Springtail Help! (credit, house, crawl space)

[zwally]

Since the warmer weather, we've noticed a lot of "little bugs" crowding our driveway, porch, and inside our bathroom. Over the past few weeks, they have made quite an appearance and won't quit. Over the weekend, we purchased some Otho Max bug killer, and it didn't stop new bugs from moving in. We have identified them as Springtails. Any advice on how to get rid of them?! We have had suggestions to do the Hometeam Pest Defense, but I don't want to pay 75 per quarter if we can do something ourselves! However, if it will get rid of them for good, it may be worth the investment.

Thanks!

[NCyank]

I would be concerned that they are taking up residence in your walls or crawlspace if you are seeing them in the bathroom. They like to live in moist areas and while you may be seeing hundreds, there may be thousands more that you don't see. It may indicate you have a leak or other water problem in that is attracting them to the area.

I would suggest an exterminator who will not only treat the infestation but determine the source. Follow up with a solution to the moisture problem that is making suitable habitat for them. I don't think quarterly pest control is a good solution in this case.

[joanchris2000]

We had them when we moved in....I bought several different kinds of bug spray, did seem to kill the ones I sprayed directly on, but didn't stop new ones from coming in (In the drains, up the sinks, tubs, all around the walls of the sunroom). I was told by our const. super. that they come from the straw laid out on the yards of new construction. I did some research online, general opinion seemed to be that even exterminators can't do much about them. Running dish/hand soap in the sinks when we were done washing seemed to keep them out in between.....and in about 2 weeks (maybe less now that I think about it) they were gone. I never did have the exterminator come out, I'm sure they would have taken credit for making them go away if they had come.
They were annoying but harmless, and they did just go away for us.
Good luck.

[BxRosie]

[quote=zwally;3541701We have had suggestions to do the Hometeam Pest Defense, but I don't want to pay 75 per quarter if we can do something ourselves! However, if it will get rid of them for good, it may be worth the investment.

Thanks![/QUOTE]

I HATE bugs, so I LOVE my HomeTeam pest man! I'm itching just reading this, LOL!!

Seriously, I have been using HTP since we moved here in '06 & we rarely, if ever see any bugs. They do a thorough job. If you see anything (and I mean anything) between visits, they come out & respray free-of-charge. I don't have to touch any chemicals & there is no smell. Very Happy with HTP!

BxRosie

[Union county hopeful]

Killingsworth is my favorite bug people - I pay once a year and can call them anytime to come out and spray

[jerzey]

We used Home Pest Team and it did reduce the amount of the springtails but not eliminate as we would of course prefer, as well as we are going to lay pebbles in the grass that is suppose to be a big help...as well as HPT is coming back out to retreat (they retreat every 5 days so best believe we will be making sure they come out). I think from my research that their nests are in the pine needles, so we are probably going to pull that %@$# up very soon. The following website lists the pesticides that are suppose to work: http://ipm.ncsu.edu/agchem/5-22.pdf (broken link)

[zwally]

Thanks! We do have the pine needles and we put some chemicals in them this weekend. We seem to have them more on our patio then anywhere else.

[Spider913]

Zwally,

I'm in eastern NC, and your problem sounds just like mine. The springtails, which we originally thought were fleas, showed up about a week ago.

Based on a respected, local exterminator's advice, here's what I'm doing about it:

1. Assess where they're nesting: Since springtails must have and seek moisture, the primary areas for me to look were in natural areas, the garage, under the house in the crawl space. This just applies to my own property. Unfortunately, we have a subdivision-wide infestation, so we'll see if my efforts on my property (all I can do) can keep the millions and millions of springtails from the whole neighborhood away in the long-term.
Result: Many, many in the crawl space and moisture-retaining areas next to the house (pine straw natural areas, etc.).

2. Get rid of their safe harbor: The exterminator advised me to cut the grass as low as possible without killing it and get rid of the pine straw and much right next to the house. In the short term, this has a negative cosmetic effect, but it gets rid of the moisture-retaining areas right next to the house.

Upon inspecting the crawl-space, it is somewhat damp. I don't know all of the ways to dry out a crawl space, but the simplest is to make sure the foundation vents are open (temperature-permitting). The exterminator mentioned laying down 6 milimeter plastic on the ground of the crawl space but probably not worth the effort unless all these initial efforts fail.

3. Kill 'Em: The exterminator has sprayed the garage with a spray that should keep killing them in there for a few months. He advised for temporary relief to set off two "foggers" (available at Wal-Mart -- go to the lawn/garden section, not the pets section for the good ones) in the crawl space. At Home Depot I have bought both Sevin and Ortho granular killer, which will spread most heavily on the newly cleared areas just next to the foundation of the house and also througout the yard.

Keep in mind that any exterminator you hire can spray all they want inside and around your home, but as soon as you stop forking out the $$ for quarterly or monthly service, the pests will just return. It takes more effort on your part, but you'll save a lot of money by ridding the springtails of their environment in/around your home.

Results of my efforts are to be determined. Good luck to you.

[fredda]

Some very educational info here---www.bugspray.com
I googled springtail and found lots to read.
HTH, fredda

[joanchris2000]

My springtails are back.....I liked the site mentioned above, some good info about how to possibly get rid of them.....but their prices were really high, I found this site:
DoMyOwnPestControl.com - Do It Yourself Pest Control Products and Pest Control Supplies
and they have products with the same ingredients (note the products mentioned in the other site) for much less money. I'll be ordering as soon as I get back from Disney.....the springtails will probably be covering my sunroom when I get back--YUCK!