This brown thing has been coming out of our ceiling. Anyone know what it is?
Definitely termites.
I assumed dried shit after 5 seconds but made sure to check the comments lol.
They love hollow block we build the house for them!
Yeah and bad, too. That's a really thick tube and needs to be treated asap
Yep, Termites.
Those ceiling joists are fucked.
The Internet is fucking amazing. We can get answers to anything here.
Except the meaning of life
Edit: Ah shit I guess it is 42 I forgot lol
No, we know that. It's 42.
Yeah, but good luck figuring out which question on here is the right one
The question is “what is six times nine?” That’s why it feels like there is something fundamentally wrong with the universe.
No... It is "How many roads must man walk down?"
Even the pan-dimensional beings agreed it was a good one...
But we aren’t allowed to know both as that would destroy the universe
wdym by 42? i’ve never hêard it b4
From the book, radio series, film and tv series of "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" The book came first,then the radio series
Book reference, hitchhiker guide to the universe
That's easy 42
Didn’t you know that it was 42?
Life, the universe, everything.... jup 42
420
I guess the meaning of life has to remain a mystery for our own goodgood.imagine if we knew all the answers
I’ve had termite trails come out of my apartment ceiling 5 times in like a year.
The office didn’t give a fuck. They don’t even send an exterminator in actively manner. They don’t even do building treatments. It’s crazy to me.
That was my first thought.
Poop was my first thought. We are not the same
Simply built different
Built Ford® Tough.
Your comment reminds me of that funny advert where they are comparing truck beds. Some contractor is having a bunch of stone/brick dropped onto the bed from a height and the guy is all 'huh, super tough design, maybe a couple of dings but it's ok'.
I could only think, damn if someone dropped a heavy load like that onto my truck from that height, I wouldn't give a fuck if the bed was steel or aluminium, I'd be going crazy at the forklift/dump truck driver!
I always thought it was just “Florida man” shit that you would see on the internet, but the amount of times I saw people load full bunks of drywall or full pallets of concrete mix in the bed of their Chevy S-10’s or Ford F150’s the short time I worked for a hardware store I really questioned my faith in humanity.
I worked for a company that designed and built commercial/industrial wastewater reuse systems and one project involved trenching a pipeline through basalt. The trenching operation generated some really nice looking chunks of basalt. One of the guys working for our company decided he’d like to use some in his yard. It was cool with the owner and all involved so he loaded up the bed of his S-10 and headed home. Now, basalt is a very dense rock and it doesn’t take too much to overload an S-10. The guy’s springs broke at some point on his journey home.
You and I are the same tho
TIL termites make little mud highways for themselves and they look like this. Thanks.
Mud highways :)
I prefer Hershey highway
The sun kills them, so they make mud trails to stay in the dark.
Seriously? How does it work? Do they just keep covering themselves in mud and going a bit further?
Yes. It's not just the sun, subterranean termites will dry out if exposed to dry air. The mud tubes keep a moist highway for them to travel down, and yeah they build it by slowly adding forward.
Note that there are also FLYING termites which don't do tubes and don't dry out. Act totally different from subterranean. I found a colony on my house, thankfully they take forever to eat through old growth wood so they didn't get through one piece.
If you ever find tiny piles of wings appear suddenly, you should look for flying termite colonies. Once a year they "swarm" and go airborne, really terrifying if you're a homeowner in a vulnerable area.
A couple of years ago, I was chilling in my soaker tub…wonderfully hot water and a glass of wine. All the lights off with just candles lighting the tub. Aaahhh, bliss!
Suddenly I feel something crawling on me. I look down and there’s a bunch of black specks in the water. WTF? So I get out of the tub and turn on the lights. Holy crap! It was like a Stephen King nightmare! Hordes of swarming termites pouring out of a tiny hole in the caulk surrounding the tub. I’m naked, wet, and screaming and just trying to bat the horde away from me. Because I’m wet, the little termite bodies were sticking to me. I’m still screaming, the termites are still swarming, and my fiancé is outside the bathroom trying to rescue me. It was awful!
Wow, thank you for unlocking a new nightmare for me. Jfc I would've freaked out & died from slipping in the tub and breaking my neck.
It took me damn near a year before I’d soak in the tub again with just candles lit. Even though we called an exterminator and put a termite system in, I still kept imagining them crawling around inside my walls. It was truly horrible.
T h e y ' r e i n s i d e y o u r w a l l s
They love the dark. I live in South Africa and we experience power cuts aka load shedding. During these hours of darkness is when I find these winged buggers coming out. Otherwise I'd have never known we had termites.
