How did I get springtails? Often mistaken for fleas, these small, jumping pests come indoors during dry weather or after a heavy rain. While they can live in any climate, springtails seek out moisture, dampness, and humidity. They are also attracted to light, and all of these things might lead them into a home.
Possible reasons springtails are indoors include a new house with tight construction; the outdoor grade drains toward the house; broken or leaking plumbing; a wet crawl space, basement and/or landscape; an indoor humidifier; roof leaks; and more.
Springtails are attracted to light and are so small that they can enter houses through cracks and crevices such as around doors, utility pipes, or window screens.
What's the best way to prevent a springtail infestation? The best way to prevent a springtail infestation is to limit excess moisture. Keep gutters clear and fix any drainage issues around the home. Dispose of decaying logs and plants as well as piles of debris.
In homes with high humidity and mold growth, springtails can sometimes maintain an indoor population. This is more common in bathrooms and basements but can also occur within walls of newly built homes that are supporting mold growth because of rains that soaked the floor and walls before they were covered.
Springtails are not a danger to people, pets, or to the structures of buildings; they are, however, an invading pest that can enter homes in large numbers and can become quite a nuisance. Because of their ability to jump and their small size they are often confused with fleas that do bite and do transmit diseases.
Sometimes, Springtails get in your house and flourish when they find hidden leaks, damp areas, and a food source (like molds, algae, and bacteria). Look for these areas and address: Look for damp crawl spaces, basements, intermittent foundation leaks. Use a dehumidifier (portable or permanent in-line ducted system).
Lavender, eucalyptus, and tea tree oil repels springtails but does not kill them. Once the source of the moisture in a building has been discovered and fixed, these scented oils may help drive them away permanently. Mix a combination of all three scented oils and spray them where springtails are most active.
The Good News About Springtails
The good news is that infestations are usually short-lived, typically less than a couple of weeks.
Springtails may be found in bath traps, around hot tubs, in humid crawl spaces, under mulched areas, under patio slabs, under logs, wood chips, pine straw, and other areas that are prone to high moisture.
Springtails infest boxes of stored items and even in upholstered furniture that has gotten wet. These damp items provide the mold or mildew that the springtails need for food. Orkin is trained to help homeowners get rid of springtails.
We're happy to say that it is unlikely that you have springtails entering your home through your drains. They rarely enter this way and only under specific conditions. It is likely that they entered through gaps and cracks in the exterior of your home. A common way springtails enter is by way of gaps in bathtub grout.
Springtails are eaten by a variety of small predators, such small flies, bugs, beetles, pseudoscorpions, small or immature spiders, larval fish, and more. Fungi can ride on the outer skin of soil-dwelling springtails to new places.
Springtails are active year-round, and prefer relatively cool temperatures. During the winter in snowy areas, they are most active on sunny days. During the warmer months, or year-round in non-snowy areas, they are more active on cooler days.
If you see small numbers of springtails, ignore them or physically remove them by hand or with a vacuum. For larger infestations: Dry out wet areas with a fan or dehumidifier.
Springtails reproduce quickly with abundant food, humidity and habitat. Outdoors, some springtail species can live in dry environ- ments, such as around urban sidewalks and buildings, but most species need moisture to thrive.
While springtails can go away on their own, it's really unlikely. With daily use of sinks, tubs, drains, etc.
Feeding Springtails
Simply add a very light sprinkling of brewers yeast every 2-4 days (or less often, if there is still yeast visible) & mist it with some dechlorinated water. This food source is inexpensive, easy, and the Springtails love it.
These pests can be a wide variety of colors, but often look grayish purple to the human eye, due to their small size. They have elongated bodies that are covered in tiny protective scales. Springtails don't have wings, so they can't fly, and they crawl very slowly, but they can uniquely jump short distances.
Springtails lay their round eggs in small groups in moist soil, especially where organic matter is abundant. The immature stage is usually whitish, and adults tend to be whitish, bluish, or lack the pigmentation.
However, springtails in the house could indicate a moisture issue and should be investigated. To get rid of springtails in the house, reduce sources of excess moisture. Leaky pipes and standing water are ideal conditions for springtails when the outside weather becomes too cold.
Springtails feed on decaying vegetation, fungi, bacteria, pollen, and even decaying flesh of dead animals. And though it is very uncommon, some species can cause an itching dermatitis in humans, some have nested in hair. Most, however, are not parasitic like this, they are just a nuisance.
Locating, drying out and treating places with excessive moisture, especially if the moist condition harbors mold or mildew growth. Such locations may include dampness around tubs and sinks or inside damp wall voids. In addition, using vacuums to remove adult springtails that are either alive or dead is helpful.
Pouring vinegar on springtails will kill them, but once they have infested your home, this method of elimination may be practical. Ensure you have proper moisture control and a good ventilation system in the home.
Inside buildings, aerosol "creeping and crawling" pest control materials can be used to provide some short-term knockdown of springtail populations. Total release aerosol (so-called bug bombs) are not recommended because these products rarely get into the cracks and crevices where springtails may be hiding.