are springtails good or bad for a soil grow + rep

moodster · Nov 9, 2009

the question is are springtails good or bad for a soil grow im reading that they are healthy for the soil anyone got any input ??

capecodkid · Nov 9, 2009

Springtails may be annoying but they are not harmful to your plants. However, getting rid of them is easier said than done. Your best bet is to try to dry out the soil more between waterings. When watering houseplants always water thoroughly, then spill out the excess moisture that remains in the saucer or tray.

beginnerbloomer · Nov 9, 2009

Yes springtails are good,u dont need to worry about getting rid of them.
Though its unlikely that u should have them in ur pots unless ur using soil u have collected urself.

Bon3z · Nov 9, 2009

Springtails feed on fungus and dead plant matter. For that reason I've always considered them to be somewhat beneficial. They do no harm to the plants and rely on moisture for them to survive. Capecod is right, best way to rid yourself of them is to just let the soil dry out a little more than normal between watering. Just be sure not to over-dry the soil, dont want to kill your babies =D

moodster · Nov 10, 2009

beginnerbloomer said:
Yes springtails are good,u dont need to worry about getting rid of them.
Though its unlikely that u should have them in ur pots unless ur using soil u have collected urself.

im using canna terra soil m8

heresSMOKEY · Jul 5, 2012

ive got weird white thing that i think jump im thinking their springtails ill let my soil dry out as much as possible thanks for the info folks, im using westlands soil with added john innes pretty weird

DontSnitch · Jan 7, 2013

iv just cum to my grow and have just noticed these little bastards myself, iv jus come into week 3 flowering and only just discoverd these.

Rev Z · Oct 2, 2015

I've got springtails too. I did a lot of reading about them and have done the following, whether they are harmless or not.

Firstly, I notice that mine look like a cluster of mini grains of white rice. I didn't see that aspect mentioned anywhere.

I also read that mosquito dunks are supposed to work. I've had one in the res. for over 48 hours and I don't see a difference.

In my second smaller garden, which I didn't think was infected, but it is, I am able to try other solutions, because I just harvested and that means cleaning and disinfecting time anyway.

I flushed all the water from the drain pipes into the res after emptying the majority of water from the res. The remaining water that drained from the pipes into the res was crammed full of springtails. I poured vinegar on them and they were dead within 15 minutes. Once I have cleaned all the bins and set up the system again, I will flush the whole system with a strong vinegar solution and then rinse a couple of times to neutralize the pH again. That should kill anything in the pipes.

The big question is how to kill the springtails in the big garden which is 1 month into veg. I don't want to harm the plants with a vinegar solution now. If I wait and vinegar (douche) my bins after flowering, I risk allowing the infestation to return to the small garden. I don't think $20.00 of mosquito dunks is working.

Alienwidow · Oct 2, 2015

Rev Z said:
I've got springtails too. I did a lot of reading about them and have done the following, whether they are harmless or not.

Firstly, I notice that mine look like a cluster of mini grains of white rice. I didn't see that aspect mentioned anywhere.

I also read that mosquito dunks are supposed to work. I've had one in the res. for over 48 hours and I don't see a difference.

In my second smaller garden, which I didn't think was infected, but it is, I am able to try other solutions, because I just harvested and that means cleaning and disinfecting time anyway.

I flushed all the water from the drain pipes into the res after emptying the majority of water from the res. The remaining water that drained from the pipes into the res was crammed full of springtails. I poured vinegar on them and they were dead within 15 minutes. Once I have cleaned all the bins and set up the system again, I will flush the whole system with a strong vinegar solution and then rinse a couple of times to neutralize the pH again. That should kill anything in the pipes.

The big question is how to kill the springtails in the big garden which is 1 month into veg. I don't want to harm the plants with a vinegar solution now. If I wait and vinegar (douche) my bins after flowering, I risk allowing the infestation to return to the small garden. I don't think $20.00 of mosquito dunks is working.

Mosquito dunks take two weeks to work. I personally like the crumbles in the shaker thingy. One (i think its a quart sizeish) shaker with the handle will cover around sixty five gallon plants. You just sprinkle them on the top. Two weeks later, gnats are dead and id guess springtails too. Hope that helps ya. 20 bucks, 60 plants.

Rev Z · Oct 3, 2015

Thanks. Guess I have to wait 2 weeks, but the stress is killing me.

"Crumbles in the shaker thingy"?

The mosquito dunks I bought are pucks. I just put one in an old stocking and immersed it. Should I have crumbled it first?

I should mention I am growing hydroponic, using pea gravel. 16 bins, 2 plants per bin. I use GH and rain water. I try to keep things as simple and natural as possible. I prefer as sterile an environment as possible. That wasn't a problem until now.

That's how I got springtails. I bought unsterilized potting soil and beer cups to keep my clones from dying prematurely while waiting for the garden to finish flowering.

I also had some kind of silk worm that would bind the leaves together with his silk web. I killed them as I saw them, no problem now. When i realized my mistake, I took the potting soil and slow baked it at 200F for a couple hours to sterilize it. Works fine now.

I was also thinking of flushing the system with boiling water, but I find it difficult to boil 21 gallons of water all at once. Not sure how boiling water would affect root systems.