Springtails 

Have you seen small hopping bugs in your house? They might not be fleas.

Springtails are usually found in the garden where they feed on decaying vegetation and mould in the soil, but on occasions, they will hop indoors. They have many different shapes, sizes and colours; from pale to dark brown. They all have an appendage called a furcula, which is usually folded under the insect’s body, but when the insect is disturbed the furcula can spring down rapidly, projecting the springtail upwards. This hopping accounts for springtails often being mistaken for fleas.

Springtails can become a problem in and around the home when their population grows so large that they spread from their usual habitat in search of new locations to live. You might see hundreds of them on kitchen floors, in sinks or baths, basements, poolsides and patios.

Occasionally they may be found in a seething mass known as a mating swarm which is a pile of springtails of many thousands of insects. For some reason, this is often found on a path, driveway or patio.

Springtails do not bite and when they come indoors they will not survive long. The application of a surface insecticide such as NO Bugs Super will hasten their demise but it will be best to stop them at source by applying LawnPro Protect to soils in a band around the house and spraying entry points with NO Bugs Super.

David Brittain
Kiwicare