Only termite swarmer's have pigment in their skin, so when they fly from colony they don't get sun burned.
Terrible infrastructure, really.
It’s better than cardboard and cardboard derivatives!
At least the front of the termite mound didn't fall off...
Termites don't tend to carry 20,000 tonnes of crude oil anyway
As an Australian who grew up watching Clarke and Dawe, it never ceases to amaze me how far and wide that clip has made it on the internet.
Damn that sucks
Termites, hopefully you rent.
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2.2y
In the US, homeowners insurance probably wouldn't cover it.
But you can get insurance through terminex. But that’s only if you get inspected, are clear of termites, and have regular treatments. If you get them while they are trying to stop them, you’re Ok.
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2.2y
This just sounds like insurance with extra steps.
A warranty, if you will.
😂☝🏾 this guy/gal
Terminex is a rip off. DO NOT GO WITH THEM!! Find a local exterminator with a good reputation. One that's been in business for a while.
Terminex, Orkin...they don't do a thorough job and then you have to call them back again and again. You'll pay them a yearly fee, whether you need them or not. Local exterminators do a much better job.
If anyone is in south Florida and needs a company let me know :) I don’t do scummy things and rip people off like terminex
I worked for orkin commercial and can confirm
I've got the Sentricon system from the local pest people. Little bait "stations" around the perimeter of the house put in about 12 inches underground. Termites find it, eat it, die. About $300/year covers quarterly checks and bait replacement as needed.
After the initial "kill" I don't recall many stations being replaced for a long time.
Any exterminator worth his salt can 100% start his own business. Any that are decent will work for the great ones.
All that's left for the huge corps is not so good ones.
Yes a local company with good practices and reputation
I used to work for them, FUCK THEM IN THE ASS. I HATE THEM SO MUCH.
I used to work as a summer salesperson for terminix. I've heard they replaced a whole home due to termites
I have termite insurance and they only came out for the initial inspection, after that all I do is pay the monthly bill and hope I never have to call, just like car insurance
American insurance translates to bend over and let me fuck you raw
Calling a Witcher might be better!
Yeah but then he'll try to get you to play Gwent every time he visits
Toss a coin to your Witcher!
uhh no its our house
F
We had a bad infestation. Cost $12k to tent it for a few days. They still came back later.
I have found that selling your house and buying a new one at least 15 miles away helps
Tenting won't prevent reinfestation. It's just kills what's already in the home. For drywood termites, there's not much that can be done as you need to treat all the exposed wood in the home. Subterranean are much more preventable though.
Good luck! Termites are not fun. Get professional help asap.
And get an exterminator asap, the longer you wait the more expensive it’ll get.
Termites. That's not a wood construction, so you should be able to clean it up. When you're done, go to the highest floor of that wall and inject with anti termite solution and then at the bottom of each floor. Leave the floor of this level untreated till you see new tunnels build, then double up on the floor treatment. Re do every couple of years. Now, I'm off to treat PTSD.
I wonder if termite PTSD is as bad as mouse PTSD.... Shudder
Neither termite nor mouse ptsd is near as bad as bedbug ptsd.
LICE PTSD. I always put my hair up in theaters and will never trust Disney cruises again
Stop…you got it from a theatre?
I’ve treated a theatre for bed bugs before as well
I had never considered that I was sitting on someone elses furniture, and not only that, basically publicly used furniture, when I was in a movie theatre, until now
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2.2y
wait til you find out about bowling alleys
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2.2y
I’m sitting down with my tea. I’m ready. Bring it on 😭😭😭
They are little bastards and can go for a little longer than a year without feeding and need high heat to pretty much get rid of them. The stuff you find out you that didn't want to know when you have to deal with something like this!
Also, Always ALWAYS check second hand stuff you get from someone, secondhand/thrift shops. I bought an acoustic guitar from a music store second hand while I was on a trip. When I got back home, I took it out of the case to play and left the case on my bed, not noticing the bedbug castings inside the case(as well as inside the instrument). Well after alot of cleaning, throwing out stuff, laundry and pest control, I was free but developed PTSD.
Fuck this was my exact thought 😭
I got head lice from a theatre once. I didn’t even connect that it was from there until so long after it happened.
