I have seen springtails in & around my home in massive numbers. I’ve had an exterminator come out several times who has sprayed the perimeter of the house, inside & out, the shrubs, grass,etc. The most recent spray was very aggressive. It killed every bug I saw, except the springtails. They also used a flea killing type spray on the entire first floor inside my home. Nothing they have done is killing them. After reading your SPRINGTAIL CONTROL ARTICLE, I am assuming it is because the nest area hasn’t been treated or the right chemical/s wasn’t used ???
I am not sure what to do or which products to use as I have seen these bugs by the hundreds & thousands all around my property…on my kitchen floor, counter, sink, walls, in drawers & cabinets…on my laundry room floor & counter tops…bathtubs, showers, bath counters, living room, & even in upstairs bathrooms. I have also seen them EVERYWHERE on my outside spaces..front & back patios, sidewalks, driveway, siding…I even saw my ENTIRE 3 car garage floor covered in them one night. I bet there was a million, seriously. I sprayed windex on them for 30 minutes!!
We had this problem well before our pool was installed, but I also see them all around the pool & even on top of the water & in the skimmers. I have no idea where the nests are, and I am certain my husband isnt alarmed enough to drill holes in our walls because he rarely notices this tiny intruder. If you can help, please let me know. Our home is about 2 years old on a large acreage. I have seen springtails for over 1 & 1/2 of these years.
Is there anything I can do????
Springtails can be controlled. The problem is generally not with what is being sprayed but in most all cases where it’s being applied. Since they mostly breed out in the yard and soil, if you don’t go after them in this area, they will continue to reproduce and migrate into neighboring buildings indefinitely. I would refrain from treating all your wall voids for now; based on how much your service company has applied it seems like you’ve already attempted this method. For now, it appears they are simply too plentiful just outside the house and when migrating are overwhelming the chemical treatment. So with this in mind, consider getting them where they live.
And where is it they are living you ask? Most likely in the soil, adjacent to the house, where it’s dark and moist. To stop this exodus, you need to get the service company to treat the yard. They’ll need to treat a large area around the house with something like the BIFEN GRANULES featured in our SPRINGTAIL CONTROL ARTICLE. Following this treatment they need to spray over the top with something like CYONARA as shown in our video. This will help get some decent soil penetration. Over the course of several treatments you should get enough into the soil so they aren’t able to continue on like they’ve been doing. Remember, this won’t be cured overnight. I’m sure it will take several applications in key areas over a 6-12 month period. Many times people only treat when they see them migrating and this is a mistake. If you stop treating by mid summer, you are giving them the whole fall and winter to breed and re establish themselves so next spring they’ll be back as bad as ever. Keep treating. If the service company won’t, do it yourself or get someone to treat for you like a handyman.
And it’s also important to treat under any slab like stoops or patios where they might be living. Such areas are common nest sites and failure to get a good treatment in the soil here means they will continue to migrate as populations explode which is obviously happening now. Treating these slabs can be tough; as explained in our article this can be much like doing a termite job. But if the slab is small, it might not require drilling.
And if the house is sitting on a slab you will need to do a good job of sealing all entry points though the cement. Common entry points includes where pipes and wires poke thorugh. A really big problem area is almost always the bathroom trap and other drain line ports. Get access to areas under bath tubs if you want to a resolution this problem; just one can allow many thousands of springtails to enter and takin some time to seal these entry ways can have a profound positive impact.
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