Springtails
Springtails are tiny wingless six-legged animals, around 1.5–3 mm long, that flick themselves into the air when disturbed. In houseplant compost they eat fungi, algae and decaying organic matter; they do not harm established plants and do not bite people or pets. A lot of them means the compost is staying wet — let it dry between waterings and their numbers drop. No spray is needed, and none is recommended.
Springtails (Collembola) on the surface of damp potting compost. Photo: pending.
Identification
Very small — about 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) in UC IPM's description, up to 1/8 inch (3 mm) in UMN and UConn's — soft-bodied and wingless, with moderate-length antennae. Colour runs from white through grey, brown and purple to black. Most species, though not all, carry a forked jumping organ, the furcula, folded under the abdomen; released, it can throw the animal several inches.
The jump is the giveaway. They are sometimes mistaken for fleas, which they are not, and in greenhouses for thrips larvae when plants are tapped over white paper. The thing actually worth ruling out is the fungus gnat: its larvae live inside the compost, are legless and translucent with a black head, and never jump.
Easily confused with
- Fungus gnat larvaeAlso a pestAlso in wet compost, but legless, translucent worms with a shiny black head that live inside the mix and never jump.
- Soil mitesHarmlessTiny specks with eight legs (six in the youngest larvae) that crawl rather than jump. Springtails flick themselves into the air with a forked organ under the abdomen.
- FleasAlso a pestSpringtails jump like fleas, but they do not bite people or pets, and they gather where compost or mulch stays wet.
- Thrips larvaeAlso a pestTapping greenhouse plants over white paper shakes out both. A springtail flicks itself away with the forked organ folded under its abdomen.
Damage symptoms
In a houseplant pot, the only symptom is the springtails themselves. Some outdoor and greenhouse species — the garden springtail especially — can chew minute pits in the leaves or roots of tender seedlings, but mature plants are not significantly injured. If an established plant is wilting or failing and you can see springtails, they are a sign of wet compost, not the cause; look for root rot or fungus gnat larvae instead.
- Tiny white, grey or dark specks hopping on the compost after watering
- Specks caught on yellow sticky cards alongside other small insects
- Specks dropping onto white paper when a plant is tapped over it
- On seedlings only: minute rounded pits in young leaves or roots
- Numbers rising in overwatered pots, saucers and damp corners
Lifecycle & degree days
Springtails breed wherever there is moisture and organic matter, so a pot that never dries can keep a population going year-round. They keep moulting after they reach adulthood, and some live for more than a year. Outdoors, they come indoors when their habitat dries out, and they turn up most in spring and early summer.
- Egg hatch
- About 10 days
- To adult
- 5–8 moults
- Lifetime moults
- Up to 40–50
- Lifespan
- Some live more than a year
Host crops
Springtails do not choose plants; they choose compost. They are found in any growing media high in organic matter or compost, especially where plants are overwatered, and outdoors in leaf litter, mulch and under bark. The list below is where people find them, not a list of plants at risk.
Monitoring & action thresholds
UC IPM and UMN Extension both advise against insecticides for springtails. Reduce moisture instead. The only plants at any risk are tender seedlings, which can show minute pits.
There is nothing to count. Water a pot and watch the surface for a minute: springtails hop on the compost after watering. Then rule out the thing that does matter by pressing a slice of raw potato into the compost for a day or two — fungus gnat larvae gather under it, and they are the ones worth treating.
Biological control
Nothing to release. Springtails do not need controlling, and buying a predator to remove them treats a symptom of wet compost. The soil predatory mite Stratiolaelaps scimitus does eat springtails, so if it is already in your pots for fungus gnats it will take some of them too.
Cultural controls
Everything that reduces springtails is something that also makes compost healthier for the plant. Moisture is the key, then excess organic matter.
- Let the compost dry between waterings; water less often but more deeply
- Tip out water standing in saucers after watering
- Reduce excess organic matter; use clean, pasteurised potting mix
- Deal with condensation and damp spots in the room itself
Chemical, last resort
Rating: the effect on this pest's natural enemies if a spray hits them or they feed on treated plants. REI is the re-entry interval on farm and greenhouse labels; home labels usually give none, so follow the label.
Sources
UC IPM Pest Notes: Springtails, Pub. 74136 (E.J. Perry, updated 2025)
UMN Extension — Springtails (Schuh, Koch, Kells et al., reviewed 2024)
UMN VegEdge — Springtails (Koch, Carrillo & Hutchison)
UConn Extension IPM — Springtails in the Greenhouse (L. Pundt, rev. 2024)
Page status
Drafted from the sources below, then checked claim by claim against those sources on 23 September 2026.
Suggest a correction →