Which pest is associated with coarse wood shavings (frass)?

• A. Carpenter ants.
• B. Termites.
• C. Bed bugs.
• D. Roaches.

Answer: (A)

Frass is the waste left behind as wood is hollowed out or bored into by insects. Carpenter ants excavate wood to create their galleries, and the waste they push out takes the form of coarse, sawdust-like frass—wood shavings with occasional insect parts. This coarse, wood-colored frass is a telling sign of carpenter ant activity and helps distinguish them from other pests. Drywood termites can produce frass as well, but their pellets are small, six-sided, and resemble fine sand or pepper rather than coarse shavings. Bed bugs leave dark fecal spots or stains on fabric, not wood shavings, and roaches leave small, dark droppings or smear marks, not wood shavings. So, coarse wood shavings as frass specifically point to carpenter ants.