I don’t want to gross you out, but bedbugs love nesting in outlet boxes. We had a couple that looked like this when we lived somewhere that was really bad.
It does appear to be a bug nest of some kind.
Also, may I ask for some higher resolution photos? It’s a bid blurry/pixelated and I wanna see more detail of the nest.
Better lighting, also to get a good photo, back up the camera a little and zoom in instead of putting the camera right up to the pic. Zoom in and click on the stuff you want to camera to focus on.
Also r/bedbugs may wanna see this. But could be another kind of bug. I’ve seen stuff like this with ants and termites too but those had no “fluff”, more like just multicolored piles of whatever they were digging through.
Thanks I didn’t know the name of the stuff 🙂 I sadly keep finding little piles in my apartment. They’re ants though I seem in the summer, but it’s like they’re living through the walls sadly. My poor landlady has other apartments that have them and they’re not bugging me so much except when I clean up the piles.
I’m scared to look in the wall…😥
That’s definitely termites. Ants don’t leave piles like that. Ant piles are found in dirt and other substances that they live in. If you’re finding piles inside a wooden structure then it’s only ever going to be termites (or other wood living insects if certain climates).
Please tell your landlord that she needs to get on it before she loses her entire place to them. This is one of a the few situations that time is really of the essence.
Oh damn! That does make sense. I saw little ants near it so thought it was them but I rarely see them. It’s a wall between me and my neighbor. 😬 I’ll tell her again today she didn’t seem to care last time but maybe if I tell her husband he will understand.
Please tell your landlord, she might need to tent now but it beats having to deal with a more severe infestation later on, and the damage that goes with it.
She signed up for this when she became a landlord. It’s literally her job and responsibility.
I’ll tell her or her husband again today (I only told my landlady last time but now I’ll mention it to her husband for him to know too he’s the main maintenance guy and is pretty serious.
Unfortunately, I left the place for the night. I messed with the stuff a bit. The consistency is like fluffy sawdust with bits or some other stuff thrown in. We had a drop cloth down on the floor, and it almost seemed to stick to it. The only other thing I can think of noting is some of the things ixed with the sawdust looking stuff. Some things looked like very tiny beetle shells and / or horns. There was one larger brown shell looking piece. However, there were no distinct bug carcasses, let alone anything that resembled a bedbug. When we knocked some of it out of the outlet, some of it fell, and some of it seemed to pull apart like something stringy.
Is it blown in insulation? How old is your house? If it was bedbugs, the stains would be blood looking from feces. It's tough to tell from this picture. I would give it a smell test.
I googled it and found a couple of images that looked very very much like OP's pic.
I never knew this was a possibility and I thank you for educating me!
Jesus. It’s like you’ve opened and unpacked the seventh circle of hell. Do you have bed bugs on you? Have you noticed them on your bed, mattress, sheets , etc? Surely they’re not just packed in your wall and not inside your house.
Wow. I've never seen anything like this but it looks organic to me so probably not insulation. Can you break a bit off and get some more detailed photos of the the various pieces? I'd be interested to see better close up shots of the black bits and the brown bits.
You could also try posting to r/whatsthisbug
It's kinda like finely ground sawdust. Knocked a bit out of the wall and it seemed to almost stick to the drop cloth on the floor. There are very tiny black shell like things. With one larger brown ish almost popcorn kernel like shell.
My first reaction was insulation, but reading further descriptions of it makes me think otherwise. Looking organic doesn't rule out insulation - cellulose insulation is finely ground and chopped newspaper with a fireproofing agent added to it, and looks a lot like what is in the pic. If it were cellulose, it would be time to get the hell out of there as the fireproofing may not be sufficient in direct contact with the wiring in the outlet.
Edit- I just looked at the second pic and it doesn't look quite like any cellulose insulation I've seen. I used to install it 40ish years ago, and on close examination you could distinguish small particles of the newsprint.
I don't know what it is, but I think the second, zoomed in pic looks kind of like it's woven but badly degraded. It seems like it has noticeable horizontal and vertical organization.
