Springtail Control

[just4747]

I searched all the threads on TFP regarding springtails. Most posts centered on adding dish soap. I thought I'd share something that I found to help.

Last May we had our pool replastered and new equipment installed. The design of the pool circulatory system isn't ideal. The two returns are located on the same side about 8 feet from each other on the same side as the skimmer. Our pool is a play pool and the far side of the pool gets little circulation. Fast forward to this past October, we had new sod put in our back yard. The pool area takes up about 3/4 of the back yard. The remaining quarter is a patio, BBQ and grass area in an L shape. The base of the L is approximately 3 feet from the pool (on the poor circulation side). As most know, new sod needs lots of water. Lo and behold, this brought an onslaught of springtails. THOUSANDS! Looked like ash in the pool! They jumped on the tile and created a black ring!

They're too small to skim out with a net. I've tried using poisons on the lawn and surrounding flower beds. This has proven ineffective. My research says most insecticides aren't all that great for eradicating springtails. The preferred method is to create an environment they don't like, i.e., dry their environment out. This isn't always practical as in my case with new sod.

I stumbled upon an idea this morning as we just had a "storm" here in SoCal. I came out to test the pool and there were more springtails than ever before! A lightbulb went off in my head and I got the idea to "hose down" the surface of the pool and tile towards the skimmer! It took less time than skimming with a net and was relaxing. The water obviously stays right in the pool so nothing is wasted. All the little buggers were swirling around the skimmer so I put one drop of dish soap in to change the water tension and sent them on their way to our filter!

Hopefully this well help others as it helped me. When I first saw them I didn't know what they were and freaked out. I thought they were some kind of water bug! On a side note, I keep my FC at 7.0 and they were still jumping around frolicking and having a good 'ol time.

Hey - I realize this is a very long time later but just wanted to thank you and say that this simple solution has worked really well for me over the last 2 days. I created a new thread asking about thousands of super small springtails that showed up in my pool and it didn't sound like dish soap or any chemicals were really the answer. So after looking through many threads related to the issue, I found yours and tried the hose and it has worked great even if it takes some time and many follow up tries.

I put a skimmer sock on my skimmer basket and was able to really see the insane amounts that hosing them into the skimmer successfully got. After 2 days of this on and off I'd say the pool is 90-95% clear of them and there were thousands if not millions of almost microscopic springtails on the whole surface...insane.

Thanks and I hope this works for others too!

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I've used the hose method also. Good reminder. Hopefully this was just a one-time thing for you.