5 Ways to Kill Springtails in Your Home

A magnified image of a springtail sitting on a piece of wood.

Springtails typically live in decrepit and humid areas. You can find them nesting behind damp walls, in the kitchen, and even in the bathroom. Their presence can easily become a nuisance in your place because of their sheer number.

If you have a springtail infestation, here are some tips on how you can eliminate springtails if they ever turn out in large numbers to infest your home.

1. Improve Home Ventilation

If you want to deal with springtails for good or prevent them from relocating to your place, you need to minimize the moisture that accumulates in your home. This will not only get rid of the ones you currently have but prevent future infestations as well.

The best way to do this is by enhancing air circulation. Also, make sure that you install appropriate insulation and roof protection to keep both excess heat and rainwater out.

Excess heat and water are the key elements that can cause moisture inside. By preventing damp areas from occurring, you will not have an ideal environment for springtails to thrive in.

2. Pour Vinegar Directly on Springtails

One way to get rid of springtails is by using vinegar. This is something most people have on hand already and is a quick and effective method of ridding your homes of springtails. The high acidity content of vinegar can burn and kill springtails and that alone can prevent these pests from propagating or migrating into your place.

If you are dealing with a massive infestation of springtails, this solution can be a bit costly because you may need to pour vinegar several times before you can see the effects.

3. Wash Affected Areas with Detergent and Water

If you do not want to spend a lot on vinegar, your next best option is to wash the infested areas using detergent and water. To do so, all you need to do is mix soap and water until bubbles or froth appears.

After you have made the solution of soap and water, simply apply the mixture on to the affected areas. The soap solution will burn and even drown large numbers of springtails. For larger droves of springtails or for best results, make sure to repeat the process several times on each infested area.

The springtails can be easy to miss since they are so small, hence why many of these methods of springtail removal are best if done more than once.

4. Use Bleach

One stronger method of springtail removal is bleach. Springtails are a very resilient type of infestation and using a soap solution or vinegar can only do so much. If you want a stronger and faster acting remedy, you can opt to use bleach.

Since this is a corrosive solution, it can easily eliminate very large numbers of these pests. But few people, if any, like the smell of bleach. So, if you cannot stand the smell of this kind of solution, you may not be able to use it against the pests.

Bleach can also be dangerous to you and your pets if too much is inhaled or if a pet ingests some of it. Bleach can also damage some types of floors which is why bleach is not a good solution for everyone.

5. Apply Insecticide or Hire an Exterminator

If ordinary home remedies do not work, your next move is to use insecticides. Do not do this without first trying the previously mentioned methods as insecticides can be dangerous if not used properly and are more expensive than some of the previously mentioned remedies for getting rid of springtails in your home.

Insecticides are widely available in home improvement or even grocery stores and they come in liquid concentrates, granules, or easy-spray cans. Since insecticides are essentially poison, they can instantly eliminate large colonies of springtails and other pests. But because of their lethal ingredients, you need to be very careful when applying them and follow any instructions to the letter.

Do not let small children or pets into the area for at least a few hours if you are using insecticides. If possible, open a window or run a fan when you spray the insecticide as well.

You should thoroughly wash the floors a few hours after spraying the insecticide. This will allow you to clean away all of the springtails and also get rid of the insecticide spray's smell and residue, making it safer for children and pets to once again use the room.

If everything else fails, your final option is to call in a professional and have your place fumigated. Here, the exterminator will use very powerful types of chemicals designed to kill all types of pests, including springtails.

This can be quite costly and depending on how big the infestation is, may necessitate you staying somewhere else for a few days so the fumes have time to dissipate after the exterminator finishes his or her work. This is a last resort when the other methods of getting rid of springtails fails.

What Are Springtails?

You may be wondering what springtails are. Springtails are often referred to by their other name: snow fleas. They help break down organic matter in plants, thereby improving soil quality. This means they can actually be quite helpful in a garden setting but that doesn't mean you want them inside of your home.

Springtails are small insects and are wingless. They are fairly small and do not bite or sting humans or pets and are not harmful to plant life, making them more of a nuisance than a real danger.

Still, when you see one there are often more lurking so it is advisable to deal with the problem when it first crops up.

What Brings Springtails Inside?

Springtails like moist areas like decaying logs or soil. They are also, however, attracted to light, which is what sometimes brings them inside a home.

Furthermore, springtails are tiny which means that they can enter homes easily through any crevice such as areas around doors or window screens. They also enter through pipes.

What Months Are Springtails Active?

Unlike other pests which prefer certain seasons, springtails are active all year round. This means that there is no one time of year when you need to be on the lookout for these pests. They do prefer cooler weather, though, so if it is warm out, they are likely to wait for the evening or a cooler day after a hot stretch to be outside.

