I am sorry for your inconvenience. I don't have an explanation for you on this. We have never had a problem with ants, bugs, critters etc. I have left test candles outside - in the rain even - for several weeks and never seen any interest from any bugs. Was the shipping material damaged or have any holes? What else was shipped with the wax - any fragrance perhaps? If this came via UPS - perhaps there was something in the truck that was of interest to insects. If the vegetable components were bad/rancid, you would know it. There would be a distinct oder. We have never had a batch of 3022 go "bad". If you know the batch number of this wax, I would be happy to trace it to see if anyone else using the batch reported any issues.