Identify, Get Care & Grow Healthy Plants with Us!

Springtails

Disease imageDisease imageDisease image

Springtails represent the family of microscopic arthropods of the class Entognatha, which includes several thousand species. The representatives are a very ancient group of animals. They can be found in the upper layers of the soil all over the planet, in meadows and forests, even sometimes on the surface of water bodies, in the grass, and even in snow. They can also be in the trunks of rotting trees, in mosses, and lichens. Springtails perfectly dispose of dead organic residues, so it is difficult to overestimate their role in forming the humus layer of the soil.

Most often, these insects harm houseplants and vegetables in sheltered soil. As a rule, they affect the plants when there are a lot of pests and when the conditions are unfavorable for growth.

Insects damage these plants, depriving them of protection against fungi and bacteria, which in turn can destroy the species.

Signs of damage

  1. Large numbers of small, white insects crawl around in the soil;
  2. They directly cling to the stems of cultivated plants;
  3. The leaves on such plants are deformed and eventually fall off.

How to prevent

A much more effective (as well as painless for nature) way to avoid plant diseases due to the springtails is, of course, timely prevention of their appearance. The standard rules of proper care, such as the provision of the plants with moderate watering, good drainage that will not allow moisture to stagnate in the soil, and balanced organic fertilizer, are enough to avert the likelihood of damage from these plant-threatening insects.

Heal

Treatment of compact plants is quite simple â€” just transplant the infected plants into healthy soil. As for greenhouse plants, the treatment is more complex. As an option, you can get rid of the springtails using chemical preparations, for example, imidacloprid or thiamethoxam. You should know that these pests are known to be very sensitive to most insecticides. But you will have to choose - to intervene in the vital natural processes or to protect your plants.

Go Premium to continue reading

Also you’ll get unlimited access to disease identification and all the other beneficial features

More problems

Plant ID

Blog

Disease ID

More