Information on Colembolla/Springtail Control -

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URL for this page:http://www.bugspray.com/article/springtail.html=========================== SPRINGTAIL CONTROL This article is about SPRINGTAIL control.It will explain why they are a pest and whatneeds to be done for controlling infestations.PLEASE NOTE: YOU CAN SEE PICTURES AND PRICINGOF ALL THE PRODUCTS LISTED IN THIS ARTICLE BYCLICKING YOUR MOUSE CURSOR WHERE PRODUCTS APPEARUNDERLINED IN THE TEXT BELOW. Most of your

questions will be answered in the article. Be sure to read all of it before you call in fortechnical support. If you are looking for information about fleas, ants or any other insect or animal, go to our article archive section by following the link below where you will find in depth articles and information on just about any pest.CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR ARTICLE SELECTION PAGE Springtails are a nuisance in and around homes allacross the United States and other countries. They aresmall creatures, measuring only .04 to .1 inches, butbecause they emerge in such great numbers they can beannoying, scary and even embarrassing. This articlewill detail some basic biological information aboutthis insect, explain why they are a pest and thenoffer solutions for solving your problem. Be

sureto click on products where they appear underlined inthe text of this article to see packaging and pricingof the products needed to control this pest. And youshould find this video informative and helpful if youplan on doing some treatment. Our in house Springtailexpert does a good job of explaining what you need todo for this pest as well as demonstrate how to use theproducts recommended below. Springtails are small insects which thrive where thereis a lot of moisture. This can be in bathrooms, kitchens,basements, crawl spaces, behind walls, under siding, undermulch and just about anywhere moisture is prevalent andpersistent. Springtails do not do any damage nor do they bite but because they will emerge enmass, people fearthem. Springtails are commonly mistaken for fleas, ants ortermites but are dramatically different. They eat mold,mildew, fungus and decaying organic matter which isusually present in moist areas. They can be found ingreat numbers in homes which have been built for severalyears or in homes which are new. Springtails prefer tolive under slabs, mulch, around drain lines, under

housesiding or under piles of wood. They will readily move undersiding if moisture is conducting there and from theremove into homes. Springtails are readily found under slabs,cabinets and under bathtubs where it is both dark andmoist. The author has inspected many homes where largepopulations were found to be in wall voids. On severaloccasions the numbers were in the tens of thousands!This occurred because the population was never treateddirectly. The emerging swarms were quickly cleanedbut the nest sights left intact. This allowed them to continue to populate, breed and thrive. Springtails will develop into many sizes and shapes -even in the same colony - but the one constant amongthem is their ability to jump. They have an appendage,called a "furcula", which loads like a spring. Whenthreatened, they will release this spring and propelthemselves away from danger -

hence the name springtail. They will move in short runs, then rest, and then move again. Since they can withstand extremely cold temperatures, they have been known to emergeany time of the year. It is not uncommon to findthem active in the middle of the winter equallyas likely as the middle of summer. On a warm sunnyday during winter you may come across a migrationwhich has occurred and see them active on top ofsnow! Though they will probably die if theydon't get back down into the soil, they willremain active quite a long time even whileexposed to such a harsh climate. Springtails become a problem in and around the home when they begin to appear inside, aroundpools or in garages. The first time or two theyemerge no one may notice. Once they establishthemselves, however, their numbers will be solarge that they will be very evident when theycome

out. Expect to see tens of thousands ofthem as they cover the kitchen floor, sinks, tubs, basements, pool areas and patios. It's important tounderstand that this behavior is just a symptom of thereal problem. In other words, what you are seeing isnot where the problem resides but rather a migrationof them from an overly populated area in search ofsomewhere new that they can infest. Many times peoplewill see piles of springtails on their patio or basementfloor and think that spraying this area will stop them.Nothing can be further from the truth. If you don't treat where they are nesting, you will continue to seethem piling up in these same areas over and over. Anddon't be confused by springtails found in your sinkor tub. As stated above, springtails will find drainpipes in the home and follow them because they are moist.Where these pipes enter the home and the

