‘I got rid of them but the next morning they were there again’: Airbnb renter spots strange ‘seeds’ in kitchen. Then she finds out what they really are

After posting photos wondering what hundreds of “tiny off white seed looking things” were on the counter of their Airbnb, a Redditor’s post went viral. Commenters immediately flagged the “seeds” as termite excrement and heatedly discussed termite behavior, whether to with the owner about the issue, and proper Airbnb protocol.

On April 9, 2025, user HollyTollyWolly shared a post in the subreddit u/whatisit with the title, “What keeps appearing on the counter of my Airbnb?” The user asked in the title. The body of the post read, “noticed these tiny off white seed looking things on the counter of our Airbnb yesterday. Does anyone know what these could be? I got rid of them but the next morning they were there again.”

Two photos within the post showed what appeared to be hundreds of tiny, white “seeds” on the marbled Airbnb countertop. In one photo, the seeds seemed more scattered. In the second photo, the seeds clustered in an elongated, curved pile.

‘Not sesame seeds’: Reddit solves the Airbnb ‘white seed’ mystery

The post immediately went viral with 20,000 upvotes and nearly 2,000 comments. Initially, there was some discussion around the “seeds” being maggot eggs or bedbugs. Commenters familiar with the problem quickly identified the Airbnb as being termite-infested.

“It’s drywood termite frass (poop) hope they don’t swarm during your stay,” read one comment. “Termites tend to swarm the after the first good rainfall in a year. If you ever have the ‘opportunity’ to live in an area heavily infested with termites, the swarms are quite biblical looking,” another comment warned. Still another comment simply read, “termites, look up.”

As the termite discussion unfolded and the mystery of the “seeds” was solved, other users joked about the grotesque situation, suggesting the photos depicted something edible, including “sesame seeds,” or the “landlord special.”

What to do when your Airbnb has a pest problem

The majority of the comments, however, wondered how the OP would handle the situation with the property owner and Airbnb, and made some suggestions. A few users thought the OP should confront the owner, arguing that termites are a very serious problem. “Send photos to the owner and tell them what you suspect,” one comment suggested. “They’d want to protect their property and the cleaners probably don’t know or care what these things are.”

But the majority users strongly argued that the OP should not confront the owner—as speaking up could lead to unwanted repercussions like a confrontation or a discussion of liability. Those who agreed shared experiences where they “did the right thing” by going to the property owne directly, and then had the owner react negatively.

“I’m an owner, and I say f*ck the owner,” read one comment. “If they do not care enough to check on their investments from time to time sh*t is on them. I always make rounds on my properties at least once every quarter.” Another comment read, “I never notify. But I’ll leave it in the review.”

A third comment recounted a time when they did notify the owner of a beehive on their property, and the input was met with a rude rebuttal. Eventually, the commenter learned that they were correct, and bees had taken over the property. “According to the neighbors,” the Redditor recounted, the Airbnb became “a sticky mess of unholy proportions.”

Instead, users urged the OP to go directly to Airbnb. “Airbnb at the time told me always contact them directly rather than trying to deal with irresponsible and sometimes unstable hosts,” one comment read. “Never directly with the host,” read another.

The threat of termites is real…but not hugely dangerous

According to Orkin, termites damage approximately 600,000 homes in the U.S. each year, though the extent of the damage varies based on how long the termite infestation has been occurring.

While termites aren’t a deadly threat to humans, experts note that the presence of the insect can flare allergies, spread disease, and increase the risk of infection.

The Daily Dot has reached out to user hollytollywolly via direct message on Reddit. The creator did not immediately respond to the request for comment.

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