Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Corn or insect shells in a piano?

Somebody sent me these pictures wondering if her piano is infected with termites.

To me it looks like there was a mouse in there collecting corn kernels. And maybe some termites attacked the leg of the piano.

The corn is probably a rodent. The leg is probably a dog or cat.

The proverbial industrious mouse saving up food for winter :-)

The damage to the leg is from a cat, dog, other animal or people. It looks like cuts, scratches and chips. Not termites. Termites don't chip the surface - they do their damage internally to the wood by tunneling through it.

As for the corn, it was probably a mouse. But in your third picture, that's an awful lot of corn. If that's all of it, well, then again probably a mouse especially if you also see mouse droppings. But if the corn is all over the inside of the piano and seems to be spread smoothly throughout and you don't see mouse droppings then someone probably put it there.

That piano is filthy. It looks like it was stored in a barn or basement or abandoned house for decades.

The corn is popcorn. Perhaps the mouse is expecting some future entertainment.

I have heard that one should keep a bar of soap at the bottom of an upright piano,especially if one goes away ?

open little bottles of lavender oil or tea tree oil the bottom of an upright piano also help.
The most effective remedy is a shag "makhorka" (cheap large-leaf army tobacco). But you need to keep in mind that such drugs can cause allergic reactions, especially if the children are here.
regards,

Today I saw a piano that was a snug home to 5 rats until a week ago. According to the guys who moved it, they had to drive to a nearby field with the rats inside the piano and it took some coaxing to get them out. They have made a cozy nest out of the whole 3 pieces of the practice rail felt! They’ve also nibbled at the keys but didn’t touch the lead weight...

Horrible experience for you , poor owner ,poor piano .

Hereeerr !!!
I just run away, give the piano up.

I can imagine how the mousey piano smells.

Oh, hi: My name is Mickey_, so in a way, I have a mousey piano too. But rest assured, mine doesn't smell! :-)

Oh is that you Mickey Mouse ? You are cute ! I actually met you in Disneyland. You will not like my piano It smells like soap and Christmas trees !
You are no rat that is for sure !

You’ll be always ready for holiday recitals!

The piano I saw had pretty strong rat-y smell. It was taken apart, doused with odor remover and left in the sun to dry then air out. If I get to see it again, I can give it a sniff test! Meanwhile, another piano sitting next to that had mouse/pee stains on the hammers and the damper felts... Now I’m always mentally prepared to see evidence of rodents. I hope I don’t have to see actual animals!

Me too! The very thought of such a thing makes me cringe. 😳