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Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

Springtails have invested our house. Not really infested but since that is what my wife says, I "agree." What to get rid of them. Terminex has sprayed several times. It knocks them down, but they come back every time. They are at a loss so I thought I would come here to the experts. They are probably under the house in the crawl space where it is still a bit damp. How, what and how often to spray or dust or .... Need a brand or active ingredient name or both would be best. Under the house is hard to reach so something easy?

Also, are they bad for pumpkins? I thought maybe Bifenthrin since it seems to kill most other things but not sure. Will it also kill widows? Black ones that is, LOL.

6/30/2006 7:54:16 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

We really need more information. Without inspecting your house this is a tough one. Here are some basics.

Springtails love moisture. Has it been raining a lot in Danville? They are common in houses with crawl spaces especially if foundation shrubs are starting to overgrow & beds are heavily mulched in bark mulch.

Do any of these conditions sound familiar?

6/30/2006 9:56:28 PM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

It did rain a ton and since I was adding on the house, the gutters were not in and under the house got pretty wet. Drained now but not dry as a bone yet. No bark or overgrown beds, just some moisture under the house.

It has been 100+ here for several days running so is drying out quickly, but still, it is under the house where it is much cooler.

So maybe renting one of those carpet drying fans and run it under the house until dry? I read Cyflurin or dy....

Thanks though

7/1/2006 2:30:49 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

The first thing we do when addressing a pest problem is look to their desired environment then look at where the problem is found. The Terminix guy must have been a real winner if he didn't inspect the crawl space & make recommendations ti improve it.

Get the Raccoon out of there & reinstall the screens. Then go over this checklist.

1.) Are the gutters back on?
2.) Is there a plastic vapor barrier between the crawl space floor (damp) & living area?
3.) Has the crawl space been fogged?
4.) Prune vegetation away from the house.
5.) Rake bark mulches away from direct contact with the house/foundation.
6.) Check with your local building/health inspector to make sure you have sufficient ventilation for the crawl space. It will be a ratio of square inches screened to square feet of crawl space.

After this is all done you might never need to treat for Springtails again.

7/1/2006 9:30:48 AM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

1. Check
2. No - Never has been since built in 1948. Rain was really heavy this year so I think it is a one off. If happens again next year, then maybe plastic in summer 2007.
3. NO - This seems key. Fogged with what?
4. Done
5. Done
6. Done

Terminex guy has been good in the past. I think he is spraying Lambda C for the springtails based on his "receipt" that he leaves. They do not go "under" the house, but I could open a couple foundation vents if necessary and he will spray or dust what he can from those locations.

Overall I am pretty careful about the foundation. Yes I was lazy and let the dang Raccoon in and there was not a lot I could do about the gutters and such. All gutters are up and sent to a central drainage off the property.

Fogging is a great idea if I knew which to buy. There are a lot of foggers out there and I would be happy to go down and set a few off. Suggestions?

Thanks again Steve, you are a wonderful resource and you can't imagine how much you are appreciated by me and the others on the board.

7/1/2006 10:12:02 AM

ENGLAND

What is a Springtail ?

7/1/2006 10:15:20 AM