springtails??!!??!??!?!?

[Call_Me_Bob]

i think i may have springtails on one of my dens. its just a small keiki. i saw these little bug thing on the medium. they were mainly bunched on a piece of wet sphag that happened to be on the top of the medium. when i touched the sphag, they all jumped away. are they harmful? what should i do?

[dounoharm]

KILL EM ALL AND TAKE NAMES LATER!....a good systemic brew should do the trick....or a dose of sevin if you are squemish.....

[Call_Me_Bob]

any recomendations? as to what to use? im clueless! HELP! what is sevin?

[Tindomul]

They are harmless, they need not die. They will eat anything that is dead and rotting in your pot.

[Call_Me_Bob]

okay, so i can leave them there? it kinda worries me that one person think they are EVIL and one thinks they arent hmm

[RosieC]

If they are definately springtails then they are not harmful.

Their pressence can sometimes be an indication that the medium is breaking down and needs replacing, but that is not always the case. I think I have springtails in most of my orchids after just a month or so from re-potting.

There used to be a good picture of springtails on the RHS site but they re-arranged the site and I've not been able to find it again.

Springtails are tiny tiny and jump/move fast. They tend to be visible either in the water drained after watering (they jump arround on the surface) or if you water by dunking they will often come to the surface then.

[Call_Me_Bob]

i think i may have springtails then