In this post, we’ll fact check many of the springtail “myths” we hear from customers. We’re not sure where this mis-information is being found but we notice the same bad information being used as a premise to then devise a treatment plan. This will fail.
Our mission as a company is offer the best advice we can to help control any and all pests that we know how to eradicate. Rest assured there are many challenges we cannot meet! And we’re not afraid to let you know if failure is eminent. But springtail control is quite easy once you understand a few common facts about how they live, where they live and what you must do to eliminate every place they will try to live in or around you home. Meet that requirement and you will no longer have to see springtails or any other pest for that matter. And this journey all begins by understanding your enemy.
SPRINGTAILS ARE INVADING FROM OUTSIDE
Myth 1: Springtails you see inside are invading from outside using some kind of “portal” that only springtails will find so they can quickly get from you mulch to your baseboard.
Fact: This is so far fetched it’s almost comical.
So first, springtails have a limited travel range. It’s about 5-8 feet; if you see them out in the open, they emerged 3-4 feet of where you see them.
Now yes, they will naturally forage up and onto home siding. And from there, they might start to live under home siding, windows or doors. If that happens, they will usually start to appear inside. BUT THIS TAKES MANY MONTHS AND SOMETIMES YEARS!
This also means that if you are seeing them out and about by baseboards, they are most certainly coming from the wall void above or below. Same with windows that push open and doors that slide or swing and lead outside to your porch, stoop or deck.
So yes, outside treatments are important to stop new ones from getting onto your home. But failure to treat inside (if you see them inside) means you’ll keep seeing them inside. And the most important treatment you can do inside is to power inject.
The goal for both inside and outside of the home is create a springtail buffer zone.
RUNNING A DEHUMIDIFIER WILL REDUCE SPRINGTAIL POPULATIONS
Myth 2: Springtails “come out” inside your home because they are searching for moisture. To stop them from invading, you need to install dehumidifiers.
Fact: Not true. In fact this is one of the most bogus claims we see posted on many websites. Another glaring thing we notice is that nearly every customer who contacts us with their “springtail story” are reaching out BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN USING A DEHUMIDIFIER AND IT’S NOT HELPING!!
Well here’s why. If the springtails you see coming out into the open were actually seeking moisture? THEY WOULD NEVER GO INTO ANY HEATED/COOLED HOME! Why not? BECAUSE THE INSIDE OF YOUR HOME IS HIGHLY LIKELY TO BE THE MOST ARID PLACE ON YOUR PROPERTY!!
Here in the United States, the average home that has a heating/air system keeps the home well below 50% humidity. Most keep it in the 35-40% range and many of our customers claim they have it close to just 20%. And in homes where it’s very arid like the desert states? It’s even less. On average, the outside humidity everywhere in our country is nearly DOUBLE YOUR “INSIDE THE HOUSE” HUMIDITY!!
So if Springtails were actually seeking moisture, they would NEVER, EVER GO INTO ANY HEATED OR COOLED STRUCTURE!!
That said, springtails DO NOT THINK! They are programmed by their dna to try and occupy any and every space they can find. And so if they have migrated under your home siding, into wall voids and are enjoying success living there, it’s only a matter of time before they start emerging around windows, doors and baseboards. But are they doing this because they are seeking moisture? No. The females are doing this because they are gravid and need new areas to lay their eggs.
So if you have an adequate AC unit that is properly fitted and working efficiently, do yourself a favor: TURN OFF YOUR DEHUMIDIFIERS. A well fitted AC system will easily remove the humidity in your home to being it way down compared to the outside so you don’t need to pay “extra” for dehumidifiers.
That said, using a dehumidifier will NOT have any impact on the springtails that are living in hidden spaces throughout your home! So if you aren’t treating the important places mentioned in our articles, it’s likely you will continue to have them emerging from places like baseboards indefinitely. And this happens because the most common reason springtails venture trips out into the open is when they are actively reproducing (which is very different from any other insect) – not because they are seeking moisture.
SPRINGTAILS ARE COMING FROM MY MULCH
Myth 3: The mulch around your home matters because it “controls” the local springtail population.
Fact: Not true. You can have any kind of mulch you want. The bottom line here is simple: if you treat your mulch as we detail, no insects will want to live there. And the reverse is true (what most people don’t get).
SPRINGTAILS WOULD NEVER WANT TO LEAVE MULCH THAT IS PROVIDING THEM WITH FOOD, MOISTURE AND SHELTER!!
But if you don’t treat around your home? Springtails will most certainly try to live there because their mission on planet earth is just that: to occupy every space space they encounter when reproducing. And in general, most any mulch will have adequate shelter, moisture and food for them to thrive.
YOU MUST FIND THE MAIN SPRINGTAIL NEST
Myth 4: Springtails live in “nests” or have one main “source”.
Fact: Not true. Springtails are solitary insects and so they’ll typically be spread out over a large area that can provide the shelter and food they need. So don’t confuse how springtails live compared to something like an Ant or a Termite. Where all insects live is called a nest. But insects like ants and termites will only survive in a colony. This is where they will gather as one because they are communal. Springtails are solitary and so they do not form colonies.
And though you might find several bunched up together, they are not in any way interacting as a unit. They are all very much separate from one another and are only that close because the object they’re under or “in” is enabling many to stay close to one another without undue stress due to lack of food or water. That said, look to the left and right of that object and it’s just as likely that you will find one or more very close by. And if that single one laid eggs? You could very well have hundreds pop up in the next 5-10 days.
SURFACE SPRAYING WILL GET RID OF YOUR SPRINGTAILS
Myth 5: Surface spraying will end your springtail infestation.
