Thread: Granular material in attic insulation

Any idea what this might be?

Property is in a Chicago suburb, built 1962, and the material was present in about the same quantity everywhere I looked.

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Originally Posted by Michael Thomas

Any idea what this might be?

Property is in a Chicago suburb, built 1962, and the material was present in about the same quantity everywhere I looked.

Aggregate from the last roofing surface?

Don't think so, it's too evenly distributed.

Originally Posted by Michael Thomas

Don't think so, it's too evenly distributed.

MT: OK then, fairy dust? Did the owners have wings? Long, warted noses? Fancy brooms parked in the corner? Boiling cauldrons in the kitchen?

Whatever it is, it seems to have fallen on the isulation, indicating it arrived after the fiberglass insulation was installed.

If you had taken a sample it would be interesting to know if it floated or not. Looks like tiny bits of styrofoam.

Might be borax (for example, DIY home remedy for certain insects issue); or other pest deterrant/control/bait (more likely). If memory serves Bell Lab's ZP (rodent pesticide requires license to indirectly supervise acquisition and application) has a white small granular appearance that can vary from fine dust to small granules. Thought I saw other colors as well (light green/aqua and/or light yellow) might be another provider's Zinc Phosphide tracking or bait. IIRC Norweigen rats and mice (and gray squirrels) are problematic in Chicago attics.

I had seen that before. It was later identified to be borax.