Hello, I bought my house that has a crawlspace last August. Just within the last month or so, I have found these itty bitty gray bugs in the bottom of my tub. That is the only place I ever see them. I tried to fill the tub up with bleech and water because I was thinking they were coming up from the drain? But that did not work, again, I do not see them anywhere else but the bottom of my tub. Are these for sure spring tails? And how should I get rid of them once and for all?
What you’re describing sounds exactly like springtails.
Now even though they can come up through drain lines, if given the chance they will readily move into cracks and crevices around sinks, shower stalls, bathtubs, windows, doors and other moist locations in the home. As our SPRINGTAIL ARTICLE explains, they are found in most any yard and once the population around the home gets large enough, they will migrate up and onto the home. From there they will find their way into living spaces. But they can also infiltrate via drain lines. My guess is they’re well established under the home in the crawl space or maybe deep in the drain lines and have moved up from there seeking new nest sites and comfortable locations to live.
To control the problem will involve most of the treatments we have listed in our article.
For starters, you’ll need to apply BIFEN GRANULES around the home. Treat at least a 10 foot band around the home up to the foundation but really, treating your whole yard is usually the way to go. Expect to use 5-10 lbs per treatment and these need to be applied once a month.
Next, spray over the top with CYONARA RTS. This will both activate the granules and kill any exposed springtails on the soil right away. Do this treatment at least monthly during the active season; spray the Cyonara more frequently if you’re seeing them in the yard or on the home a week or two following the previous treatment. One quart can treat up to 1/2 acre so most homes can be treated 2-3 times per quart.
Next, spray the crawl space with the Cyonara as well.
For inside the home, treat with PT-CYKICK AEROSOL where you see springtails active. Its ideally suited for use down the drain, around windows, baseboards, etc. Cykick is odorless and can be used as needed.
Lastly, apply NO SURVIVORS down the drain once a week to help remove the slimy food and organic matter found in pipes which feed springtail nests. Use 3-4 oz per drain with activity. Do this late at night, before you retire, and let it sit overnight. The other nights in the week you can spray with the CyKick as needed if you find any still coming up.
Here’s a link to our entire article which you should definitely read. The comments under the article will give you an idea of what can happen if you don’t get the problem controlled sooner rather than later.
Springtails: https://bugspray.com/article/springtail.html
Give us a call if you need more help. Our toll free is 1-800-877-7290 and we’re open 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Mon-Thur; 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Friday and 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Saturday, Eastern Standard Time.
Jonathan
Customer Care
https://bugspray.com
1-800-877-7290
PS: Please show your support for our business by purchasing the items we recommend from the links provided. Remember, this is the only way we can stay around and be here to answer your questions and keep our web site up and running. Thanks for your business!
Sandra says
Thanks for so much info. I would like to know how would a person handle getting rid or controlling Springtails in a cellar? I have a sump pump, hot water heater and furnace down there. The cinder blocks only go half way up and then it opens up into open crawl space under the house. I have a dehumidafier going all the time in the celler. My house is 112 years old and there is no way to fill every little opening around the foundation. Thanks for your help.
Tech Support says
If you read our Springtail Control article, you’ll learn that springtails occur naturally in any yard. This means your home is essentially surrounded by dirt which harbors springtails. Now when the yard is moderately maintained by doing some regular pest control, the level of springtails will be relatively light and never noticed.
But if you don’t treat the yard with granules and spray on a regular basis, there is a good chance the outside population will get abundant. This definitely happens in moist regions of our country and since you mentioned a sump pump and a dehumidifier, I’m certain they’re your home is surrounding by prime springtail nest sites which must be treated if you want them gone.
Now since springtails prefer to live outside and will only forage inside when the outside populations get over crowded, any effort inside to reduce moisture or “seal them out” will not work. In fact the only control measures that will keep them at bay is to attack them where they’re nesting. And for your home, this will be in the crawl space, the open cellar and the entire yard surrounding the home.
So to start, you need to apply Bifen Granules and Cyonara RTS around the home once a month. Do this as soon as it starts to warm in the spring and continue treating throughout the entire summer.
Bifen Granules: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/granule/bifenthrin-g-25-lb
Cyonara RTS: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/liquid/cyonara-32-oz-rts
And for the crawl space, you can either spray it monthly with Bifen or dust it once a year with the Deltamethrin Dust listed above. The Deltamethrin dust does well in moist environments so it will hold up a good 6-12 months and is probably the better option for this area.
Delta Dust: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/dust/deltamethrin-dust
Dustin Mizer: https://bugspray.com/equipment/dusters/dustin-mizerdeflector
Bifen IT: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/liquid/bifen
Eliminator Pump Sprayer: https://bugspray.com/equipment/sprayers/eliminator-gallon-sprayer
For the open cellar area with cinder blocks, you’ll want to spot spray with the Bifen so no springtails can live on the exposed surfaces.
Bifen IT: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/liquid/bifen
Lastly, failure to treat the crawl space and cellar will allow them to get established in these areas and once that happens, you will probably start seeing them inside the home up in the living spaces. When this starts to happen, use either the Dforce or Phantom aerosol to control the invasion. Of course all this can be avoided if you take a pro active stance now, before they start migrating upstairs, by using the listed products above.
D-Force: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/aerosol/d-force-14-oz-aerosol
Phantom Aerosol: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/aerosol/pt-phantom-17-5oz
In the end, if you stay the course and treat the outside heavy with the granules and liquid spray, you will eventually kill off enough so there won’t be any left to migrate inside and this will ultimately keep them controlled. But don’t expect instant results. I would say you should expect it to take a good 6-12 months for all the treatments to get rid of them for good. But if you keep spraying as frequently as is needed, you will eventually achieve that goal.
Give us a call if you need more help. Our toll free is 1-800-877-7290 and we’re open 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Mon-Thur; 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Friday and 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Saturday, Eastern Standard Time.
Jonathan
Customer Care
https://bugspray.com
1-800-877-7290
PS: Please show your support for our business by purchasing the items we recommend from the links provided. Remember, this is the only way we can stay around and be here to answer your questions and keep our web site up and running. Thanks for your business!