How do I eliminate springtails?

Growin Grass · Dec 25, 2015

mulehunter said:
It looks like i have the same problem how did you get rid of them little jumpers?

This was posted 5 years ago by someone that hasn't been on in five years

jumpincactus · Dec 25, 2015

SPRINGTAILS
Various species in the order Collembola
PEST STATS
Color: Black
Legs: 6
Shape: Segmented, oblong
Size: 1/16"
Antennae: Yes
Region: Found throughout U.S.

RELATED LINKS

Certain species of springtails are referred to as "snow fleas" when found in winter, but they are not fleas at all. Springtails are found year round, but because of a special protein that acts like anti-freeze, this type of springtail is able to survive in cold winter temperatures. Springtails don't have wings, instead they get around by jumping, using a unique catapult system. Their jumping is especially noticeable in winter when they are contrasted against white snow.

Habits
Springtails are very common around pools with nearby vegetation, around air conditioning condensate drain lines and other moist areas. In winter, snow fleas emerge on sunny days and gather in large numbers around bases of trees where snow has melted. Because of their small size, they look like flecks of pepper or ashes on the surface of the snow. Snow fleas feed on decaying plant matter.

Habitat
Snow fleas prefer damp soil, leaf mold, decaying logs and fungi.

Threats
Snow fleas do not cause any structural damage and should not be of concern to homeowners. In addition, snow fleas are not a threat to family pets as they are not a flea at all. Their sole diet consists of rotting plant food.

http://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/occasional-invaders/springtails/

jumpincactus · Dec 25, 2015

Notice sole diet is rotting plant matter. Keep the groom spotless and keeps population down. But again they dont feed on healthy plant matter. Peace

Growin Grass · Dec 25, 2015

jumpincactus said:
Notice sole diet is rotting plant matter. Keep the groom spotless and keeps population down. But again they dont feed on healthy plant matter. Peace

What about the bride?
:cool:

jumpincactus · Dec 25, 2015

Growin Grass said:
What about the bride?
:cool:

LOL u funny dude. :p

jumpincactus · Dec 25, 2015

Heres some more info on our friend the Springtail. Their presence is believed to be a good indicator of a healthy soil biology. On the other hand they can also indicate that the substrate is staying too wet from over watering or poor husbandry of the grow enviro.

Our Friend the Springtail
Illustration courtesy of the
Texas A&M University Cooperative Extension

"Oh no! Help!" a novice gardener cried out in alarm. "I have little teeny jumping buggies in the soil of my garden! Are they killing my plants? How can I get rid of them?"

The short answer is "They're springtails. They're harmless. Don't worry about them."

Here's a more complete answer:

Not only are springtails harmless to the garden & do not bite, but their presence indicates good soil health. Their diet consists of decaying matter, fungus, & bacteria, & their activity helps keep nitrogen in the soil. A healthy garden & especially a healthy compost pile has them in abundance.

A radical explosion in their population might be an indicator that something in the organic balance is out of wack, though it probably means only that there is decaying mulch that delights them, or there are excesses of mushroom spoors which can increase springtail populations since springtails go after the mushroom spoors like kids after candy. A black variety of springtail called "snowflea" even hops around after snowfall gathering up fungal spoors from the surface of the snow.

If springtails vanish that means the microflora is probably also missing or soil is never sufficiently moist to support either springtails or microflora. In which case the plants, too, will be at greater risk.

It is sometimes recommended to get rid of them by letting the garden dry out, since they are susceptible to dessication, & tend to remain hidden except after rainfall or garden-watering. But attempting to get rid of them by drying out the garden would be equally harmful to microflora, except that the springtails would weather the drought better by moving to moist areas, possibly even inside the house, where they will accumulate in bathrooms & near kitchen sinks for the sake of moisture. They won't stay indoors if they can help it, because humidity inside houses is too low for them, & the decaying matter that makes up their diet is scarse. So they will either die off, or leave as soon as it's moist outdoors.

A large indoor infestation without an outdoor drought can be a warning-sign of mold problems inside the structure or leaky plumbing somewhere undetected. Insecticides won't get rid of them if there are condensation or moisture problems in the house, but correcting leaks & moisture problems or installing a dehumidifier does get rid of them.

Most springtails are so small (one or two millimeters) they will never be seen by the moderately farsighted. Tinier-than-average varieties are encountered in potted indoor plants, but they restrict their activity to the soil & don't spread elsewhere in the house, & are not harming houseplants.

There is one North American exception to the general harmlessness of the genus. A rounded stumpy flea-like springtail (Bourletiella hortensis) eats the delicate roots of evergreen tree seedlings, so if you are growing evergreen seedlings & had a population explosion of this flealike pest, that could be bad news.

Few are the gardeners with lots of tree seedlings, so the primary bad history for this critter is in tree farms & ornamental tree nurseries of the Pacific Northwest, where their feeding habits reduce seedling emergence or cause deformities of western hemlock, sitka spruce, & other evergreens, & cause lesions in developing bark, where harmful fungus can be established. They are most active in summer. When present & active they are easily detected by laying a white piece of paper on the soil & then blowing on or fanning the soil around the edges of the paper; if they are present in sufficient numbers to be harmful to evergreen seedlings, several will jump onto the white surface of the paper.

But if what one sees are elongated springtails (& most of the numerous species are elongated) then these are invariably harmless.