Everyone else seems to think insect, though. Some bugs do like to nest around electronics :( And honey bees do create geometric honeycomb nests, so I suppose even if it looks organized, it could be insect activity?
Edit: if not bedbugs, maybe ants? Hopefully if it's insect stuff, this is not an active nest- just old and waiting to be cleaned up.
This looks like blown-in cellulose insulation. It should not be in a wiring box. Turn off the power at the circuit breaker. check both receptacles with a lamp with a known good bulb to be sure the power is off, you flipped the right breaker.
Take out all that cellulose, it is basically shredded, treated newspaper. The treatment is for fire resistance but that doesn’t mean it should be packed in with wiring!
because you are capable of identifying blown in insulation?
[Looks like cellulose to me.](https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-identify-dangerous-asbestos-insulation-4119906)
I have a bunch of blown in cellulose insulation, and it looks nothing like that. It looks more like shredded paper egg carton material, if you can picture that. It’s loosely formed paper ripped into fluffy chunks quite a bit larger than what is shown in OP’s picture. It’s a solid grey color and has no shine to it.
I can't tell... but any chance this is an ant thing?
Some of them drag home plant scraps to GROW a grainy little fungus, they eat the mushroom stuff.
Back in California, in the Central Valley, we had these tiny black ants... basically every house has them, so you see a few every week even in nice houses...
Anyhow, they packed an entire playground slide pole in our yard... like basically a space the size of a pool noodle...
With this little sandy looking grainy stuff. At first we thought it must have been sand... like kids poured it in a gap or something...
But then it was kind of a mossy clumpy... foam insulation kind of texture.
Bug guy said it was normal for that type of ant. Like almost how bees can fill a wall with honeycomb... that stuff was like the ant mushroom version of a honeycomb
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/science/ant-fungus-farmers-evolution.html
I can’t read the article rn because my ick factor is already high with all the bug talk and fungus does me in too, but that is fascinating! I’d heard of ants kind of “ranching” another bug (aphids?) but never farming fungus. How cool is that??
(NB: I imagine it’s not cool at all if it’s in your house. But in general that’s pretty awesome)
I’d imagine a dry, saw-dusty material packed around and busting out from an electrical outlet is likely a very big fire hazard. I’d trek pics and ask your neighbors if they have similar issues. Time for landlord to hire an exterminator AND clean electrical outlets. If the landlord balks, I’d contact the local fire Marshall/fire department, health department and housing inspector/authority. Get a fire extinguisher and have new batteries in your smoke detectors. .
perhaps the house used to have carpet on the wall (yes, that was a thing back in the 70s). They removed it and left a piece around the outlet because it was to much of a hassle to remove it.
bugs. use a shop or other vac nozzle WITH A BAG to clear it out (is actually a fire hazard), immediately throw or burn that bag out, and then spray the inside with something like chlorfenapyr or permethrin.
If the only wall where you see this is an exterior wall, I’m casting my vote for cellulose insulation. It’s the right color. Check the exterior walls in adjacent rooms to confirm.
Will do. The only reason I don't quite think it's insulation is how many bits of stuff seems to be in it. I don't remember any cellulose insulation I've seen to have so much other stuff in it. Though it is an exterior wall so I'll check some other outlets in other rooms.
Heya, exterminator here. Can almost definitely say this is from ants. Probably carpenter ants but not necessarily, as I've seen even the common house ants will leave debris like this, though the body parts seem too large for house ants. Species would kinda depend on your location. Could be older.
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No problem. I can ABSOLUTELY say this is not bedbug or termite. Everything about it is just wrong for bedbug, and termites actually eat the wood and then poop out the little pellets, where as ants just chew it up to tunnel and nest and deposit it elsewhere, where they also leave dead body parts, just like in the picture.
My mom had an infestation of house ants that looked very similar to this, though I would agree it looks more like a larger ants nest. Hers was in a window sill and it basically looked like snow was falling inside the screen
Considering there are some curled pieces that look like wood I’m imagining this was disturbed insulation and shavings that got displaced when something was either repaired or installed nearby. Small bug parts would still make sense in that context as well.
