Springtails are minute, wingless insects about 1/16 to 1/8 inch (1 to 2 mm) long. They sometimes alarm homeowners when seen outdoors in enormous numbers, appearing as "piles of soot" in driveways, backyards, on mud puddle surfaces, etc. Occasionally, they enter the home in damp areas such as in basements, cellars, bathrooms, and kitchens, especially near drains, leaking water pipes, sinks, and in the soil of over-watered house plants. They usually appear in the spring and early summer but can be found all year round. Some are known as "snow fleas," because they appear on the top of snow during late winter and early spring. Springtails do not bite humans, spread disease or damage household furnishings.

Description:

Springtails may be white, gray, yellow, orange, metallic green, lavender or red; some are patterned or mottled. They get their name from the ability to catapult themselves (leap) through the air three to four inches by means of a tail-like mechanism (furcula) tucked under the abdomen. When disturbed, this appendage functions as a spring, propelling them into the air away from the danger source. Young resemble adults except for size and color. Eggs are spherical.

Habitat:

Springtails occur in nearly every climatic condition throughout the world--in high mountain regions, pools, streams, snow-covered fields, forest floors, etc. They live in the soil, leaf mold, decaying logs, organic mulches, termite nests, snow, greenhouses, mushroom cellars, and on the surface of freshwater pools and under bark. Populations are often high, up to 100,000 per cubic meter of surface soil--many millions per acre. Most feed on algae, fungi, and decaying vegetable matter, and they are abundant only in damp, moist or very humid locations. Others feed on plant roots or nibble on young plant leaves and germinating seeds in hotbeds. They are beneficial in that they reduce decayed vegetation to soil (functioning as recyclers). They are among the few organisms known to break down DDT in the soil. Some can reproduce at temperatures as low as 40 degrees F. They move by crawling or jumping, followed by periods of rest.

Damage:

Springtails may become a pest because of their abundance or because they invade homes through doorways, screens or other openings. Buildings with constant high humidity may be overrun with springtails. Springtails have chewing mouthparts, but they rarely, if ever, damage house plants (roots or leaves). Frequently, plants begin to decline and homeowners blame the springtails. Over-watering is usually the culprit for the unhealthy appearance of plants if springtails are present.

Control:

Prevention: Springtails are commonly found where there are sources of moisture. Any means to provide a drying effect in the home provides effective control--using a fan or dehumidifier, for example, or repairing plumbing leaks and dripping pipes. Avoid over-watering potted house plants and allow the soil to dry between waterings. Outside the home, remove excessive mulch, moist leaves, prune shrubbery and ground cover and eliminate low, moist areas around the house foundation to permit proper air circulation. Remove wet, moldy wood or other moldy items. Springtails are attracted to light and may pass under lighted doorways at night.

Insecticides: Infested potted houseplant soil may be treated by soil drenches of Safers soap according to label directions.

Adapted from the Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Ohio State Unviersity Extension, 1999