springtails
Hey everyone i found this article on the web. I have a ozone ultraviolet pool and i found them on top of the water just now, bouncing around!
Biology of springtails
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Springtail Elimination
Springtails are minute, wingless insects that get their name from the fact that they have an unusual locomotor organ. The main locomotor organ is a forked, tail-like structure (called a furcula) which is folded forward under the abdomen when the insect is at rest. The furcula is held in place by a clasp-like structure, called a tenaculum. When the tenaculum is released, the furcula thrusts downward and backward against the substrate, allowing the springtail to jump consider able distances. A springtail 5-6 mm in length can jump 75-100 mm and floating springtails can even jump on water! Many springtails are beautifully colored (white, gray, yellow, orange, metallic green, lavender, red) but, because these insects are so small, this detail goes unnoticed by the general public.
The usual habitat of these small insects is in soil of woodlands, in decaying vegetative matter, or on the surface of stagnant water. For the most part they are innocuous creatures and are seldom even noticed. Most soil-inhabiting springtails feed on decaying plant material, fungi and bacteria, and thrive in an environment that is moist or high in humidity. Because springtails infest decaying organic matter, they can infest soil of potted plants and become a nuisance in greenhouses or mushroom cellars. They do not injure living plants.
Because these insects do not cause any real injury, persons faced with a springtail infestation should try to reduce the population by eliminating moisture and humidity in the area that they are found. Outside, they cause no problem and are an important component of the ecosystem. For a quick kill of existing populations, a single spray treatment should do the job; anything containing Cypermethrin will work. However, eliminating the conditions that cause an indoor infestation (usually in bathrooms, laundry rooms, garages) will quickly reduce their numbers.
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