Good morning.
I apologize for the long-winded email, but I came across your website and had some questions. We purchased a new construction home in Plant City, FL almost 2 years ago in August 2023. We initially had some ants and a few earwigs here and there, but we have a quarterly service with Massey and they seemed to take care of it. However, two weeks ago I have recently noticed some springtails and I think psocids (in small numbers) randomly crawling on a few walls throughout the home and then have been noticing the psocids more and more on various windowsills. I have not seen hundreds, it’s more like 3 to 5 bugs on different windows throughout the home, but then other windows I see nothing. I am not sure if these bugs have been in my home the whole time and I just never noticed them or it is a recent problem. The bugs are so tiny, you would never even know they were there unless you were actively looking for them. My biggest concern is that I have been reading about other people’s struggles with psocids, how they can infest the whole home, clothing, furniture, etc. This is my biggest concern as I have children, and I definitely don’t want these tiny bugs crawling all over bedding and furniture. For now, I have just been mainly seeing them and killing them around the windows. However, I did notice a few crawling up the wall in my master bedroom closet near a window and also crawling on a wall above my headboard in my master bedroom, which is in between two windows. I have tried caulking and sealing up visible cracks, but they are still getting in one way or another. When I had Massey come out last week the technician stated he had never seen these type of bugs, he referred me to his manager who also had never seen or heard of these type of bugs and the only real solution they told me is to lower the humidity in my home. We already have our central AC system on as it is starting to warm up and my house is basically between 45 and 50% humidity, so I definitely don’t think my house is overly humid. What do you recommend and/or in your experience do these insects typically infest furniture, clothing, and bedding or is it normal to see a few throughout the home, especially during spring? I have also read that regular Insecticides don’t work for these insects, although I have sprayed a few bug sprays around the windows just to try to keep them out. I don’t know if I need to contact another pest company who is more familiar with these bugs, but I am really concerned as I don’t want this problem to get out of control. I have attached a video and picture to show you what I am dealing with. Thank you for your time.
So first, the relative humidity in most any home will rarely if ever be the reason pests like psocids, clover mites, springtails or booklice come inside. Think about it. The outside air is almost always more humid and if you run your furnace or AC, dry air will be very much the norm in most any structure. There are exceptions but for the average home, this is not why you are seeing them.
The main reason is simple. All of these pests (and several others) nest and thrive in hidden spaces where its dark, safe and secure. This includes but is not limited to home siding, roofing, gutters, wall voids, attics, under baseboards, around windows, around doors, under carpets, decks, around sinks, down drain lines, in cabinets and basically any place that has tight cracks or crevices where they can fit. These pests DO NOT live out in the open! The need hidden tight spaces to be safe from predators.
Now when you see them foraging, its usually because their nests are getting over populated and so they’re looking for new areas to inhabit. Surface spraying will stop this migration BUT it will not end the issue. Only when you get them where they’re nesting will you not be seeing them anymore.
As for using a pest control service that doesn’t know about this pest? That is disappointing. Any decent service company should know any pest you would encounter. Psocids are very common and though not likely to be on every house like springtails, most homes will have them active around the house if not on the structure too. Regardless, most service companies surface spray since they target big pests like ants, crickets, millipedes, palmetto bugs, etc. and surface spraying works fine for them. But these small pests require tedious, precise applications. And for the average service technician, they are not trained to do this nor do they have the time. This is why we have been successful; we help bridge that gap so that if you can’t find a legit service company to get the job done, you’ll know what’s needed and either do it yourself or hire a handyman to do it for you.
So a couple of more points we’d like to make before we summarize what you need to do.
The first is to STOP SEALING EVERY CRACK OR GAP YOU FIND! These all present a way for you to treat their nests and only when the problem is finally gone should you proceed with caulking. In fact if you can remove it all, please do if you want to get rid of them. With the gaps exposed, you’ll be able to use our Power Injector (more on this below) to reach their nests and get them properly treated.
The second point we need to make is that even though these pests are hard to control, the key is using the best product and most important is delivering it where it needs to go.
So what’s needed for your psocids? Well first, understand that when new homes are being built, they’ll take 6-9 months if not more. During this time they will often have a range of pests “move in” on exposed structural members. Pests like springtails, clover mites, booklice and psocids all love wood and will migrate toward all the joints your home once had exposed. And though the structural members are all sealed, its highly likely many bugs were covered up as the home construction advanced. In the end, its highly likely there have been some living and thriving if not in wall voids, then under sill plates/baseboards and all the other spots we listed above. And if it was only a few, they would stay there happy and content for a year or so until their numbers grow to where they’ll need more space. This is why new homes usually find a surge in pests like this 1-3 years after its been built.
Now could they have migrated from the ground around the home onto your home siding and from there inside? Sure. But its more likely some were living in the home before you and the family moved in.
And to get rid of them for good will require the products we have in our article here:
As you’ll learn, you’ll want to treat the outside turf with MAXXTHOR GRANULES and then spray the homes siding with MAXXTHOR EC. If the homes siding is vinyl, stucco, cedar shakes or some other “layered” wood, be sure to spray it from the roof line to the base of the foundation.
Inside you’ll want to surface spray with BITHOR using the MINI MISTER.
Lastly, you’ll most likely have to get the POWER INJECTOR so you reach their hidden nests.
The key for you will be the Power Injection. If you deliver the Bithor and Maxxthor using this tool to where they are nesting, you’ll take out all the nests on or in the home and they’ll be gone very quickly.
We’ve been helping customers solve problems with this pest (and the other small ones listed above) for over 30 years because we have the best products for the job and we can help you understand where you need to apply them where they will work and do their job. In this case, it will have to be micro managed to end the issue. Psocids are like springtails in that the ones you see are nesting within a few feet. So if you focus on all the potential nest sites using the Power Injector, you will eliminate their nests and in turn, eliminate having to see any coming out.
For your convenience, here are direct links to the products you’ll need. Be sure to visit these pages and watch the related videos for each so you can get a good understanding of what will be required to eliminate this pest.
BUGSPRAY MINI MISTER PRO RECHARGEABLE AEROSOL SPRAYER 12 OZ | BUGSPRAY
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