What type of insect can burrow into sheetrock???

Question

I discovered several brown balls of material on my bedroom wall. When looking at it closer they were little (houses). When I removed them I find a 1/4 inch holes in the sheetrock. I ruled out both ants and termites I have seen the way they burrow. So put on your thinking hats ok!!!!

Answer 1

This may be one possibility, though the size seems wrong:
"Horntail wasps emerging into houses through plaster board (sheetrock) come from larvae living in the studs behind the plaster board. Studs that were cut from infested logs can contain horntail larvae that survived the processing. The larvae survived, in part, because the studs were not kiln dried or were inadequately dried. The adult wasps chewing their way out of infested studs also chew through almost any building material used to cover the wood (plaster board or paneling). "

Here is a link to other possibilities:
http://www.buginfo.com/articles/beetledeadtree.cfm

Answer 2

Haysoos: any number of burrowing insects could have potentially made the holes, at any point, and then something else (the bagworms, perhaps) could have crawled in at a later time. There is no evidence saying that the thing that created the holes is what was found inside them! Is it possible the holes are mechanical?

I have seen several little brown shiny "blister" looking coccoon type insect coverings on the undersides of rocks, and in small holes in rock, but am honestly not sure what they were. I'll do some searches and see what I come back with...

Ok, I'm back. Several insects have apparently been identified with sheetrock damage- specifically; foreign grain beetles, cockroaches, carpenter bees, subterranean termites. I would recommend doing a quick search on all of these, and see what you come up with. Good luck!

Answer 3

Physically, it would be quite possible for any number of insects to burrow into sheetrock. Most are made primarily from gypsum, which is a very soft, crumbly mineral, and the jaws of quite a few insects could quite easily cut through it.

However, I'm at a loss at figuring out WHY any insect would burrow into your sheetrock. It's not like they're going to be getting any nutrition from it.

There are quite a few insects that will burrow into relatively soft material (such as soft wood, or stacked paper) to create a safe chamber for them to pupate in. Larder beetles, a common household pest are known for doing this. However, I've never heard of them burrowing into sheetrock, and they don't have little 'houses' that they leave over the entrance to the burrow.

The houses sound like they might be the cases built by bagworms - small caterpillars that build little coverings for themselves out of dirt, and pieces of dried leaves. They often climb up the sides of houses or walls to pupate - leaving their little houses behind when they emerge. This would account for the little houses, but bagworms aren't known to burrow into anything.

I gotta admit, you got me stumped.

Answer 4

No, because the meat section has terrified me ever since I've read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. There was some peoples in the Leaf Lard!!!! u_u