Bug identification help

Hi,

I woke up to find a pile of dirt near a rotting baseboard along side our shower. I removed the baseboard and what should have been wood looked like potting soil. In it I found a live bug. I killed it before realizing I should take a photo, so it’s bit a great shot.

Our house was previously treated for termites a few years ago with termidor. We haven’t seen swarmers or anything since.

Could it be a carpenter ant? Or termite? Or something else?



Squished bug found in rotting wood near our shower

 

Not a worker termite; look's more like a beetle, but we need better pics, top and bottom. Next time.
Termidor is very good termiticide. The fact that you haven't seen swarmers is a good sign, too.

Ants, both carpenter and the smaller species, will make dirt as they excavate. Rotting wood can crumble on its own, too.

Are you going to open up the wall to diagnose the chronic moisture issue? I'm curious to see those pics if possible. Since you had termites before, be aware that you may find old evidence/damage so don't freak out right away!

What state are you in?

 

Thank you for responding! We’re in Massachusetts.

I should correct myself. We did see some swarmers in our backyard last month collecting near an upstairs window, on the outside.
same side of the house as the bathroom but a different floor.

Yeah, I’m correcting the moisture issue. Needs caulking around our shower. After that I’ll have to cut a hole in the inside of our closet to see if there’s more damage.

 

Sounds good. Does your house have a basement or crawl space? If so, those would be important places to inspect with a strong light and probe the wood around the inside perimeter of foundation wall.

Subterranean termites, and that's the only species that you would have in Massachusetts, enter at ground level and go up which is why below/at grade level inspection is valuable, as well as at the moisture source.

 

Yeah we have a crawl space. One issue is that we had it insulated with both foam board and fiberglass, so the wood is no longer exposed. Perhaps ok have to cut into it?

 

I wouldn't cut out insulation just yet. Your house was treated with a very good termiticide and no evidence of swarming since so I'd hold off. It would be important to me to see inside the "wet" wall. Even if you found live termites there, I'd retreat the soil perimeter on that side of the house at least. That re-treatment would protect the crawl space wood as well since it will be a soil treatment. Priority to me would be opening/inspecting inside the wet wall and solving the moisture problem.

Is your house still under termite warranty? How many years ago was it treated?