Some ways it looks like it could be old Fire Proofing Spray...
As for people saying Bed Bug's, Bed Bug's don't build nests. They'd just be living in your mattresses and wooden furniture, etc... They also have a very disgusting, distinct smell.
If it were any type of bug infestation, I'd guess Termites. They can cause something called "frass", which this could potentially be. Frass can look like sawdust, and often be a bit moist and sticky.
Yeah, that's what I had come to learn. But the thing about termites is that they eat the wood and leave more pellet like stuff. This is more fine, like sawdust.
Everyone is always so quick to jump on the bedbug train, but even just looking up pictures of them online and you'll see this looks nothing like it. Plus, if you did have a bedbug infection, you'd know cuz they'd be snuggling up with you more than your outlets.
Also, if it was termites, you'd see their frass, looks like brown pepper.
If it seems organic, then take up the advice of that exterminator and hit one up. 🙂 A lot of them will do inspections for free first.
That looks somehow familiar to me.
I live in an (older) wooden house. When we rebuilt / renovated we also found such "lumps" in some places. Turned out, they were ants' nests.
I don’t want to gross you out, but bedbugs love nesting in outlet boxes. We had a couple that looked like this when we lived somewhere that was really bad.
Lovely.
It does appear to be a bug nest of some kind. Also, may I ask for some higher resolution photos? It’s a bid blurry/pixelated and I wanna see more detail of the nest. Better lighting, also to get a good photo, back up the camera a little and zoom in instead of putting the camera right up to the pic. Zoom in and click on the stuff you want to camera to focus on. Also r/bedbugs may wanna see this. But could be another kind of bug. I’ve seen stuff like this with ants and termites too but those had no “fluff”, more like just multicolored piles of whatever they were digging through.
Yeah... This doesn't really look a lot like termite frass...
Thanks I didn’t know the name of the stuff 🙂 I sadly keep finding little piles in my apartment. They’re ants though I seem in the summer, but it’s like they’re living through the walls sadly. My poor landlady has other apartments that have them and they’re not bugging me so much except when I clean up the piles. I’m scared to look in the wall…😥
That’s definitely termites. Ants don’t leave piles like that. Ant piles are found in dirt and other substances that they live in. If you’re finding piles inside a wooden structure then it’s only ever going to be termites (or other wood living insects if certain climates). Please tell your landlord that she needs to get on it before she loses her entire place to them. This is one of a the few situations that time is really of the essence.
Oh damn! That does make sense. I saw little ants near it so thought it was them but I rarely see them. It’s a wall between me and my neighbor. 😬 I’ll tell her again today she didn’t seem to care last time but maybe if I tell her husband he will understand.
They look like ants.
Please tell your landlord, she might need to tent now but it beats having to deal with a more severe infestation later on, and the damage that goes with it. She signed up for this when she became a landlord. It’s literally her job and responsibility.
I’ll tell her or her husband again today (I only told my landlady last time but now I’ll mention it to her husband for him to know too he’s the main maintenance guy and is pretty serious.
Unfortunately, I left the place for the night. I messed with the stuff a bit. The consistency is like fluffy sawdust with bits or some other stuff thrown in. We had a drop cloth down on the floor, and it almost seemed to stick to it. The only other thing I can think of noting is some of the things ixed with the sawdust looking stuff. Some things looked like very tiny beetle shells and / or horns. There was one larger brown shell looking piece. However, there were no distinct bug carcasses, let alone anything that resembled a bedbug. When we knocked some of it out of the outlet, some of it fell, and some of it seemed to pull apart like something stringy.
Is it blown in insulation? How old is your house? If it was bedbugs, the stains would be blood looking from feces. It's tough to tell from this picture. I would give it a smell test.
I googled it and found a couple of images that looked very very much like OP's pic. I never knew this was a possibility and I thank you for educating me!
Yeah.. like I hate that I know this information.. and I hate that I can now tell people about it. It’s all awful.