wall voidswhere they travel in the home are where the springtailswill travel. Eventually the trail will end at a sinkor tub and at that point, they will find overflow ports, drain pan or pipe vents and forage into the sink ortub. In other words, they aren't coming up from the pipebut are in fact traveling along the pipe in the wallor under the ground to gain access to these areas. Once they come out they are easy to kill but if you want to get rid of them for good you will have to treat themwhere they are nesting or at least where they aretraveling. First, try to determine where they are nesting.Though they can live under mulch, they can anddo readily live in moist soil. If you water youryard the constant level of moisture could bemore than high enough to allow them to live. Springtails like to live under patio slabs, aroundthe decking of pools, under logs,

pinestraw, woodchips, plastic weed preventive sheathing laidin flower beds, under wood decks built on theground, in bath traps, under kitchen or bathroomsinks, under linoleum, around jacuzzis or hottubs, in crawl spaces and in the basement. Ifthe siding of your home is prone to beingmoist, they will readily move up and under thesheathing, into insulation or behind sheet rock.Finding the nest is critical to stopping themigrating and relocating masses that willhappen throughout the year. Remember that it will be somewhere wet, damp and dark. It is generally very close to where you first findthem since they don't move too quickly. If youcome upon a migration, chances are they emergedsomewhere very close to where you found them. Once the nesting areas are found, try to determinewhy it is moist. If outside, there may be littlethat can be done to help minimize the

water content.If in crawl spaces, consider why it is so moistin this area. Install more ventilation if needed.Wall voids where they are active could have leaksaround windows, door frames or light fixtures.Seal these areas to prevent water from accumulatingthere as well as many of the other damaginginsects like carpenter ants or termites. If undersinks, inspect to make sure you don't have a leakypipe. The same is true in bathrooms and basements.By reducing and/or eliminating moisture sourcesyou will reduce the areas in which these pestscan live. The use of HUMIDITY METERS around thehome can be a great help at identifying problemlocations. Since it is sometimes hard to determinejust where the moisture is highest, these meterscan really help. Once the moisture has been identified,

you willstill have to deal with existing populations ofspringtails. Though drying infested areas willhelp reduce their activity, springtails are mobileand will readily move from one location toanother in search of moisture. If your problemis located under mulch, pinestraw or wood chips,you will need to use two products for quick control. BIFEN GRANULES are weather resistant and doa great job of penetrating mulch and other dampareas where springtails are known to hide. Applythem with a HAND SPREADER over the infested area and be sure to treat as many of the same areas around your property since it is likely infestations will start there if they have not already. Bifen

will release slowly over a month or two and will providecontinuous control during this time. However, itdoes not kill quickly. To kill existing populationsquickly, use a liquid spray. CYONARA RTS is a great material to apply overthe top of Bifen. It will both activate the Bifenand provide a quick knockdown of current springtailactivity. Just hook it to your garden hose andget to work spraying over all the areas whereyou applied the granules. This should be alongthe turf adjacent to the home including mulch piles, flower beds and any other turf wherespringtail activity is seen or thought to be a possible nest site. This material will provide a quick knockdown so you'll see instant results.And the water used to apply it will help getthe Bifen going into the soil which

is fundamentalfor solving springtail problems. However, if thespringtails are nesting under a slab, you willhave to do more than just spray around it. Springtails nesting under pool decking orpatio slabs need to be treated differently thanjust sprinkling some granules and spraying. Theseinfestations need to be treated like a termite job. Thisinvolves drilling holes, around every foot ortwo, through which you will pump some BIFEN.Use one of our SPRAYERS to apply the material throughthe holes. You can do this by removing the adjustablenozzle on our sprayer and then pumping directlyinto the hole. You will get good flow and coveragedoing it this way. Areas which are treated for termites

generally never get springtails because the termite treatment stops them. Since areasaround pools are rarely if ever treated, they tendto attract springtails. One of the most commonlocations for springtails to nest is just underthe decking and cement slabs that are used tosurround in ground pools. The only way suchnests can be properly treated is to either liftthe decking and treat under it or drill holesand pump the Bifen down. The same is truefor patio slabs and walkways - particularlywhere the slab attaches to the home. Drill 1/2 inchholes and inject the Bifen for quick and completecontrol. Apply around 1/2 gallon per hole if drilledevery foot. This will take care of nest sights onceand for all preventing further migration. After youhave treated under slabs, be sure to surface sprayfoundations, walkways and any other surface youhave seen the springtails or

