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Old 07-23-2019, 02:40 PM   #1
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HELP! Mysterious Piles

We haven't been in our parked Sunseeker for about a month and when I went into it to check on it found these piles of sawdust like particles in the bathroom. Maybe a combination of sawdust, plastic and styrofoam. Absolutely no damage or holes above it. Anyone have a clue what may have caused this???Click image for larger version

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Old 07-23-2019, 03:35 PM   #2
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Can you determine the makeup of the dust? Remove the trim around the fan vent - perhaps something is within that space. If that's the source, wear a facemask....
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Old 07-23-2019, 03:42 PM   #3
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From the looks of the sawdust pile, I think you may have some hole drilling critter in a wall that's spewing it's diggings all over the lid. The angle of the spew indicates my best guess as to where to look up and down the wall somewhere in the vicinity of the toilet paper roll.
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Old 07-23-2019, 03:49 PM   #4
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I agree my cousin had to have his tt tented because of termites. Good luck
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From the looks of the sawdust pile, I think you may have some hole drilling critter in a wall that's spewing it's diggings all over the lid. The angle of the spew indicates my best guess as to where to look up and down the wall somewhere in the vicinity of the toilet paper roll.
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Old 07-23-2019, 04:25 PM   #5
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Can you determine the makeup of the dust? Remove the trim around the fan vent - perhaps something is within that space. If that's the source, wear a facemask....
Thanks for the reply. I will try that when I get a chance .
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Old 07-23-2019, 04:31 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by McKannick View Post
From the looks of the sawdust pile, I think you may have some hole drilling critter in a wall that's spewing it's diggings all over the lid. The angle of the spew indicates my best guess as to where to look up and down the wall somewhere in the vicinity of the toilet paper roll.
Thanks for the reply. We looked all around and could not find any holes that this could have come from. There are smaller piles on the floor and some debris on the towels and rack. I saw another post that mentioned ants. Could ants leave piles like this?
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Old 07-23-2019, 05:05 PM   #7
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In a previous "sticks and bricks" home we had an issue with carpenter ants. Their piles of sawdust looked very much like that. Had to get an exterminator to fix that problem.
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Old 07-23-2019, 05:15 PM   #8
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Could ants leave piles like this?
Yes carpenter ants. Fairly large, black and they work very fast.
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Old 07-24-2019, 09:29 PM   #9
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There are also boring bees that do stuff like that, they look like smalll bumble bees.
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Old 07-24-2019, 09:36 PM   #10
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Plumb line from pile to “above” will pinpoint exit.
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Old 07-25-2019, 05:18 AM   #11
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lay out some glue traps or tape with adhesive up to catch whatever is in there.
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Old 07-25-2019, 07:20 AM   #12
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Use your phone and take a picture of the "void" in the toilet from the opening in the back, just to make sure you don't have some sort of insects building a nest inside. By the debris pattern it (if insects) looks like they might be crawling out from under the lid. It's just a guess, but I know I would want to make sure nothing was making a home inside my toilet.
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Old 07-25-2019, 07:26 AM   #13
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You might want to remove the AC vent right above it as you said there was some foam in the mix. Then check the duct work. It could be a critter in the duct or simply the construction remnants falling down when the duct came loose from the vent. Most of these vents the center rotating section has a small pin that just pops out of a hole in the center of the frame. Use a thin blade knife or putty knife to pop out the pin in the center.
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Old 07-25-2019, 07:32 AM   #14
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Im suggesting ants in the ceiling. What is directly above that main pile on the toilet seat? Ants will be dropping their cuttings out of that area.
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Old 07-25-2019, 07:36 AM   #15
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IF it is carpenter ants, that also means there is water intrusion somewhere. They only nest in damp wood, but spread out from there. Iwannacamp's plumb bob suggestion is spot on for identifying exactly where it dropped down from.
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Old 07-25-2019, 07:55 AM   #16
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TSman, did you remove the trim around the fan opening? You won't be able to see in there, until you do that. That trim may also mask the true source of the sawdust, as the sawdust can travel down cuts in the trim and come out elsewhere.

Removing it is very easy. Just remove the 4 visible screws and pull it down. Like brucemc says, I'd wear safety goggles and a dust mask, when you do it. You are likely to get a face-full, when you pull it down. It might also be a good idea to spread newspaper, or some plastic sheets around to collect the sawdust.

Good Luck.
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Old 07-25-2019, 09:35 AM   #17
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There are also boring bees that do stuff like that, they look like smalll bumble bees.
Carpenter bees! Very familiar with them. They look like large black bumble bees here. They normally leave perfectly circular holes when they nest and as I indicated, I cannot find any holes where this material came from.
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Old 07-25-2019, 09:44 AM   #18
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Quote:
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Use your phone and take a picture of the "void" in the toilet from the opening in the back, just to make sure you don't have some sort of insects building a nest inside. By the debris pattern it (if insects) looks like they might be crawling out from under the lid. It's just a guess, but I know I would want to make sure nothing was making a home inside my toilet.
I looked inside the toilet and flushed it and did not see anything wrong. I did notice that almost all the water in the bowl was gone. When you talk about the void, do you mean where the water pipe comes out of the wall?
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Old 07-25-2019, 09:48 AM   #19
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Thank you everyone for the ideas and replies. I checked it today and have not seen any new material appear. I will take the trim off later to check it. The corner of the fan from is right above the larger pile. I will post myfinding.
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Old 07-25-2019, 11:05 AM   #20
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I just checked under the trim and found 2 tiny ants and a little debris but not nearly as much as on the floor. Again, no new debris. I think they started to build in the roof but may have gotten fried in the hot weather. Set some ant bait traps and will hope for the best.
Thanks again everyone for the help.
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