found hanging in livingroom

Subterranean termites for su

Subterranean termites for sure.

… Gordon C. Snelling, 22 January, 2009 - 6:27am

They really do resemble termi

They really do resemble termite nests alot! I ahev also had those in my Phoenix home. Scrape em off into a jar. You will be able to tell if they are termites that way. They'd be hollow and you might see one of the little buggers in the jar as well!

… Sherri Sprau, 21 January, 2009 - 4:54pm

How old is the wood?

These look like they could be sticks of frass (insect waste) pushed out by ambrosia beetles. I don't think they would normally be found in dry wood--they cultivate a fungus that grows inside their galleries, and that's what the larvae eat. If that's what they are, I don't think they would cause much structural damage, since their galleries are not as extensive as those of beetles that actually feed on wood. Please let us know how big these are--I could be way off. What I'm talking about would be about 2 mm thick.

… Charley Eiseman, 21 January, 2009 - 4:08pm

age

The house was built in 1979, so the wood is atleast that old. we have lived in it for about 3 years and never notices it before.

They are long about 1 feet and tiny about 1 centimeter in diameter. They are hallow and look like a nest. The wood does not look damaged where they were and we did not notice them till today. They are in a very high traffic area of the house.

… Jeffjb, 21 January, 2009 - 4:25pm

If these are a foot long, they are

not a cm in diameter, but much less.

… Skip Blanchard, 21 January, 2009 - 4:45pm

...

1 cm is definitely too big for what I was thinking. Can you tell what they're made of? There are termites that build mud tubes to move between the ground (where their nest is) and the wood they are infesting. Now that would be cause for alarm. If there are not holes leading into the wood from the tubes, then I'm all out of ideas. If they are termites, there should be similar tubes somewhere leading from the ground to the wooden part of your house--like maybe up the side of the foundation, or in the basement.

… Charley Eiseman, 21 January, 2009 - 4:36pm

They look like they are made

They look like they are made of fiber, not really like mud but more strands of cloth. No basement and all the exterior walls are block. I guess there could be in an interior walls to a crack in the foundation.

Thanks for the help

… Jeffjb, 21 January, 2009 - 4:44pm

termites?

I think there was a post like this a year or so ago...and if I recall correctly they were from termites. Not too sure though, either way someone is eating the wood!

I just googled "termite tube" and found a lot of pictures just like yours. They might have exhausted themselves in that wood beam and have been building tubes hoping to connect to more wood.

… Chris Grinter, 21 January, 2009 - 5:24pm