Fact: Mostly not true. On the outside of a home? Maybe. But if you have them inside, you’ll need to power inject. Surface spraying outside when using Maxxthor and Boost does actually penetrate well enough to knock them out of hidden spaces (like vinyl siding). We know this because over the years, customers have confirmed they have achieved control 75-85% of the time with just spraying their home’s siding. So this can work for outside activity. But for inside the home, this number drops to just 50%. In fact our trained technicians can get rid of any inside infestation using just our Power Injector and Xempt Dust. Surface spraying is easy but with springtails, its rare that the easy pathway will get you good results.
CAULKING ALL CRACKS AND GAPS WILL KEEP THEM FROM ENTERING YOUR HOME
Myth 6: Caulking all the gaps and cracks you find is a good way to control an active springtail issue.
Fact: Not true. This one is about 180 degrees opposite of the truth. In fact, actively caulking to stop most any pest never ends well. If you have gaps/cracks that springtails are using, get them treated and wait until you solve the issue. Once you can go 2 months without seeing them, caulk away. But if you caulk before treating? You’ll be forcing them to find another way out so they can reproduce. This will make it infinitely harder to treat efficiently.
SPRINGTAILS HIBERNATE DURING THE WINTER
Myth 7: Springtails “hibernate” or “go away” when it gets cold.
Fact: Not true. Springtails are one of the only insects with natural anti-freeze. This enables them to come out in the middle of winter unfazed by the cold. Known as “snow fleas” up north, it’s fairly common to see thousands of them surface through 1-2 feet of snow. True, springtails are less likely to be mating during the cold of winter and so they may remain hidden for a few months. But windows, doors, home siding and under baseboards are all likely hiding places for them to thrive during the winter cold. Focus your treatments there during the winter to avoids seeing them again next spring/summer because they’re what we call a “chronic pest“. And though you may not be seeing them out in the open, they are most certainly re-infesting the areas you treated the previous warm seasons.
SPRINGTAILS HAVE GROWN IMMUNE TO YOUR TREATMENTS
Myth 8: Springtails have grown “immune” to many chemicals.
Fact: Not true. Springtails are fleshy, soft bodied insects – much like termites – and as such they are super vulnerable to any and all chemicals because their bodies readily absorb any active quickly. And don’t be confused by seeing them in areas you sprayed just 1-2 later. Treatments may work as a contact killer when first applied (meaning they will kill them in a minute or two) but once that mixture dries in 20-30 minutes? The residual will take days to kill target pests. This is “how” you can see activity where you just treated (after it dries, maybe later the same night or a day later). And with springtails, the “replacement effect” makes it look like the treatment isn’t helping because new ones are coming as fast as the ones affected are dying.
SPRINGTAILS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE MY AIR DUCTS
Myth 9: Springtails like to live in air ducts.
Fact: Not true. If they even attempted this, they’d die. And in fact, many do die trying. Springtails aren’t “smart”. They don’t elude or outsmart us; they win by shear numbers. And Air Ducts are where many will emerge but where they cannot live. The actual air duct is super dry. And when your home’s heating/air fan is running and circulating air, any springtail would be in peril if it tried to live in the duct. So don’t ever spray inside your duct. But vents in the ceiling – especially those in the upper levels of your home that have an attic above it – will allow springtails to enter your living space by passing through the gap between the duct and your ceiling. If you remove your air vent, you will see this gap. You do need to treat these gaps with Xempt Dust as they can be an important point of entry for springtails, just like electric outlets and under light switch covers.
SPRINGTAILS CAN JUMP
Myth 10: Springtails jump like fleas.
Fact: 100% True!! If you search on Google for “snow fleas”, you will find pictures showing them in the middle of winter atop 1-2 feet of snow. And out in the open during the warm season? They are known to have a vertical height of just over 4 feet and can broad jump horizontally over 5 feet! Springtails are often described as “hopping like fleas”. This happens because they’re reacting to cold, heat or even a good treatment of Maxxthor on concrete. Maxxthor is highly repellent and so if some were to jump from your untreated grass onto a treated patio slab, they could very well “hop” across it trying avoid the chemical. And if you’re lucky enough to spy this behavior where you live, it’s super easy to see them jump. During the warm season, its hard to note how many are actually jumping if you see them on cement or in a group of 25-50. But on snow, it’s easy to see their dark body contrast with the snow.
SPRINGTAILS ARE COMING FROM SINK
Myth 11: It all started in the sink…
Fact: Maybe. They can come up from a drain line BUT they will also be drawn to sinks, tubs and floor drains if they venture out into your living area when mating. So it can go both ways and it’s about a 50-50 chance of either. We have a post that highlights this happening; this customer was finding springtails in his dog bowl..
FORAGING SPRINGTAILS WILL “BRING BACK” CHEMICAL TO THEIR NESTS
Myth 12: Non-Repellents will get springtails where they are nesting so use them inside where you see activity.
Fact: Springtails do not “nest” with other springtails. They are solitary insects! This myth is debunked above: https://bugspray.com/springtail-myths#NESTS
This means they will not be “sharing” any chemical with other springtails.
Additionally, the ones you see are not going back to where they once lived. Springtails are weak, vulnerable insects and as such, they are not likely to forage out into the open. The only time they do this is when they’re actively mating. And when females find the male sperm deposits, they pick them up to get fertilized and then seek a new place to live. Now if their previous home is full of moisture and food, they may forage back. But data suggests that more than 50% are likely to venture elsewhere. Springtails are wired by their DNA to expand and they’ll do this to such a point that often times, it will lead to the demise of themselves.
Leave a Reply