Some species of springtails are not active in the winter but another, known as snow fleas, are active in the winter, hence their name. They can survive cold, difficult weather conditions. They are also even able to jump around on top of the snow.

Springtails thrive on moisture so any time of day or year when there is more moisture is when you are the most likely to notice springtails. This is also why areas of the home like a bathroom is where you are the most likely to find springtails as there is often more moisture there due to showers being used in the room frequently.

Should I Worry About Springtails in My House?

If you see springtails, your first thought may be to wonder if they are dangerous to you, as well as other people and pets occupying the home.

The short answer is no, springtails are not dangerous to humans or pets or even to plant life.

Springtails, as previously mentioned, like moisture. So while springtails in themselves may not be dangerous, an infestation of them could be a sign that you have a moisture problem in your home.

If you see springtails in your home, after getting rid of them you should investigate why they came into your home in the first place. Is there a really damp crawl space? Is moisture from the shower being trapped in the bathroom due to poor circulation?

There are some easy things you can do to address some of the more common moisture issues. In a basement, for example, you would use a dehumidifier. In a bathroom, you could make sure to run a fan while showering so that there is not a huge build up of steam and moisture.

Damp homes can also be prone to mold and mildew infestations so doing what you can to make your home less damp will help you with this as well. Mold and mildew can simply be unsightly, or can be quite dangerous so decreasing the moisture level in your home can be a good way to prevent these issues as well from infecting you and the other inhabitants of your home in the short and long term.

Once you find out why springtails are attracted to your home/ where the moisture issue is in your home, make sure to address the issue to prevent the springtails from coming back and other pests from deciding your home would be an attractive habitat for them and their rapidly growing families.

While springtails may just be a nuisance, pests like termites and bedbugs are quite dangerous and can harm you and the other inhabitants of your home and me a much costlier issue to fix in addition to being an issue that has to be fixed quickly to ensure the welfare of you, your family, and your pets in the long run.

As previously mentioned, springtails can get into homes from small crevices like under doors and through windows that are not properly caulked and sealed. Make sure your windows and doors are tightly sealed to prevent them and other pests from entering your home.

This can mean adding caulk or weatherproofing to areas of your home like windows and doorways. Both are fairly easy and cheap to do and are something you should do fairly regularly anyway, especially if you live in a cold climate and want to prevent cold air from entering your home during the cold winter months.

This can also decrease your heat bill if you are trapping the warm air in your home and not letting cold air enter it. Make sure at least once a year you inspect your home to make sure there are no areas exposed to the elements. Do so before an issue arises to prevent one from occurring in the first place.

While springtails may not be dangerous, the reasons why they are attracted to your home could attract other pests as well, many of which can be dangerous to you, your family, and your plants.

By taking some preventative measures to make sure your home is not attractive to springtails, you will also ensure that it is not attractive to other pests as well. Some preventive maintenance work here can make a huge difference in the long run.

Do Springtails Go Away On Their Own?

Before you start on one of the below methods for getting rid of springtails, you may be wondering if the pests ever just go away on their own. The answer is sometimes. As previously mentioned, springtails like damp areas. So if your home stops being so dam, springtails may choose to leave on their own.

This can, however, take weeks or months or years so you are better off taking one of the below methods to get rid of the springtails quickly rather than waiting around to see if they will leave on their own, which, while a possibility, is not guaranteed to happen anyway.

Conclusion

If you have springtails in your home, following the above advice will help you rid the pests from your home. Even though they are not dangerous to you, your family, pets, or plants, they are still a nuisance that you will want to deal with relatively quickly. Most of the ways of getting rid of them are easy and use materials you likely already have on hand.

As with most projects, if you are unable to get rid of the pests yourself, you may need to call in the experts.

Ways to Kill Springtails in Your Home FAQ

Why do I have springtails all over my house?

Seeing springtails in your home does not mean you are doing something wrong or that your home is dirty in any way. These tiny creatures are attracted to light and will naturally be drawn to any light source they see.

Springtails are so little, they can get into small cracks. They will drift in through little holes in window and door screens and even creep in around pipes where they connect to walls.

Will springtails eventually go away?

If you have springtails in your home, it's not a good idea to ignore them. Springtails can go away but it is not likely they will.

Most of the time, you will need some kind of pest control to get rid of springtails.

Do springtails mean mold?

Springtails, like many pests, are attracted to damp and wet places. If you have a lot of springtails gathered near a source of moisture, it is possible that you could also have a mold problem or develop one if this moisture issue is not dealt with.

Controlling the moisture will help prevent mold and pests like springtails.

Do springtails live in beds?

It is possible for springtails to infest beds, which can be a source of moisture for these pests.

What do springtails turn into?

Unlike some other pests that go through major transformations, springtails are springtails through their entire life cycle. They begin as eggs before becoming nymphs and then maturing into adults.