Natural Repellents: Harness the power of nature to repel springtails by using essential oils such as peppermint, eucalyptus, and tea tree oil. Mix a few drops with water and spray in areas prone to springtail activity.
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 key to managing springtails is to reduce moisture and excess organic matter in gardens, plant pots, and around building foundations. Also screen or caulk cracks that provide entryways for springtails into homes. Pesticides should not be necessary and won't provide long-term control by themselves.
What smell do springtails hate? The high acidity content of vinegar can be used as a natural insecticide by burning and killing springtails.
Natural Repellents:
These repellents are a great choice if you're looking for a safe and natural solution to your springtail problem. Essential oils like peppermint, eucalyptus, citronella, tea tree, or diatomaceous earth can repel springtails. Apply these natural repellents strategically to keep springtails at bay.
Essential Oils: Choose an essential oil such as lemon or eucalyptus and mix it with a carrier oil such as almond or coconut. Natural Repellents: Harness the power of nature to repel springtails by using essential oils such as peppermint, eucalyptus, and tea tree oil.
The Good News About Springtails
The good news is that infestations are usually short-lived, typically less than a couple of weeks.
Sevin® Insect Killer Concentrate provides an economical liquid alternative for perimeters and larger treatment areas. Used with a pump-style sprayer, this non-staining formula treats soil, mulch, foundation plantings or other lawn and garden areas.
Springtail nesting sites will typically be somewhere damp and dark. Their nest will also usually be located near any area where you may have seen them gathering, since springtails do not move very quickly or far in general. They are not able to travel great distances before settling into a nesting habitat.
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.
One way to get rid of springtails is by using vinegar. This is something most people have on hand already and is a quick and effective method of ridding your homes of springtails.
Replace the bottom of a coffee can or plastic jar with 1⁄4-inch hardware cloth (screen). Put into your can or jar a small amount of the material you wish to sift for insects. Place a container with a sponge or wetted plaster underneath the screened jar or can to catch springtails and other critters.
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.
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.
Cinnamon is one of them, as it successfully removes springtails from plant containers.
You can also wipe down infected areas with store-bought remedies like cider vinegar and baking soda. These will kill off springtail infestations, and fixing moisture issues will keep them from returning.
Also, springtails may be introduced to the property in infested mulch and natural, waste-based fertilizers that are spread on the grounds. Springtails become very active when their environment starts to dry. As they hop, they are able to enter homes.
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.
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).
While springtails can go away on their own, it's really unlikely. With daily use of sinks, tubs, drains, etc.
As with preventing springtails, treatment for springtails can also be done with a dose of diatomaceous earth. This will repel pests from entering the soil and kill the ones that are already there.
Springtails are an occasional pest, as most of them are not active in the winter.
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.
Springtails are most active in the afternoon or early evening. Springtails favor damp conditions and organic debris. They are often found in soil, lawns, mulch, leaf litter, compost bins and rotting wood, and underneath bark. Springtails feed on algae, fungi, decaying organic matter or pollen.
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.