I bought a house that I am renovating. I tore out the bathroom and ran into this that appears to be some type of bug droppings...any idea what it is? Also ran into a very small but ugly bug that I am not sure is anything to be concerned about.
Bug Feces?
- Thread starter dishdude
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That's a Silverfish
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverfish
The other stuff looks like some type of mold/mildew/fungus. I would treat it with Borax and clean it up.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverfish
The other stuff looks like some type of mold/mildew/fungus. I would treat it with Borax and clean it up.
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JHZR2
Staff member
I don't know what were looking at in the first picture. Is it loose? Is it stains?
have you tried Mr Clean magic eraser. Worth a try. It's a fantastic cleaning product. Just test on surfaces before using.
Looks a lot like a silverfish. It's a bit fatter than the ones I see here. I have given up on eradicating all bugs in my house. It can't be done, anyway. I try to allow a balance - little house spiders hiding in crevices are good for keeping small-medium bugs at bay. Allowing mud dauber nests on my brick facade here and there keep larger spiders at bay. Silverfish, if you don't see excessive numbers, are harmless. I get rid of them individually here, but if you have a lot of them, set off a bug bomb in your attic. They enter walls from above. Spreading diatomaceous earth in the attic or using sticky pad traps will work, too.
The truth is that human habitations are great environments for bugs. If you allow a reasonable balance, rather than just trying to kill EVERYTHING, you will have a lot fewer bug problems. All that constant chemical assaults accomplish is creating generations of pesticide resistant bugs. The ones that survive the assaults procreate and make the successive generations harder to kill. I allow lizards, spiders, and mud daubers to live on my property because they keep other populations in check and they rarely show themselves.
It's cheaper than repeated exterminator visits, too. Bugs are a fact of life here, no matter what you do.
The truth is that human habitations are great environments for bugs. If you allow a reasonable balance, rather than just trying to kill EVERYTHING, you will have a lot fewer bug problems. All that constant chemical assaults accomplish is creating generations of pesticide resistant bugs. The ones that survive the assaults procreate and make the successive generations harder to kill. I allow lizards, spiders, and mud daubers to live on my property because they keep other populations in check and they rarely show themselves.
It's cheaper than repeated exterminator visits, too. Bugs are a fact of life here, no matter what you do.
I'm with DBM. Little spiders are beneficial at controlling other insects. I always like to see their presence. They don't bother me, but my wife is nutso about bugs.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Cockroaches leave droppings like that
Termites ?
The house did fail the termite inspection and was treated. The previous owner has little ant traps in the cupboards so I am on high alert...guess I'll see what I find when I rip that tub out today. I haven't seen any dead cockroaches...
I never saw a silverfish in my house, until I tore off the old roof for replacement. Shake roof was loaded with the little uglies. Tearing off the roof sent them everywhere.......Like mice from a field being disced.
The pepper like dropping could be from a number of different insects, but they should all be gone, if the place was tented.
The pepper like dropping could be from a number of different insects, but they should all be gone, if the place was tented.
I agree that looks like roach droppings. Could be from and older infestation, but be on the look out. If you have silverfish, you need to take care of that anyway.
I just finished renovating a house that had a severe roach infestation. The garage was filled with junk from wall to wall. When I removed said junk, the floor was covered with what looked like coffee grounds.
I wanted to burn my shoes after cleaning the garage.
Way in the back of the garage was a broken fridge. I made the mistake of opening it. It was like the lunch scene in "Snowpiercer." I'm still getting over that one.
Once I had everything cleaned out, I sprayed two gallons of bug killer and set out traps. Once I stopped seeing live bugs, I sprayed everything with a bleach/water mixture to kill any possible infections things that might be floating or laying around. Then I started the renovation process.
Of course, you don't want to go overboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I5_zsRI4Zo
When you clean this out, be sure to wear a mask and wash your hands repeatedly and well. When you get home, undress and shower immediately and wash your clothes immediately. There's all kinds of nasty things in roach poo, (and black mold as well) that you don't even want to deal with.
I wanted to burn my shoes after cleaning the garage.
Way in the back of the garage was a broken fridge. I made the mistake of opening it. It was like the lunch scene in "Snowpiercer." I'm still getting over that one.
Once I had everything cleaned out, I sprayed two gallons of bug killer and set out traps. Once I stopped seeing live bugs, I sprayed everything with a bleach/water mixture to kill any possible infections things that might be floating or laying around. Then I started the renovation process.
Of course, you don't want to go overboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I5_zsRI4Zo
When you clean this out, be sure to wear a mask and wash your hands repeatedly and well. When you get home, undress and shower immediately and wash your clothes immediately. There's all kinds of nasty things in roach poo, (and black mold as well) that you don't even want to deal with.
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Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
That looks like german roach droppings.
German roach droppings
That's what I was thinking. Yuck.
That looks like german roach droppings.
German roach droppings
That's what I was thinking. Yuck.
Well I yanked the tub out today, it's definitely not mold and there were no dead bugs in the wall cavity. If it were cockroaches I'd think there would be a few dead ones back there? There is a ton of room under the tub and in the wall for them to croak.
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