A similarly primitive hopping insect (far older than true insects) is the jumping bristletail. They're very nocturnal & feed primarily on the types of algae & lichens that grow on forest floors in leaf & needle litter. They can be very common in moist coastal forests where fallen leaves & debris are thick, which material jumping bristletails help turn into topsoil. They are rarely numerous in gardens. If there were many, you'd see them by turning over a piece of lumber or flat piece of bark. As with springtails, bristletails are harmless, & though they do eat living plant matter, it's only algae & lichens, not higher plants.

Although springtails are a sign of good healthy soil, many vendors of various pesticides nevertheless recommend getting rid of them. This is because chemical vendors don't care to distinguish between what is helpful & what is harmful, they just want to sell more of their products. Any garden pesticide that lists springtails or bristletails among the arthropods you should get rid of are lying to you about more than just that. They are lying to you about the abject safeness of their product, the primary effect of which will be to upset the organic balance of the garden creating more rather than fewer inroads for pests & diseases.

Even if there were an imaginary reason to control springtails, the method would be to clean up the leaf-litter from the garden. I'd never do this because springtail activity in leaf-litter constitute little factories for garden nutrients that help to limit the need to artificially fertilize. But if I had a phobia about springtails I'd sweep up all the leaves & that would automatically lower the springtail population.

Jacz · Jul 7, 2016

Thanks for the info:) on those wicked springtails (BIGBIGBIG sigh of relief!!). I just joined, i am a city girl just moved into new apt complex and keep seeing these horrendous bugs on the railing of my balcony:puke2: through my online search the past cpl weeks i have identified them as springtails. I have had various plants on various decks for years and in couple other states as well, but have never seen these disgusting things!!
Unlike previous summers, my recent forced retirement has deemed me very budget conscious. I have been slowly sprucing up my balcony the last few weeks with a few annuals and no thought of these awful things:puke2: ruining my lovely, albeit sparse, collection of new plants. I wouldn't be able to replace them so i am glad to know overall it seems there is more info on them being harmless, just ya know:puke2:However, it won't stop me from trying to get rid of them (safely) tho it seems a big task. I tried the dish detergent wash with little effect. I keep seeing suggestions for vinegar so that's next. I have a maine coon who LUUUURVS to b on the balcony watching all the squirrels and birds snacking on the bird seed i have sprinkled below...it's our "thing" so i'm avoiding harsh chems. In sum, i reeeeally don't like crawley things invading my turf. Well, gotta dash off to yoga! :D

mulehunter · Jul 7, 2016

Jacz said:
Thanks for the info:) on those wicked springtails (BIGBIGBIG sighofflittle!). I just joined, i am a city girl just moved into new apt complex and keep seeing these horrendous bugs on the railing of my balcony:puke2: through my online search the past cpl weeks i have identified them as springtails. I have had various plants on various decks for years and in couple other states as well, but have never seen these disgusting things!!
Unlike previous summers, my recent forced retirement has deemed me very budget conscious. I have been slowly sprucing up my balcony the last few weeks with a few annuals and no thought of these awful things:puke2: ruining my lovely, albeit sparse, collection of new plants. I wouldn't be able to replace them so i am glad to know overall it seems there is more info on them being harmless, just ya know:puke2:However, it won't stop me from trying to get rid of them (safely) tho it seems a big task. I tried the dish detergent wash with little effect. I keep seeing suggestions for vinegar so that's next. I have a maine coon who LUUUURVS to b on the balcony watching all the squirrels and birds snacking on the bird seed i have sprinkled below...it's our "thing" so i'm avoiding harsh chems. In sum, i reeeeally don't like crawley things invading my turf. Well, gotta dash off to yoga! :D

I use Silica Blast from ,they dont like that shit keeps the numbers way down and keeps your plants healthy ,they end up dying off .

Jacz · Jul 7, 2016

Thanks...looks like it's sold at sears...if the vinegar doesn't work (on the balcony not plants) i will try the silica blast.:)

mulehunter · Jul 7, 2016

Vinegar,??? You trying to lower your ph or what ? They live in your soil Botanicare Silica Blast.

mulehunter · Jul 7, 2016

Jacz said:
Thanks...looks like it's sold at sears...if the vinegar doesn't work (on the balcony not plants) i will try the silica blast.:)

Mix it in your water first then ad your nutes,half recommended dose to start then move up a little ,on the dosage ,and stop using 1 month before harvest.good luck!

Jacz · Jul 7, 2016

They were there waaay before any plants and i did mention that i would use vinegar on the balcony NOT PLANTS

Growin Grass · Jul 10, 2016

A few of them aren't going to do anything but help aerate your medium
Ime

Jacz · Jul 10, 2016

This site provided me with what i was searching for, a more detailed explination of springtails bugs. Another site suggested trying vinegar and I am pleased to say the spritzing of vinegar on the balcony railing (NOT MY PLANTS) has produced quick and positive results, and greatly reduced the number of the bugs! Now under control, i will probably only need to do the vinegar spritz a few times/week.
Thanks to all for the information and suggestions. I would've been devistated if they were destructive and ruined my plants.

mrthoopai1 · Dec 22, 2019

is this springtails

Farmer P · Dec 22, 2019

mrthoopai1 said:
is this springtails

Excelent close-up video! My guess is not springtail. Usually with springtails you will see a lot of them like hundreds and you will see them jumping a lot.

mrthoopai1 · Dec 24, 2019

I have 100 of 1000 of them. The pants look healthy. week 4

How do I eliminate springtails?

How do I eliminate springtails?

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