Small White Things in Run-Off Saucer

Just wondering if anyone could please give me any input on a few creepies i just found? I'm sorry to say i've not got pics as these things are near microscopic & my camera ain't that good sadly.

Firstly, they only seem to be living in the run-off saucer/bowl that i have the pot standing in - alot of roots have grown thru the bottom of the pot holes & into this dish & it usually has a few millimetres of run-off water lying in it at any one time. From what i could tell, none were clinging to the actual bottom of the pot & have not seen any on top of soil or the plant itself, etc.

Secondly, the bugs themselves were bright white in colour & shaped like a grain of rice but 10 times smaller. They moved in a sort of jerky/jumping fashion like u would expect flea's to do. As i said, my saucer usually has abit of water sitting in it & it was in this water they were moving around, so i guess they don't mind being submerged either. At a rough count i would say there were about 30 or 40 of these things but they were so small all of them would've fitted onto the head of a match.

My solution so far has been to rinse out the saucer & i washed the dangly roots off under the tap too. I must admit the dangling roots weren't the pure white colour they were last time i looked, but they certainly don't appear rotted or damaged, etc.

Any advice on what the bugs might be would be greatly appreciated - thanks for reading!

Insect soap.

They might be spring-tails, I hear they're harmless, with a 3 month life cycle.

Nice one Hugo - thanks for the reply dude. Certainly their flicky/jumpy/jerky movements makes me think they can't be the usual aphids, worms, maggots or beetles, etc. I'll look Springtails up properly to get some more confirmation - cheers again man!

Just wanted to say cheers again Hugo & also to give anyone else abit of info for if they see the same thing.

I reckon u were spot-on & from further research i'm pretty certain they are indeed Springtails in my run-off saucer. Seems like they aren't too harmful & don't grow in numbers too fast, so i'm not overly concerned.
I'm just gonna keep emptying & cleaning out the run-off saucer every other day and rinse off the dangly root strands. Also i was gonna do a big flush in a week anyway (I wanna pump up the nute regime as they 2 weeks into flower, without having to worry about residual nutes in soil they not yet eaten), so might do that now as it sounds like u can flush Springtails outta the soil & into run-off saucers quite easily.

Anyway, thanks again Hugo & as i said, here's some info i found that seemed most informative yet concise enough for quick identification (i got it from another question forum, but it seems it may have come from RIU in the 1st place anyway, so rep up to whoever did originate it!):

Question:

Saw some water runoff earlier today with little white specks in it. Upon closer inspection that appear to move. Unable to get a clear shot I search the net, springtails seems what it would be. Clearly white, not red, nothing on the plants, appears to have been flushed out of the soil. Does not appear to be a mealy bug, much smaller, link below has a picture of what it appears to be, an elongated white body, with a head. One blurry picture, sorry no tripod and macro is a blur-fest when trying to take a pic, it just shows the general amount of white dots (springtails) seen in the water runoff.

Just wanted to hear your guys thoughts on springtails, copy paste below of a definition in regards to MJ.


Springtails (usually Onychiurus species) in pot plants

Plants affected

Many pot plants, especially those grown in peat, coir or other types of soil-less compost.

Symptoms

Small wingless insects, up to 2mm long and often white, crawl among the compost of pot plants. They are most noticeable after watering when they come up onto the surface before burrowing back in the compost, or they may be flushed out through the drainage holes and be seen floating on the drainage water.
Other white insects of similar size found among the roots of pot plants are likely to be root mealybugs (http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles1103/root_mealybug.asp). That sap-feeding type of pest is relatively immobile in the soil compared with the much more active springtails. The latter also has a pair of antennae visible on the insect's head, whereas those on mealybugs are microscopic.

Cause

These insects are springtails, so-named because many species (not Onychiurus spp.) have a forked structure folded under their abdomen; when flicked out it propels the insect into the air and helps the creature escape predators or adverse conditions. Many species of springtail of various colours occur in garden soil but the types most frequently found in potting compost are white Onychiurus species.

Control

None is necessary. These are harmless creatures that feed on fungal growth and decaying plant material. They are dependent on damp conditions and so will not spread away from pot plants or become a nuisance in the home.

Click to expand...

Oh - and i just noticed the RHS link still in it, so dunno if this is a problem or not, but my apologies in advance to any mods if it is.