If you’ve got CLOVER MITES, SPRINGTAILS, PSOCIDS or BOOKLICE, there is a good chance you’ll need to treat where they’re nesting if you’re goal is to not see them coming back a few days after you spray.

Why?

Because these small pests thrive where wood meets wood or cement. That means sill plate, structural members and pretty much all areas “behind” your walls are where they’re living.

So when you “surface spray”, you should be able to prevent them from spreading. But the ones living hidden will just keep reproducing and coming out so your problem won’t go away.

So if you’re goal is to end the issue and not see them anymore? You’ll need to do “C&C” treatments. C&C stands for Crack and Crevice. This is where these small pests thrive. So the ones you’re seeing are not “seeking water” or “moisture”; they’re simply the over populous that has been driven out of their native nests and colonies to go out and find new areas to infest.

Now its true that many of our customers treating with Maxxthor outside and Bithor inside will start seeing dead bugs. And for 50-75% of our customers, this resolves their issue. Especially if they’re using Maxxthor and Boost.

We call this “surface spraying”.

But after a week or two of finding more and more dead, they start asking “why aren’t they all dead now” or “why do they keep coming back”?

The answer is that they’re living and nesting where the spray isn’t reaching. And the most common locations where this happens will be under baseboards, around windows/doors, sinks/tubs/showers and attics. And if you have a finished basement? That can be a springtail generator!

So if you keep seeing them coming out of treated locations, DO NOT SEAL THE ENTRY POINTS WITH CAULK!

Instead, get our POWER INJECTOR.

BUGSPRAY POWER INJECTOR

For many of our customers, it will be the missing link to solving the issue for good by reaching their nests. This is discussed in our short articles here:

BEST WAY TO TREAT A BASEBOARD AND WALL VOID FOR INSECT PESTS

HOW TO TREAT HOME SIDING FOR SPRINGTAILS AND OTHER PESTS | BUGSPRAY

And for areas up high, like attics, apply XEMPT DUST since it’s dry and won’t damage the wall or ceilings.

PEST-XEMPT DUST 10 OZ JUG

So remember, springtails will be very happy living under sill plate, on 2×4’s in the wall and around windows or doors. And when those populations get large enough, they will come out all summer long unless you reach them where they are nesting. MAXXTHOR in the Power Injector will usually do the job but for some, using BASE OIL with Maxxthor will be required.

MAXXTHOR EC

BASE OIL FOR THERMAL FOGGING AND TANK MIXTURES

In summary, Power Injecting can be needed for certain pests (listed below) or if the target pest is nesting in a hidden space. The rule to follow is simple. If you aren’t seeing any after 1-2 months, you’re good. And this happens with most of our customers. But for the 10-25% who have ongoing issues, further focus will be needed which usually involves the Power Injector and if they’re up high, Xempt Dust too.

Using this approach will eliminate all their “pocket” nests so you won’t have to keep seeing them emerging.

Booklice: https://bugspray.com/article/booklice

Clover Mites: https://bugspray.com/articles98/clovermites

Psocids: https://bugspray.com/psocids

Springtails: https://bugspray.com/article/springtail