Springtails everywhere!

[Heatheranne]

Oh wait! You can try adding water, springtails float. Just flush them down the toilet. Be careful not to drown the worms.

[TheHornedToad]

Oh wait! You can try adding water, springtails float. Just flush them down the toilet. Be careful not to drown the worms.

This is gonna be a big project, ill remove the worms with gloves first. Then should i float the springtails or just throw all the soil out? Ive also thought if i buried the food the springtails wouldn't eat it and then there numbers will go down. Also i could bait the springtails with a piece of bread then put it in a baggie and freeze them.

[TheHornedToad]

Actually I have a new plan, im gonna bury the worms food so that they can eat in peace. Then I'm gonna give the springtails food separately this way I can raise both. Then ill sell the springtails here on frog forum so i can buy more frogs.

[Gnag the nameless]

That's... actually quite a good idea. What kind of frogs are you planning on getting?

[TheHornedToad]

I was thinking of raising money for some dart frogs or some ceratophrys cornutas; I would have to buy alot of stuff for the darts though so that will probably not be very soon.

[fish4all]

Gotta love those tiny native springtails! Here is what I do to control them. Your lucky, my native species is 1/4 that size.

First, you guessed it, bury the food. BUT, I can not tell what you are feeding the worms so be careful what you bury and how much. Grains and grain based feeds can and will sour quickly if not eaten quickly. If it is fruit and veggie scraps then go ahead without worry. Don't let clump of grain get buried, a light sprinkle after moving back some of the bedding and then bury it could work fine.
Second, fly trap paper works great to catch them by the thousands. Stand one up in the bin and start them to the jump on it and you will control the population with 2-3 of those sticky insect/rodent boards. I had one that looked alive with so many on it.
3rd, don't over feed! the worms will not starve but the springtails will look for another place to find food.
4th, I find that feeding grains and bread breeds springtails faster than anything else. If you can feed some fruit and veggie scraps for a while and the population of springtails should decline over time.

I never have gotten rid of them all. Unlike the tropical species of springtails these things are TINY. I have had the entire surface covered with them in a 5 gallon bucket rinsing my red wigglers to get rid of most of them, I had to rinse a dozen times just to make a real noticeable dent.

As for selling the springtails, separating the mites should be easy. Mites don't jump so what you collect should be clean. Get a container and spook the little bugger so they jump everywhere and bag them up. I bet I could have sold 100,000-200,000 last year from cleaning my bins. But I doubt mien would be very useful because they are so tiny. Not sure if I want to try and collect them to sell them either.

[TheHornedToad]

Gotta love those tiny native springtails! Here is what I do to control them. Your lucky, my native species is 1/4 that size.

First, you guessed it, bury the food. BUT, I can not tell what you are feeding the worms so be careful what you bury and how much. Grains and grain based feeds can and will sour quickly if not eaten quickly. If it is fruit and veggie scraps then go ahead without worry. Don't let clump of grain get buried, a light sprinkle after moving back some of the bedding and then bury it could work fine.
Second, fly trap paper works great to catch them by the thousands. Stand one up in the bin and start them to the jump on it and you will control the population with 2-3 of those sticky insect/rodent boards. I had one that looked alive with so many on it.
3rd, don't over feed! the worms will not starve but the springtails will look for another place to find food.
4th, I find that feeding grains and bread breeds springtails faster than anything else. If you can feed some fruit and veggie scraps for a while and the population of springtails should decline over time.

I never have gotten rid of them all. Unlike the tropical species of springtails these things are TINY. I have had the entire surface covered with them in a 5 gallon bucket rinsing my red wigglers to get rid of most of them, I had to rinse a dozen times just to make a real noticeable dent.

As for selling the springtails, separating the mites should be easy. Mites don't jump so what you collect should be clean. Get a container and spook the little bugger so they jump everywhere and bag them up. I bet I could have sold 100,000-200,000 last year from cleaning my bins. But I doubt mien would be very useful because they are so tiny. Not sure if I want to try and collect them to sell them either.

You seem very experienced with this and have many great ideas. Since i don't want to kill the springtails I won't stop providing food for them I want to sell them. You say to just herd them into a bag? How many springtails do you usually sell i wouldn't know how to count them. I was thinking of just buying some 12 oz deli cups putting some soil in and herding a a few hundred springtails in with a sprinkle of food on top.