Post by lbugged on Apr 22, 2012 8:38:31 GMT -8
Entomology is a subject I know nothing about, so I'd appreciate help from you knowledgeable people in identifying what I believe is evidence of some type of insect that makes periodic appearances in my home.
Several times over the past year in my bathroom sink and surrounding countertop I noticed several dozen dark brown specks, about the size of a sesame seed. They seem to grow visibly larger over time (hours). They are quite hard (almost rock like), and apparently quite dense, because they don't easily wash down the sink. When they appear, they seem to be increasing in numbers rapidly over several hours.
I discovered that they emanate from the wall above the sink, at about 6 or 7 feet above the floor (this is a single story house and the attic would be just above). They are inside a small hole in the wall and coming out of that hole - I don't know if the hole goes all the way through the wallboard to the other side or just part of the way through. Each time I've found one of these holes, I've cleaned it up and then patched it. That seems to stop the appearance of the brown specks.
The last time this occurred (a couple of days ago), the weather suddenly changed and the temperature jumped up maybe 20 degrees above its prior high to around 90 degrees. I'm located in California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I've attached a photo of the hole in the wall from which the brown specks emanate.
As I was cleaning the hole in the wall a couple of days ago, I thought I noticed a small flying insect near the hole, but I don't know if it is related or not.
If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer. I'm not even sure this occurrence is in the entomology realm, but if you think I should consider other possibilities I'd appreciate your input. Thanks very much for your help.
LBugged
Several times over the past year in my bathroom sink and surrounding countertop I noticed several dozen dark brown specks, about the size of a sesame seed. They seem to grow visibly larger over time (hours). They are quite hard (almost rock like), and apparently quite dense, because they don't easily wash down the sink. When they appear, they seem to be increasing in numbers rapidly over several hours.
I discovered that they emanate from the wall above the sink, at about 6 or 7 feet above the floor (this is a single story house and the attic would be just above). They are inside a small hole in the wall and coming out of that hole - I don't know if the hole goes all the way through the wallboard to the other side or just part of the way through. Each time I've found one of these holes, I've cleaned it up and then patched it. That seems to stop the appearance of the brown specks.
The last time this occurred (a couple of days ago), the weather suddenly changed and the temperature jumped up maybe 20 degrees above its prior high to around 90 degrees. I'm located in California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I've attached a photo of the hole in the wall from which the brown specks emanate.
As I was cleaning the hole in the wall a couple of days ago, I thought I noticed a small flying insect near the hole, but I don't know if it is related or not.
If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer. I'm not even sure this occurrence is in the entomology realm, but if you think I should consider other possibilities I'd appreciate your input. Thanks very much for your help.
LBugged
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