I have been having an issue with springtails for a few years. We know they originate outside, but we’re seeing them in our downstairs bathroom which is on the outside wall where first saw them on the brick . We have been spraying. We used bithor and then after 2-3 days, there were tons of small dead ones. We cleaned them up but then more come a few days later. The bithor is working but where are they coming from? The sink or toilet bowl? Since we sprayed twice with maxxthor their gone. After reading your article we think their nesting somewhere in the bathroom but so far, the bithor isn’t reaching them when we spray but it is helping. Should we get the power injector and where would we use it? Any suggestions on how to find nests?
No doubt some of the ones you see are nesting around the bath. And as many of our articles explain, they will be living within a few feet of where you find activity. This means if you are seeing them along hall way baseboards, they’re living and nesting there. And if they’re on the ceiling, they’re nesting in the space above (most likely the attic).
The point is that springtails do not nest like ants or bees or wasps or termites. They are solitary by nature and as females spread out and lay their eggs, most end up dying unless the area where the eggs are laid can support them as they grow.
This is one of the main reasons many people don’t understand how you need to control them. You see most people want to target their treatments to specific area because they think there is one or two or three areas like this that have nests. But this approach won’t work.
What springtails will do is be dispersed out attempting to utilize any and all of the good spaces they come upon. This is why its so important that you use the shotgun approach of trying to treat every area you can where you see them active. They will not wander more than 8 feet from where you see them so focus on those general areas when retreating and you will eventually eliminate the nest in a few months.
And if you deliver the BITHOR to their nests, you will end this issue for good. So don’t get frustrated, it’s still early in the process. And here are some tips on how to proceed.
The first and easiest option is to rely on how Bithor works. Remember, it has two actives. The first gets them “agitated” so they want to get moving about. This is by design so that they get the other active on them which kills them. And if enough springtails bring some of the chemical back to their nests, they will all die after 2-3 days. In your situation, this could be happening right now and could get the job done. So it could be you just need to keep with the process and wait the normal time period. So how long would that be?
Assuming you are using Bithor in the MINI MISTER, keep spraying the walls and flooring 1-2 a week and hope the active ones are bringing enough back to their nests. This can get the job done and in general, the time frame it would take will be in the 4-6 week range. Be sure to treat all baseboards and the entire floor. Oh, if the floor is carpeted, they could be underneath so be sure to spot treat it all with a pump sprayer heavy enough so the liquid will soak through to the padding underneath. And one other thing; do these applications before you retire so it can sit overnight when it’s dark and they are most active.
Now the second option would be to get the POWER INJECTOR and start injecting the Bithor under the BASEBOARDS, where the toilet bowl sits on the floor, around any tiles you have and around any water pipes that go into walls. These are the likely nest sites and delivering Bithor there could solve the issue much faster. Also, if you have grouted tiles? They love living behind any gap/crack they find so either Mini Mist it good or Power Inject if there are decent cracks where they could be using. Especially at the top section which is often ignored because it’s 6-7 feet up the wall.
Lastly, consider getting small cameras setup looking at different areas of the baseboards, shower, tub, sink, toilet bowl area. We have many customers who have used 2-3 small webcams to record around the clock and once they find activity visually when going in the room under surveillance, they go back to review the video. Many have told us they were able to see what direction the springtails came and in some cases, exactly where they were emerging. This can be very helpful as it often turns out to be a place no one thought to look. Remember, springtails will try to live anywhere. And since many bathrooms have enough moisture in the air, there will be many more nest site opportunity for them to live and hide from view.
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