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Unidentified Larvae

Perhaps someone can help me identify the little brown larvae (?) that keep falling from the little cracks in my cedar siding. I had one of those bug guys come out. His less than expert opinion was that it was bat droppings.
It's no bat guano that I've ever seen, and if that was the case, I figure that sooner or later, I'd have seen a bat in or around the area.
What I'm finding is little 1/8 to 1/4" long brown pellets, maybe 1/16 to 3/32" wide. At first blush, they look like tiny mammal excrement, but they disintegrate if you try to pick one up. When I sweep them away, there are more within a few hours. They fall in the corners of the porch floor, or into spider webs on their way down like they're being swept out from the cracks in the ceiling above.

I've seen paper wasps, earwigs and spiders in or around the area...I'm assuming that the insects and these capsules are somehow related.

Any ideas as to what these are? Any solutions or home remedies?

Any feedback would be appreciated.
Contributed by tg on 25 September, 2005 - 3:02pm

Frass? Part 2
I've looked around on the web a little, and found a couple of references to Death Watch Beetles (Family Anobiidae) leaving frass in pellet-like clumps that break up into a talc-like powder when rubbed between the fingers. These beetles like wood with a fairly high misture content, often that caused by poor ventilation.

You mentioned that you have earwigs, spiders and paper wasps around. Earwigs, spiders and paper wasps can be found around just about any home, but earwigs like moisture and normally aren't seen out during the day unless things are moist- so this may be an indicator of moist conditions.
… Chuck Entz, 26 September, 2005 - 2:19am

Frass?
You say the pellets disintegrate- what do they disintegrate into? Is it granular pellets, or fine powder? If pellets, are they of any particular shape?

It sounds like you might have wood-boring insects like termites, beetles, or carpenter ants. Termites, especially, create large amounts of droppings (frass) as they digest the wood. Usually the frass comes out in loose piles that look like sawdust- but if there were something like moisture or resin to make the particles stick together, I imagine the clumps might take the shape of the tunnel they were pushed through.

I should mention, though, that I'm no expert and have no background in pest control (though I have seen drywood termite frass before).
… Chuck Entz, 26 September, 2005 - 12:55am

Sounds similar
to another person's description (disintegrating). Hers ended up being springtails. I would think they should be moving, though? See comments here.
… Lynette Elliott, 25 September, 2005 - 7:10pm

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