A woman has warned against assuming a home safe will protect cash from every risk after termites destroyed banknotes she had set aside for house payments.

Facebook user Nanny Irin shared her experience on July 16, saying the money had been stored in the safe for less than a month before she found it badly damaged. The cash total, was reportedly over a million baht.

"Sometimes we think keeping money in a safe is safe," she wrote. "Safe from thieves, but not safe from termites."

Money was for house instalments

Nanny Irin said the cash was not money that had been forgotten or left untouched for a long period. She had opened the safe less than a month earlier.

The money had been separated specifically for house payments, and she said she would regularly take some out to pay the instalments. She said she had never intended to leave it stored away indefinitely.

However, she said she had no idea when termites had entered the safe and damaged the notes.

She posted the account as a record of what she described as a painful experience and a warning to others who keep large amounts of cash at home.

Bank exchange will not cover full loss

According to her post, a bank told her that the damaged notes could be exchanged. However, she said the amount she would receive would not equal the original total value of the cash, as some notes were too far damaged and destroyed.

She also said the process would involve a lengthy wait, adding to the frustration of losing part of money that had been earmarked for her home.

The case is a reminder that a safe can help guard against theft but may not protect paper currency from moisture, pests or other environmental damage. Termites can reach areas that appear secure, particularly where they are able to access timber, walls or flooring around a property.

Anyone holding substantial amounts of banknotes should also remember that severely damaged notes may need to be assessed before they can be exchanged. As Nanny Irin's experience shows, even where an exchange is possible, it may not result in the full original value being recovered.

Pictures courtesy of Nanny Irin/Facebook

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19 July 2026

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this happened often to the weed growers in Northern California who were cash rich but couldn't deposit it in the bank

they'd bury the money on their land only to find out it either rotted or got full of mildew when they went digging for it

That’s one way to make your money disappear without a trip to Pattaya. 😄

A million for house payments??? wondering what job she has and how she can have so much money. As she regularly took some money she could have noticed that the insects were inside i believe...

18 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

A million for house payments??? wondering what job she has and how she can have so much money. As she regularly took some money she could have noticed that the insects were inside i believe...

She may well have put it in there only a few weeks or month prior. Those little sods can chcw up a sideboard in a few weeks.

Just think it´s a bit crazy. She don´t seem to be happy over the possibility to change. To me it looks like she almost has 400k of changeable notes in the image. Better with something than nothing, right?

Termites can chew up 'edibles' with no visible evidence from the outside. I climbed a sturdy wooden ladder in Laos a few years ago, only to have it 'disintegrate' under me, due to termites having had a feast of the internal wood. Several broken ribs, cracked cheekbone and relief at still actually being alive, after falling onto concrete from 4 metres up....... Bast ards!!

Edited July 18Jul 18 by simon43

4 hours ago, jacko45k said:

She may well have put it in there only a few weeks or month prior. Those little sods can chcw up a sideboard in a few weeks.

Maybe ...... For me it is not possible to have a million in a few weeks to store... I am always happy when I get my pension

5 hours ago, Nemises said:

That’s one way to make your money disappear without a trip to Pattaya. 😄

Probably more fun with the Pattaya-method...

Storing money like this requires it to be wrapped in plastic or in an air-tight zip plastic bag... noob error for stashing cash.

26 minutes ago, Sir Dude said:

Storing money like this requires it to be wrapped in plastic or in an air-tight zip plastic bag... noob error for stashing cash.

Should have watched the TV series Ozark. They had an insane system for storing their money laundering cash. I think they even had the kids help them. Too much bother for me. 🤣

39 minutes ago, Sir Dude said:

Storing money like this requires it to be wrapped in plastic or in an air-tight zip plastic bag... noob error for stashing cash.

I put my banknotes in a tin box that used to contain chocolate powder, then put it in the safe.

We came home from travel one year only to have a full window drop out into the garden because the frame had been eaten. Exterminators are a good investment!

