hole. There is a trail of tiny 1mm long ants on an adjacent wall nearby. These sort of ants been very prevalent around the house this Summer just gone.

I don't know whether these little ants are doing the damage inside this window sill, or whether I've got a termite infestation.

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I've gone over the window sill with a small hammer, lightly tapping the sill trying to hear if there are any hollow sounding areas, but everything sounds solid. The house is around 60 years old, hardwood timber framed, hardwood chamfer boards outside, and plaster board inside. If this window is constructed similarly to another one that I recently worked on in the house, then the window frame, and the surrounding moulding, are a soft wood, possibly hoop pine.

So - can anyone who knows their stuff with regard to termites etc, advise whether this looks like a termite infestation, or am I looking at some other sort of insect infestation ?

Thanks,

RoyG

[Glenn.Visca]

No expert ... But parents had termites recently ... And I would expect to see "mud tubes" rather than piles of dry dirt.

[shedbound]

My uneducated guess would be no, termites cant tolerate light so wont break through the surface, but will munch along the timber right up to the underside of the paint, I would say some kind of borer.

[FenceFurniture]

AFAIK, if there are ants around there won't be any termites.

[pampelmuse]

I concur. Definitely not ternites as they do not generally deposit their constructions outside the timber and the tunnel material is crusty/wet not loose/granular. I would say the ants are either exiting the holes from the wall cavity or something has tried to excavate the hole to deposit some larvae or eggs... Although the colour of the material makes me wonder what it is made from. It looks like it might be insect parts or soil rather than hoop pine. Either way not much to be concerned about.

[shedbound]

Around here I have noticed with my firewood pile, And i do make a conservative effort not to bring infested wood here but sometimes it happens.
The little black ants seem to reside in harmony with the termites. Not until I expose the termites (usually when I split the timber) the ants go into a frenzy over them.

[Stone Monkey]

Sounds like wood borer, especially as you can see the frass. I have only had it outside, dont know how hard it is to control.
Cheers

[rrich]

Our may be different than yours but. . . .

Subterranean or "White Ants" as you blokes call them are the ones that make the "Mud Tubes". Oh, how to be PC. The mud tubes are actually digested cellulose that has been excreted.

The others are almost like flying ants.

What you took pictures of looks like 'Push Out' as the exterminators call it. As these termites eat the cellulose they push out their excretions. These excretions are dryer and almost the color of the wood that they have been eating but ours seem to be larger pieces.

I would sweep up the excretions and save them in a zip lock baggie. If these excretions re-appear, call your local exterminator and plan to be out of the house for 3-4 days while the house is tented and fumigated.

[Cliff Rogers]

Looks like the mess black ants make when they are cleaning out their house.

[Bob38S]

Have come across similar in my all metal shed.

The culprit/s in my case were spiders. Having a feed and then the poop etc. Mortein black takes care of the problem but they do come back from time to time.

[rwbuild]

WD40, works wonders

[AlexS]

WD40, works wonders

...especially if you set it on fire when you press the button!

[FenceFurniture]

...especially if you set it on fire when you press the button!

That's exactly what I was thinking.....

[rwbuild]

You may well laugh, try it but dont light it, great for those pesky wasp nests too

[cava]

WD40, works wonders

On termites or spiders (or both)?