Jessica from Orlando, Florida writes
Hello, I've been surfing your site seeing what is the best products for my situation. I live in central Florida and this summer has been a very rainy season. I have an outbreak of Springtails in my lawn and you can see them walking up the side of the house and they're getting in. Not by the thousands but I see a couple here and there everyday. Since I've been reading and researching, I dug up the mulch that was in front of the house and replaced it with rocks. I cut down the rose bushes on the side of the house since they were too close to the walls and they were dying as well (eliminating leaf litter and dead plants). I also have ants coming into the home as well (I believe Thief Ants). I walked around the foundation and sealed up holes and crevices that were close to the ground but it seems that the (other) ants chew thru this, so I laid down ant baits store bought and homemade (peanut butter and boric acid) I really need products that will help me out with these two issues. I need the best liquid and granule to apply around the perimeter preferably that leaves a residual affect. Also info on how often I can apply since it rains almost everyday here. Also if putting a 1-2 foot wide rock barrier/pathway around the house would alleviate the insects from coming in since the grass would not be up against the house?? Any help/info would greatly be appreciated as I am getting desperate and am truly grossed out by anything that crawls around! Thanks in advance.
You can use DeltaGard G Granules in a 5-10 foot band around the perimeter of the foundation for pests including ants and springtails, however it would be difficult to apply granules around the rock beds. In these areas and on the structure itself you could use a liquid concentrate such as Temprid SC. Temprid SC has two active ingredients, one of which is imidacloprid, which has a long residual and is a non-repellent for ant control. We would recommend applying Temprid SC once every 30 days in the summer, and the granules every three months. You do not need to apply these products in the same areas. For the springtails, eliminating the moisture buildup to make the environment less suitable for their breeding is the most important part of control, so pulling mulch and planting back from the foundation will surely help to keep these pests out of the structure. If you are finding ants indoors, we recommend our Complete Ant Kit which contains both a protein and a carbohydrate bait, as well as refillable bait plate stations that allow you to place out both baits at the same time.
Answer last updated on: 07/11/2014