I've always preferred Bank of Sealy since the banks started offering that princely 0.0045%. No termites in bed!

10 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

wondering what job she has and how she can have so much money

Why? The tone of your comment suggests that she shouldn't have savings or earnings, what's your basis for that?

strange ... first - what type of safe did she use? Not very 'safe' by the looks of it... hahahaha.

Second - her house must be infested by termites by the looks of things.... and she did not do anything?

Must be in up country of some humid filled moo baans

Edited July 20Jul 20 by NemoH

On 7/19/2026 at 5:33 AM, ikke1959 said:

A million for house payments??? wondering what job she has and how she can have so much money. As she regularly took some money she could have noticed that the insects were inside i believe...

I think you should contact her and ask all your interesting questions🤡

On 7/19/2026 at 6:53 AM, simon43 said:

Termites can chew up 'edibles' with no visible evidence from the outside. I climbed a sturdy wooden ladder in Laos a few years ago, only to have it 'disintegrate' under me, due to termites having had a feast of the internal wood. Several broken ribs, cracked cheekbone and relief at still actually being alive, after falling onto concrete from 4 metres up....... Bast ards!!

A few years ago when my Thai wife and I were asleep we awoke to loud crash. It was the befroom wardrobe. They had nibbled there way through one side support. I gusess were lucky because had it been the front, the wardrobe would have fallen down on our feet.

Turned into a confetti.

Safe my ass

the money had been stored in the safe for less than a month before...According to her post, a bank told her ...

On 7/19/2026 at 5:06 AM, Georgealbert said:

Weird. They have BANKS in Thailand with termite free safes, apparently.

That's news to her. ❓

16 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Why? The tone of your comment suggests that she shouldn't have savings or earnings, what's your basis for that?

He came to think that way because of the country he comes from there, they try to seize every cent you have. If a bank there has to process a transaction of 300 euros or more where the recipient is unknown, this must be reported to the authorities.

Next time try gold?

1 hour ago, Peterphuket said:

He came to think that way because of the country he comes from there, they try to seize every cent you have. If a bank there has to process a transaction of 300 euros or more where the recipient is unknown, this must be reported to the authorities.

Everywhere will be like that soon, and there will be more and more reasons for not depositing cash into bank accounts

On 7/19/2026 at 5:06 AM, Georgealbert said:

According to her post, a bank told her that the damaged notes could be exchanged. However, she said the amount she would receive would not equal the original total value of the cash, as some notes were too far damaged and destroyed.

On 7/19/2026 at 5:06 AM, Georgealbert said:

even where an exchange is possible, it may not result in the full original value being recovered.

Now that's the bit I can't get my head around, if they accept that the damaged piece of paper you present them was indeed a 1000bt note, and presumably that means the serial number needs to be readable, how can they possibly offer less than the face value of the note? I would have expected any reimbursement to be on an "all or nothing" basis

Edited July 20Jul 20 by Bday Prang

Well that sucks. How did freaking termites get into their safe?

2 hours ago, Front Row said:

Next time try gold?

You haven't watched The Italian Job?

Nothing is safe (pun intended).

The termites were over heard saying "can you believe these dumb mofos left us all this food, and it is so rich in taste"....55555.

1 hour ago, giants49 said:

Well that sucks. How did freaking termites get into their safe?

Insects& Entomology

They walked in as usual.

4 hours ago, Front Row said:

Next time try gold?

She could make her mortgage repayments in gold?

3 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Now that's the bit I can't get my head around, if they accept that the damaged piece of paper you present them was indeed a 1000bt note, and presumably that means the serial number needs to be readable, how can they possibly offer less than the face value of the note? I would have expected any reimbursement to be on an "all or nothing" basis

Because some of the notes were destroyed and were not replaceable, some were so, on average, she gets less than she wanted as the bank rejected some of them.

1 hour ago, giants49 said:

Well that sucks. How did freaking termites get into their safe?

Maybe there were a couple on the notes she put into the safe, maybe some flew in when the door was open.