I had lice twice as a child. I am 28 years old and to this day am constantly terrified I have lice if I feel an itch on my head (and I have scalp psoriasis… so this happens a lot)
I feel reckless and lucky, because I’ve NEVER had lice, but I have a lifelong record of doing everything you’re NOT supposed to do if you want to avoid lice. My little brother even had lice and never gave it to me. Even to this day I’m sharing a brush with my boyfriend. As far as I know, his roommates could be using it too. I just left it at his place.
even if you don’t have lice, sharing a brush is incredibly unsanitary. they can harbor infections and fungus that can spread to both of you and then keep getting traded back & forth as long as you to continue to share the brush. please don’t.
Bedbug ptsd is baaaad...but I wonder about termites damaging home value.
Two words: German Cockroaches
Never again will I work pest control because of these little fuckers.
Fuck German cockroaches. We found 1 by the fridge that my uncle gave us. Opened the back of it and there was like 30 in there. They bolted in all directions. We cordoned off the area in a circle of powder poison. Some started flying. We sprayed them with aerosol poison. After a couple of hours, it looked like a war zone with dead bugs and white powder everywhere. Dumped the fridge, gassed the house, bought a new fridge. Haven't seen any since. We refer to that time as "the great roach war of '18". Never taking anything from my uncle again.
Exactly this, but I've seen ceilings turn black in a clean out. I'm so careful about cleanliness because of those fuckers
Reading the ceiling turning black made a chill run down my spine. 🥴
“So how was scho-“ scratch scratch scratch “what? What was-“
the ceiling is fucking crawling
“Scheiße”
I wish reddit would have different react choices instead of upvote/down vote because this comment requires them. shudder
German cockroaches can't really fly.
Biggest set of rules ANY pest control tech will tell you. Quarantine and inspect ANY 2nd hand furniture. Never take anything off the street.
I got bed bugs from someone giving me a recliner once! I blamed it on the apartment building and made them move me to a different location: ptsd.
Thank you for sharing your story. I was looking for a good horror book on Goodreads but I don't need it anymore.
If this ain't the most factual statement I've ever read. My dad had them years ago, wasn't aware of it at all somehow, and I got to find out the hard way that not only did he have them, but that I'm severely allergic. He moved to a new house, and I still, after 4 years, refuse to go in his house or any of his vehicles. He's never been to my place either because I won't let him, and even when we're on neutral territory, I'm hesitant to hug him out of fear that he might have a stowaway somewhere on him. The PTSD is real af when it comes to those fuckers.
Don’t forget checking every bed or furniture you sit on for the rest of your life…
… what was that out of the corner of my eye?!
It took me 2 years to get over mine
Assassin bug PTSD
STOP I GOT BIT ONCE IT WAS EASILY THE MOST SCARED OF A SINGLE BUG BITE IVE EVER BEEN
so scary! 🥺
Scabies PTSD too. Jesus fuck, the worst experience of my life.
Oh? My scabies experience wasn't that bad. I was a bit disturbed when I realized what it was (I had the tunnel lines going), but I identified it early and it cleared up fairly quickly with clove oil cream. Pretty sure I picked it up on a bullet train from Wuhan to Shanghai.
Or house centipede ptsd! Had a bad infestation once- went down to my basement and those big speedy bastards were all over the walls. When they saw me they scattered in every direction, and gone in a split second. That’s something you don’t forget lol, like seeing 1 of those things is enough to ruin my night but seeing upwards of 20-25…..
That was 4 years ago and still every time I go down to my basement I stop on the last step and peer around with my flashlight
I'm still bothered by it almost a decade later. My dad got bedbugs a few years before he passed, and he never managed to shake them. When I was cleaning his place out, I got weird looks for wearing disposable coveralls. "Take no chances" is how I live in regard to bed bugs
Idk...with therapy, most termites and mice live a long, productive life...
Thank you for a good laugh.
Mouse PTSD is mild. Bedbug and Termite PTSD are severe.
That's funny, I dealt with bedbugs at one point but I can't remember anything from that year.
Yes, that is an uncommon symptom of extreme trauma. Your brain tries to forget it completely, like it never happened.
Interestingly it’s also a symptom of severe bedbug infestations
Not at all. Mice are edible...or at least taste like chicken. These things 🤷🏿♂️
Termites are totally edible. Full of protein. Taste nutty when crisped up.
I'm sorry I asked.
You’re supposed to make smoothies so the exoskeletons go down easy
A chicken infestation would probably be the best thing to hope for.
They taste like chicken??
They taste like children.
Ah yes, post termite stress disorder
I fell thru a ceiling in Southern California doing a drywood termite inspection one year due to termite damage in the ceiling joists. The Crashed right on top of the owners coffee table. Separated my shoulder.