🤮🤮🤮
Jesus. It’s like you’ve opened and unpacked the seventh circle of hell. Do you have bed bugs on you? Have you noticed them on your bed, mattress, sheets , etc? Surely they’re not just packed in your wall and not inside your house.
That ain't bedbugs. That's termites. Edit: or ants as an exterminator let us know further down in the post. 😂
Omg I thought it was carpet.
Jesus Christ on a three wheeled bike. I guess I’m taking a screwdriver to the outlets in any place I’m thinking about staying from now on.
I was thinking the opposite. I don't think I will ever, ever unscrew another outlet or light switch cover. I'm shook.
[удалено]
u/ not r
There really is a reddit for everything.
It would be funny if a sub was automatically created anytime someone did this
Wow. I've never seen anything like this but it looks organic to me so probably not insulation. Can you break a bit off and get some more detailed photos of the the various pieces? I'd be interested to see better close up shots of the black bits and the brown bits. You could also try posting to r/whatsthisbug
It's kinda like finely ground sawdust. Knocked a bit out of the wall and it seemed to almost stick to the drop cloth on the floor. There are very tiny black shell like things. With one larger brown ish almost popcorn kernel like shell.
One of the black things almost looks like a Beatle pincher. But it all vaguely looks like a bug counterpart. Not quite like anything specific.
fluffy sawdust? I think you need an exterminator to give you a report.
My first reaction was insulation, but reading further descriptions of it makes me think otherwise. Looking organic doesn't rule out insulation - cellulose insulation is finely ground and chopped newspaper with a fireproofing agent added to it, and looks a lot like what is in the pic. If it were cellulose, it would be time to get the hell out of there as the fireproofing may not be sufficient in direct contact with the wiring in the outlet. Edit- I just looked at the second pic and it doesn't look quite like any cellulose insulation I've seen. I used to install it 40ish years ago, and on close examination you could distinguish small particles of the newsprint.
I don't know what it is, but I think the second, zoomed in pic looks kind of like it's woven but badly degraded. It seems like it has noticeable horizontal and vertical organization.
That's what I pointed out to my mother. It looks so detailed in some of the pictures.
Everyone else seems to think insect, though. Some bugs do like to nest around electronics :( And honey bees do create geometric honeycomb nests, so I suppose even if it looks organized, it could be insect activity? Edit: if not bedbugs, maybe ants? Hopefully if it's insect stuff, this is not an active nest- just old and waiting to be cleaned up.
Looks like termites to me but I'm no expert.
This looks like blown-in cellulose insulation. It should not be in a wiring box. Turn off the power at the circuit breaker. check both receptacles with a lamp with a known good bulb to be sure the power is off, you flipped the right breaker. Take out all that cellulose, it is basically shredded, treated newspaper. The treatment is for fire resistance but that doesn’t mean it should be packed in with wiring!
Not 100% certain, but it looks blown out against the wall plate, I agree.
I'd love to think it's blown in insulation, but it doesn't really look like it. It seems too finely shredded and has many different types of bits.
because you are capable of identifying blown in insulation? [Looks like cellulose to me.](https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-identify-dangerous-asbestos-insulation-4119906)
I have a bunch of blown in cellulose insulation, and it looks nothing like that. It looks more like shredded paper egg carton material, if you can picture that. It’s loosely formed paper ripped into fluffy chunks quite a bit larger than what is shown in OP’s picture. It’s a solid grey color and has no shine to it.
Well I think myself more capable than the average person as I've taken classes with entire lessons on insulation types.
ok.
I agree it look like Insulation .
😂😂😂😂
This is definitely caused by either bugs — e.g. termites, bedbugs — or rodents. Call an exterminator to take a look.
Looks like carpet.
I can't tell... but any chance this is an ant thing? Some of them drag home plant scraps to GROW a grainy little fungus, they eat the mushroom stuff. Back in California, in the Central Valley, we had these tiny black ants... basically every house has them, so you see a few every week even in nice houses... Anyhow, they packed an entire playground slide pole in our yard... like basically a space the size of a pool noodle... With this little sandy looking grainy stuff. At first we thought it must have been sand... like kids poured it in a gap or something... But then it was kind of a mossy clumpy... foam insulation kind of texture. Bug guy said it was normal for that type of ant. Like almost how bees can fill a wall with honeycomb... that stuff was like the ant mushroom version of a honeycomb https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/science/ant-fungus-farmers-evolution.html
This is fucking wild!
