How long have you lived in this house? Did teenage boys live here before you?

Looks like holes from someone throwing darts or shooting a BB gun.

Yes, looks like the work of kids--do you have any? Or any who have visited lately? or perhaps a babysitter who may have had her boyfriend in while she was there?

While you're figuring it out, I'd get out a ladder, a large sheet of thin paper, a crayon and make a rubbing of the area, so you can tell if the number of holes increases (and when).

What is above the ceiling?

An attic?

Doesn't look like insects...it looks pretty clearly like a sharp pointy object was poked into and pulled out of the gypsum panel.

My guess would be ice pick or metal darts. have you noticed any "sand) or "dirt" looking area below. Might put a large sheet of paper on floor below it to see if little piles develop. We are getting new plants & critters in U.S. every year such as the tiny cream colored spiders that bite & burns like crazy. Medium sized red spiders that seem harmless but I don't keep them around long enough to know. I've seen them come out of boxes from China but they may have hitched a ride from anywhere the ship went! They can come in on bottom of wheeled luggage on shoes or clothing, in totes or duffel bags etc. I've seem tiny tunnels around on a ceiling with tiny black shelled bugs. They die with a flat tray of rat poison put up above the area they are in. We think they come in houses with the apples. They love the paper in the sheetrock. My aunt in N.Ca. has bugs that eat cardboard so anything she stored in a box was riddled with holes. Your holes look like they got there by humans messing around!!

Ah, c'mon--don't leave us hanging--what have you discovered? surely by now, you've solved the mystery.

I'm guessing a very sharp pencil tip flung at the ceiling.

Someone in a now forgotten generous stupor trying to find joist support for the bracket(s) needed to hang a big flat screen TV or heavy fancy lamps surprise gift?

No pencil I know would penetrate drywall without at least the tip breaking off. Something heavier and more durable did that.

Hi,

Did you ever find out what it was? We just noticed quite a bit of tiny holes (like the marks from a few 100 darts) on our bedroom ceiling. Some areas of tiny holes are also in our living room and 2nd bedroom. It looks very much like your photo. Thanks.

Best,
Sonya

"No pencil I know would penetrate drywall without at least the tip breaking off. "

Try a 9H drafting pencil.

Hi, I really would like to know if you have found the cause of the holes. I have very similar small holes scattered on my bedroom ceiling, and I am pretty sure they were not there a few months ago, when the ceiling was repaired (there was a water infiltration). I am worried that I might be having an insect infestation. Thank you!

I'm betting they have kids and one or more has a BB gun or dart set

I wish the would come back. Could these be from dry wood termites, if not a kid?

Are there any threads from 2015?

Sometimes when when looking at a job we need to see how the framing is in a home so we grab a coat hanger and push it through the ceiling and insulation as a reference point. That would account for one hole. Not tons.

I saw something very odd from an electrician on a recent job and can not explain his actions. In hindsight I think he did this as a defence about not being paid for extras. I believe what he did was leave a loop of wire between two studs and then left the wire for the extra stub too short into the electrical box.

Months later when the extra was to be installed the one guy could not do it. So he called his boss and they chatted. Then the apprentice started making small holes like that in the closet about four feet away. He was poking in what looked like a small hooked wire. I think what he did was grab the loop so he could then pull the wire into the electrical box.

That would be my guess if you had a large reno done. If not I would think it was some Ninja Game from the kids.

Mites

I am a 12 year old and my parents found these holes on my ceiling. I'm currently the only child as my sister is in college and my brother moved out. I did not put those there yet they are blaming me so I would also like to know what they are from so my parents will stop yelling.

So Llamagaming these "holes" appeared 5 years ago and you are still getting yelled at? Yeah, ok.

Looks like drywall damage from termites...

@ millworkman: Llamagaming has not previously posted in this 5-year old thread.

It is most likely termites. Use your googly and search "pinholes in ceiling." You'll be amazed at how much information shows up about termites.

I also have small ice pick looking holes in my ceiling and have lived here for 2 years and they have never been there before. They are only in our upstairs bedroom ceiling. We have a flat roof so obviously no attic. What could this be from?? We have no kids and rarely have company and if we do, they wouldn't be in our bedroom. I've searched this odd occurrence and it comes back with termites and bugs but we live in a pretty clean home and have not seen any bugs....

This is what me ceiling looks like. There are more of these holes throughout my entire ceiling. Maybe 15-20 holes all together....

I'm flummoxed. I can't figure it out either. Some in the bathroom, and kitchen, none elsewhere. I've backed off regarding the termites. I've had one person to come out for an inspection and when I mentioned we saw about a dozen wings three weeks ago when the doors were open, I got a $1900 estimate to surround the house with Terminor. No inspection, no explanation as to where they drill, how they drill, how the do the process, how lethal the stuff is if you have a basement (we do), just the estimate. Ours aren't in line like that. Not a clue. So, I'm going to go back to square one.

Did you ask them all those questions or just expect them to tell you?

In any case they may not be a good pest control company, but you should not dismiss the possibility that you have termites over that.

If you're talking about Termidor, here is some good info:

https://www.domyown.com/termidor-sc-p-184.html

The active ingredient is a rather heavy (large) molecule that is not volatile so there should be no intrusion into the house from treating the soil outside.

Termidor is applied by diluting in water and injecting or pouring into shallow trenches to form a curtain around the foundation. I've done it myself and the odor of the product was minimal during application, nonexistent after. So there don't seem to be obnoxious volatile carriers (solvents) in it either.

Thanks for the tips. No, I pulled back for now and doing some more research. I need to interview again and have them tell me their process. I started by just asking how much per linear foot to see where they were coming in. Got two estimates, one double the first; and then decided to do some more research before I ask the third, then go back to the other two. It's always "what don't I know I need to ask" with anything like this. You are correct. They are not going to share information if you don't ask. And, as a consumer, you're always afraid to tell too much info (like we saw a half dozen swarmers in the spring when we opened the doors and windows) and suddenly their pulling the tents out. We live in the woods. There are termites all around us. There are dead tree stumps 30 feet away with termites, I'm sure. No one even bothered to ask to go into the full unfinished basement to look at rafters. We saw some swarmers to no need to do anything else seemed to be the answer. No "well, let's double check." :-)

I know what that's like, especially if you're a bit more intelligent than the average customer who 'just wants it fixed'. You have to ask more questions. A good contractor will sense your level of knowledge and respond at that level. They usually appreciate the interest and will share knowledge if I take a pleasant and genuinely curious approach.

I have a building in the woods, kind of a glorified shed, that got termites due to improper construction and materials by previous owners. Yeah there are termites everywhere. I can pick up a piece of tree limb on the ground and there are a couple underneath. The Termidor is good stuff, amazing technology really.

Just question whether I need to spend the money to do it. They have a Termidor HP2 and SC, and Borathor... The price is $800-$1500. that's quite a range. And have no idea what the Borathor is.

I just stumbled upon this ... and I think this is the problem solved. https://www.ahealthierhomenc.com/sprayed-specks-meet-real-life-plants-vs-zombies-fungus-lives-house/

same with holes 3 in bedroom closet, no kids ever been in household. no bb guns--no pencils has been thrown. Pest control came out couldn't find anything.

Improperly skimmed / primed ceiling.