suspect them to beactive. You should be able to use the same sprayerfor this application and since the Bifen willprovide residual, there will be a chemical barrier there to stop them from successfully migrating elsewhere. And the same applies to the trap or dirt areaunder tubs which are sitting on a slab. This is oneof the most common locations used by springtailsto enter a home. They find the drain line outsidethe home, follow it up under the slab and then enterthrough the trap and into the tub. It's easy to stopthem if you cut an access hole to the trap. This can many times be done from inside the home, from the otherside of the wall where the tub sits. Such wallsare commonly closets or other areas where an accesshole can be made discreetly. Regardless of how yougain access, failure to treat this area means thespringtails (and other pests too) will use

thisport to enter your home. Treat it with the Cyfluthinheavy and in most cases, they'll never be able to come up from there again. If you have them inside the home, you will haveto treat under these slabs as well. This willinvolve drilling and treating but will take careof this nuisance pest once and for all. However,it is very common to have them nesting undercabinets or in wall voids. Treat these areaswith DELTAMETHRIN DUST for long term control. Thisdust is unique in that it will not breakdown when wet - a condition which is generallypresent where springtails are living. Apply itwith a HAND DUSTER. This tool will let you"blow" the dust 3-6 feet, deep under cabinetsand into

walls. If you don't have easy accessholes through which to pump the dust, simplydrill holes every 2 feet 1/4 inch wide. Thiswill allow you to spray into the void properlygetting good coverage. Make such holes throughsiding, sheetrock, paneling or any other wallvoid you believe they may be nesting. Pump1 lb of Deltamethrin Dust for every 500 sq/ft of wallspace. It will last a long time making sureto break the cycle of springtails. And it will alsostop them from following drain pipes. Since theywill readily travel up the wall following a drainline, you'll have to dust these walls if you wish tostop this behavior. This wall space is used for drainlines which are upstairs in homes and apartment buildingsand springtails have been known to climb 10 stories upusing this "highway"! A good dusting of this spacewill both stop them and prevent them from forming nestsso treat as

much of it as possible. If they are thriving in a crawl space whichis moist a lot of time, you can either treatwith Bifen by spraying it out over the topof the soil or by dusting with the Deltamethrin Dust.Spraying will only last a month or two per application so you will have to get down thereseveral times a year to break the cycle andinsure it does not develop again. The use ofthe Dust will provide longer residual and thusreduce the amount of times you will have to treat. Typically a good dusting will last atleast 6 months and can easily last over a year!Apply the Deltamethrin Dust with a DUSTIN MIZER. Thisunique hand operated power duster will enable you to blow the Deltamethrin Dust 20-30 feet providinguniform and complete coverage. If you know they

are coming out of specificcracks around molding, window frames or lightfixtures and the white residue of the Deltamethrin Dustis too messy, use some BAYGON AEROSOL for cleanand invisible crack and crevice treatment. Itwon't solve the problem in the walls or underslabs but it will provide a quick kill of the emergingadults and keep them at bay until the long termresiduals do their job. Baygon is also good touse outside where you have massive migrationsoccurring. It also works well for other pests soyou will be able to put it to use for manyproblems in and around the home. Springtails are a pest in and around the homethroughout the United States. They are able to livein all types of soil and will thrive when wet, dampconditions are available. Though easy to kill,

youmust get to their nest sight if you intend onbreaking their cycle and preventing massive migrationand activity in the future. To do this you willneed to use a combination of the products featuredabove. Two or three treatments will usually resolveany level of infestation along with moisturereduction and you should be able to knock them outonce and for all. If you have any questions about springtail control or any other pest control questions, please give us a call. If you want to view some of theproducts mentioned above, link to our catalogby clicking on the product name that is in blueor by clicking on the link below to our catalog.Our toll free number is 1-800-877-7290.E-Mail us at @...CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR SPRINGTAIL PRODUCTS PAGECLICK HERE AND GO BACK TO OUR ARTICLE SELECTION PAGECLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR CATALOG INDEX PAGECLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR MAIN PAGEAll articles copy righted by U-Spray, Inc.4653 Highway 78Lilburn, Georgia 30047Phone: (770)985-9388Fax: (770)985-9319Toll Free: 1-800-877-7290url: http://www.bugspray.com/article/springtail.html WillowWillow Invites You to: http://www.myspace.com/willowmorningskyand my teen idol grandson:http://www.myspace.com/tannerrichie1