In this post, we’ll address some of the common “myths” we hear from customers regarding springtails.
Myth 1: The springtails you see inside are coming from outside.
Fact. Springtails have a very limited travel range. 5-8 feet is about it; they prefer to stay within 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 can appear inside at some point but if you are seeing them coming from under your baseboards, they are most certainly living there. So yes, outside treatments are important to stop new ones from getting onto your home. But failure to treat inside means you’ll keep seeing them inside. And the most important treatment you can do inside is to power inject.
Myth 2: Springtails are inside your home because your home has “too much moisture so you need dehumidifiers”.
Fact: Using dehumidifiers to reduce moisture inside your home is fine. But rest assured, it will NOT have any impact on the springtails that are living in hidden spaces throughout your home! The most vulnerable place for springtails is out in the open so they avoid being seen unless they are activity reproducing.
Myth 3: The mulch you have around your home can influence whether you get springtails or not.
Fact: You can have any kind of mulch you want. The bottom line here is simple: treat it as we detail and no insects will want to live there. 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 find. Most fail due to lack of protection or food but they don’t “think” or problem solve. So when they walk too far away from somewhere they can find shelter and food, they’ll die. This happens to the vast majority of springtails.
Myth 4: Springtails live in “nests” or have one main “source”.
Fact: This is very far from the truth. Springtails are solitary insects and so they’ll typically be spread out over a large area that can provide the comfort and food they need. Again, this area will be hidden from view – not out in the open.
Myth 5: Surface spraying will end a springtail infestation.
Fact: 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. We know this because over the years, customers have confirmed they have gotten control 75-85% of the time with just spraying their homes siding. At least 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.
Myth 6: Caulking all the gaps and cracks you find is a good way to control an active springtail issue.
Fact: This one is so far from the truth. In fact, actively caulking to stop most pests 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.
Myth 7: Springtails “hibernate” or “go away” when it gets cold.
Fact: 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 and where you should be treating to avoids seeing them again next spring/summer because they’re what we call a “chronic pest“.
Myth 8: Springtails have grown “immune” to many chemicals.
Fact: Springtails are fleshy, soft bodied insects – much like termites – and as such super vulnerable because their bodies readily absorb treatments 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 but once any mixture dries? It will take days to kill pests which is why you can see activity where you just treated. And with springtails, the “replacement effect” makes it look like the treatment isn’t helping.
Myth 9: Springtails like to live in air ducts.
Fact: If they even attempted this, they’ll die. And many actually 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 fan is running, circulating air, any springtail would be in peril. So don’t ever treat inside your duct. But vents in the ceiling – especially those in your upper levels that have an attic above it – will allow springtails to enter your living space below by passing through the gap between the duct and your ceiling. If you remove your air vent, you will see this gap. You do nee to treat these gaps as they can be an important point of entry for springtails, just like electric outlets and under light switch covers.
Myth 10: Springtails jump like fleas.
Fact: They actually do!! 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. The people doing the videos will almost always comment about how they’re “hopping like fleas”. This happens because they’re reacting to the cold. As explained in Myth 7, springtails do not go dormant when it gets cold. But they don’t like sitting on ice or snow. During the winter where it snows, all it takes is one or two warming trends to start melting the snow. This “flood” of water draining into the gutter and then into the sewer pipes will push springtails up and out into the open. The most common place to find them will be along streets with sewer pipes and if you spy this 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 and watch. They can jump several feet and one of the reasons it’s important to treat around doors and windows during the winter.
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