Wild cause of small hole on woman's Wayfair desk: 'We burned it'

Fearing the worst, the woman decided to simply burn the desk in her backyard. Read why.

A multibillion-dollar homewares company has responded after a woman filmed a large mysterious bug eating its way out of one of their sleek, modern desks.

Uploaded to TikTok on Wednesday the video has since attracted over 6.5 million views. The short clip shows a yellow-coloured leg poking out of the top. Gnaw marks can clearly be seen surrounding the hole.

The incident left the desk owner horrified. What happened after her camera stopped rolling was described by one follower as having “escalated quickly”.

Left and centre show the bug hole in the desk. Right shows the desk in front of a fire pit.
A woman was freaked out after finding a large bug eating its way out of her desk. What happened next surprised many viewers. Source: TikTok/domesticdiva5

“Oh my God,” the creator exclaims as she films the tiny bug inside her friend's desk. She claims the wooden furnishing was bought around a year ago from US homewares supplier Wayfair.

Then she adds, “randomly today” the bug poked its head out.

While many TikTok users tried to identify the insect, others were left in total shock. "New fear unlocked!" one person wrote. "I would move immediately," another joked.

What happened after the bug came out of the desk?

Based in Ontario, the TikToker is concerned the bug in her friend's desk is not indigenous to Canada. “We’re not sure exactly what sort of bug it is,” she says, before adding that her friend is “freaked out”.

A follow-up video shows a series of stills of the desk being burned in a backyard fire pit. “(My friend) put the desk outside immediately, burned it… and the bug is dead,” she said.

The TikToker said she would be contacting local authorities about the incident as introduced bug species can pose a risk to both local species and agriculture industries.

Who is Wayfair and what did they say about the bug?

While it’s not well-known in Australia, Wayfair is a major household name overseas. The multi-billion dollar e-commerce business offers over 14 million items from 11,000 suppliers, selling to Canada, United States, Germany, UK, Ireland and China.

We reached out to Wayfair’s office in the United States and despite the time difference, they raced to speak with the customer and provide a response.

“Our goal is to make every interaction with us a great experience. We have been in touch with the customer about this product to better understand and address the situation,” a spokesperson said.

Where the bug originated remains unclear. While the TikTok video asserts the desk was purchased around a year ago, Wayfair appears to believe it could have actually sold over two and a half years ago.

The video creator and the desk owner have been contacted for comment.

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