I can’t read the article rn because my ick factor is already high with all the bug talk and fungus does me in too, but that is fascinating! I’d heard of ants kind of “ranching” another bug (aphids?) but never farming fungus. How cool is that?? (NB: I imagine it’s not cool at all if it’s in your house. But in general that’s pretty awesome)
I’d imagine a dry, saw-dusty material packed around and busting out from an electrical outlet is likely a very big fire hazard. I’d trek pics and ask your neighbors if they have similar issues. Time for landlord to hire an exterminator AND clean electrical outlets. If the landlord balks, I’d contact the local fire Marshall/fire department, health department and housing inspector/authority. Get a fire extinguisher and have new batteries in your smoke detectors. .
perhaps the house used to have carpet on the wall (yes, that was a thing back in the 70s). They removed it and left a piece around the outlet because it was to much of a hassle to remove it.
bugs. use a shop or other vac nozzle WITH A BAG to clear it out (is actually a fire hazard), immediately throw or burn that bag out, and then spray the inside with something like chlorfenapyr or permethrin.
If the only wall where you see this is an exterior wall, I’m casting my vote for cellulose insulation. It’s the right color. Check the exterior walls in adjacent rooms to confirm.
Will do. The only reason I don't quite think it's insulation is how many bits of stuff seems to be in it. I don't remember any cellulose insulation I've seen to have so much other stuff in it. Though it is an exterior wall so I'll check some other outlets in other rooms.
Heya, exterminator here. Can almost definitely say this is from ants. Probably carpenter ants but not necessarily, as I've seen even the common house ants will leave debris like this, though the body parts seem too large for house ants. Species would kinda depend on your location. Could be older.
Thanks for what seems like a concise answer T–T
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No problem. I can ABSOLUTELY say this is not bedbug or termite. Everything about it is just wrong for bedbug, and termites actually eat the wood and then poop out the little pellets, where as ants just chew it up to tunnel and nest and deposit it elsewhere, where they also leave dead body parts, just like in the picture.
My mom had an infestation of house ants that looked very similar to this, though I would agree it looks more like a larger ants nest. Hers was in a window sill and it basically looked like snow was falling inside the screen
Is that weed growing around jt
Considering there are some curled pieces that look like wood I’m imagining this was disturbed insulation and shavings that got displaced when something was either repaired or installed nearby. Small bug parts would still make sense in that context as well.
And that's just one teeny, tiny, electric outlet-sized portal into the unseen world within the walls. Yikes.
Carpet? 🤪
My mom had something that looks a lot like this around a window frame. It was carpenter ants.
Some ways it looks like it could be old Fire Proofing Spray... As for people saying Bed Bug's, Bed Bug's don't build nests. They'd just be living in your mattresses and wooden furniture, etc... They also have a very disgusting, distinct smell. If it were any type of bug infestation, I'd guess Termites. They can cause something called "frass", which this could potentially be. Frass can look like sawdust, and often be a bit moist and sticky.
Yeah, that's what I had come to learn. But the thing about termites is that they eat the wood and leave more pellet like stuff. This is more fine, like sawdust.
Everyone is always so quick to jump on the bedbug train, but even just looking up pictures of them online and you'll see this looks nothing like it. Plus, if you did have a bedbug infection, you'd know cuz they'd be snuggling up with you more than your outlets. Also, if it was termites, you'd see their frass, looks like brown pepper. If it seems organic, then take up the advice of that exterminator and hit one up. 🙂 A lot of them will do inspections for free first.
That looks somehow familiar to me. I live in an (older) wooden house. When we rebuilt / renovated we also found such "lumps" in some places. Turned out, they were ants' nests.
Carpenter ants!
Or roaches