Frass is a sawdust like material left behind when ants bore into wood to make their nests.
Sawdust in attic.
Before you install insulation over the sawdust check the attic for old knob and tube wiring commonly installed from the late 1800s until the late 1950s.
Even looking through a full house external my attic and examining my interior walls it only took the dude 20 minutes tops.
This page contains a list of research papers on the use of sawdust as an insulation material.
Knob and tube wiring is made of two individual wires that run through and are connected to porcelain insulators.
I have an old house with an attic that is insulated with saw dust.
I plan to put about 20 inches in my.
Instead they excrete a substance that many people mistake for sawdust.
If you see this around your house it s a telltale sign you ve got an ant problem on your hands.
In order to increase energy efficiency i would like to re insulate the attick.
It will contains body parts and debris but will basically look like a pile of light wood shavings.
I am using sawdust insultation in the house i am building and i am mixing in some hydrated lime and a little borax.
Or the sawdust could be from either carpenter ants or sometimes other ants or powderpost beetles.
This substance is called termite frass or termite excrement.
1 what is the best bang for my buck ie vs r value 2 should i take out the sawdust before putting new insulation in.
Commercial extruded polystyrene sheets and fiberglass insulation are expensive especially in the quantities required in solar passive homes hence the importance of local replacement materials.
So while seeing sawdust in our attic and all over our yard was a shock and a mess to clean up in the end we are very thankful that asbestos was nowhere in sight.
Request a quote walkthrough because you may have a termite infestation.
If you suspect there might be asbestos present in your home try to avoid disturbing the asbestos material and visit it s your health vermiculite insulation containing asbestos for more information on asbestos and minimizing your.
While this may seem like an unnecessary piece of equipment keep in mind that sawdust can sit for long periods of time and silently cause harm to your lungs and your tools.
Regardless call an exterminator immediately and provide them with all the data.
Of the three main types of termites subterranean dampwood and drywood it s the drywood termites that can leave behind the piles of frass often mistaken for sawdust.
As far as an attic goes you can just pile it in.
As a second line of defense you can also use a shop vacuum.
Does need to be dry or the lime will set a little bit and hard things up.
If they want to charge you call somewhere else.
This will keep sawdust out of your air passages and prevent long term exposure from becoming a serious issue.
I have two questions.