Unexplained sand piles along baseboards and exterior corners
Small piles of sand or dirt that reappear overnight along baseboards and exterior walls leave people unsure if they need an exterminator. The piles look like ant activity, but the unusual mound shapes, lack of visible insects, and absence of water leaks make it difficult to know what kind of specialist to contact.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Applying insecticide or pest defense productsDid this help you?
- 2Contacting plumbers or foundation specialists for inspectionDid this help you?
- 3vacuuming up the piles to see if they returnDid this help you?
- 4inspecting the piles for dead insect partsDid this help you?
- 5spraying Windex with ammonia along the affected wallDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“In that specific corner there isn’t anything water related, but what type of specialist should I contact to further look into it?”source ↗
“I keep finding these little dirt piles along the baseboard. It kind of looks like ant stuff but I have never seen ants. Should I call an exterminator?”source ↗
“I guess I should add I vacuumed it up and the next day there were more piles. I’ll have to look to see if I see ant parts”source ↗