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Something is leaving scars in my drywall and deposits on the outside that I presume to be wood. These deposits are flat, stick out from the wall, an inch or more square, with a gap between the top and bottom layers.

The 1st picture is of a groove about 4 inches long in the drywall.

2nd is of the same area with some drywall removed (showing 1/4" gap between drywall and frame).

3rd photo is of one of the fan-like deposits that stuck out from the groove.

4th is a dead bug that i found nearby, may or may not be related to the damage.

I live in North Texas

Click for full size

Drywall removed Deposit Insect - was nearby - don't know if its related to damage

Nigel
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Looks like termites.

  • Termites travel in mud tubes and those pictures look like your drywall has lots of mudtubes. They may not be eating the drywall (maybe the paper) but using it as a conduit to get to your wood.
  • That bug is a some sort of fly. It could be a dragonfly with a pair of wings missing or eaten. A dragonfly is a predator of a termite.

But I think after some investigation, it is most likely a robber fly.

Robber Fly Pics and Information

Jon Raynor
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Googled this and your post was the first one I saw, I have the same gouges on my wall. After we sprayed it with bug spray stuff started flying out. They were the in ground termites. Perhaps your situation may be the same.

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Same
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The fly is a crane fly and has nothing to do with eating your drywall. http://www.cirrusimage.com/flies_crane.htm

Ree
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I have similar problems and yes it is probably termites. First of all look for dirt build up on the outside of your house where the termites build their tunnels. When you find these tunnels then spray the correct chemicals and the queen termite will go back to source and the termites will all die. If you start disturbing the tunnels then the termites will flee and go all over the place so best to find source and spray. Now you can start and repair the damage and remove all evidence termites were there. I live in an area where termites are everywhere so i keep on doing inspections on the property and if I get lazy they will come back.

Globalspark
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The second photo is termite damage as Jon has pointed out. They are eating the paper off the back side of the drywall. They also will tunnel through the drywall to get to the paper between the gypsum and paint on the other side.

Rat Trapper
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