This is giving me PTSD. Definitely termites.
Termite trail, when I was a PCV my house was covered in them.
I’m guessing from your name you were in Zambia. Me too ! Central province, Mkushi, most of my PCV materials were eaten by termites in my hut 😆
Face it, honey! You got the termites... that's cancer for a house!
Get well soon! Boric acid, vinegar, salt, prayer... anything to kill them!
Excorsism more likely
Prayer won't be effective though
Try positive vibes, just as effective.
Thoughts and prayers and good energy should do the trick
You could always try applying "Live, Laugh and Love"
I prefer "No fussin', no cussin', and no backtalkin'". Once the little buggers find out they can't compkain about anything, they move on.
🤣💀 I just hope they "keep calm and carry on."
It's an important and popular fact that termites are allergic to living, laughing and loving.
Or, "lighting a candle for you"
could try crystals
Okay, I changed my profile picture, what's next?
maybe try 2 prayers
Your fedora, sir
Jgcf
It was for Covid.
Wait, wasn't it?
Ivermectin?
That there is a shit rope. Leads to a shitland where shit people roam the shit roads.
Imagine it.
A shitopia with shit cars, shit birds singing...and shitting, on the shit grass.
Ahhh.....you've got shit winds coming your way friend.
Are you... the... liquor?
The liquor is calling the shots now, Rando
Lol unrelated quote but I’ve been watching TPB through again for the last few months and absolutely lost it the other night when Trevor is luring Lahey out of his trailer by saying “Hey Mr. Lahey, Julian is lifting weights without his shirt on and wants you have a drink with him” and Lahey immediately comes outside lmao. I seriously laugh hard every time
Check it out Ran I’m mowing the air
Mr Lahey I told you to stop drinking
Just a couple drinkypoos randers
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2.2y
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2.2y
Looks like we got a bunch of sh_idiots here.
You idiots loaded up a hair-triggered double barreled shit machine gun and the barrels pointed at your own heads
That would be the shit!
Termites ayyyy
They build tunnels to avoid moisture loss from ambient air
Tunnels? Shit. I never knew that...Frickin Aliens
Termites, take care of that, can get really bad
These are subterranean termites, these are exploratory tubes they build in search of wood. It’s for protection/moisture retention. Call a small local termite company if you want good service. They have to treat the soil around the building.
Termidor HE is the best termiticide on the market hands down. One re-treat in 10yrs while using Termidor products.
It's Benny wor-r-r-rm!!
I remember getting that exact stuff when I had a white ant type of infestation at my house. GET. THE. DAMN. EXTERMINATOR.
Lol those were termites.
Yep. I'm a pest control inspector. u/Verichi_ had termites, which are white, not a "white ant type of infestation."
Dookie
I need more info. Taste it then get back with me
No need to worry , termites
Termites. they can't chew through brick so they are building a protected road out of waste.
Poo
The walls are pooping again
hopefully doesnt stink that bad, walls have a very basic diet and nutrition
that seems to be The Penis Monkey's tail, he seems to have taken a liking to your attic.
Please believe me when I tell you termites are the scariest thing I've encountered as a homeowner. Those MFers had eaten up TWO STORIES to thr rafters! We had to have the back of our house ripped off, outer section of hardwood flooring removed, the house jacked up bc structure supports were involved. The seller had lied, falsified an inspection. We had to take a second mortgage for the work. Oh yeah, the siding was these semi custom cedar shingles that cost a bundle. Then the entire place had to be painted so all would match. New drywall inside--I'm telling you that termites are Satan's seed. I hope that haven't destroyed your home.
Termites. That material is what used to be the wooden supports in the house getting repurposed for the termite's needs.
You ever seen War of the Worlds?
I'm with the termite crowd
Termites. Just call pest control
Try tasting it to see if it’s poisonous
That's what I was thinking, termites. You should break open that brown casing and see what's in it.
termite trails, I think
Your roof has diarrhea. No seriously, it looks like a termite issue
Orkin employee here; is termite tunnel. Building is probably SEVERELY damaged or plagued with a massive infection.
Google Termite Trail. You're too late to stop them.
Termites.
Could be worse. Guy I worked for discovered he had them when he was checking his hall closet prior to having guests over. Door came off the eaten frame.
Termites
Definitely thought of termites immediately.
Rudy Giuliani's hair dye?
Bruh those are termite mud holes. Heres a suggestion, get that shit fumigated unless you want your house to turn into nothing
termites mud trails?