Do Springtail Bugs Bite?

Question

Ive looked everywhere and half the internet says they don't do any warm while others are saying they can bite and leave marks. Last few days I've woken up with itchy bite marks and thought I had bedbugs but couldn't find any. Then I looked on windowsill and found bugs which I looked up that are Springtails. (My bed is up agaisnt the windowsill) I also found them on other parts of my house as well. But I'm beginning to get paranoid and don't want to sleep in my bed :/

Answer 1

I had the same problem a couple of years ago, but there was argument over whether the insects were springtails or THRIPS... apparently, they're in the same family. I was getting bites at night that my doctor insisted had to be from bedbugs. But after thoroughly cleaning everything & searching the house, we found no sign of bedbugs whatsoever.



I did however find these almost microscopic, long-bodied, light tan bugs with long antennae which an exterminator told me were thrips. I knew for a fact they were responsible, but the research said nothing about thrips biting people. No one else in the house ever got a single bite but me. Worse still, the bites would itch for *weeks,* not just days and it nearly drove me mad.



I've heard of similar incidents since where people have all the symptoms and believe it's a bedbug infestation, but they never find any actual bedbugs. I believe either there's a new species of springtail/ thrip that can sting or bite now OR some of us have an allergy to the insects themselves. (God knows I'm allergic to everything else.) Anyway, the worse news is I either wore insect repellant at night or else and it didn't stop until we moved from that house.

Answer 2

They do bite. I moved into a brand new apartment complex five months ago and began experiencing extreme itching and small red bites. Of course, the first thought was bedbugs. At this point, that has been ruled out as not one bedbug has been seen yet. I was also experiencing a sensation of something jumping on my legs during the day so fleas was considered, but also has been ruled out. I began to place glue traps down all over the home and began catching a small flea size critter, but not fleas. The apartment complex where I live sent the sample to the department of agriculture for review and has determined it as Springtails. They bite! I live on the bottom floor and management here places an ungodly amount of mulch (untreated, I'm guessing) down during the summer months which Springtails thrive in. They have sprayed and treated the inside and outside over and over again since I've been here because of what I've been dealing with, but the problem is still not 100% solved. I will have to move. I go to bed every night knowing I will probably wake up with a bite somewhere. It's not as bad as when I first moved in, but who in the heck wants to live with bugs? No me!

Answer 3

Same here. Took my 4 year old a few days to his ped due little itchy bumps that appeared 1 or 2 at a time on different parts of his body. Never found out what it was. We never found any other bug but these tiny jumping bugs that where found here and there. No one other than my boy got the itchy bumps and I was getting very irritated. Sometimes he is unable to concentrate at school. Until we got allergy medications from his dr. That helped a little, but not 100%. My guess is, they do bite, but some have an type of allergic reaction to it. Working on removing them from our home. And it all happened after we placed mice poison because we saw a mouse in the house. Never saw the mouse again. But now we got these bugs. I've read they feed on decomposed matter. Maybe they multiplied after feeding on the dead mouse. Disgusting, thankfully I haven't read about any transmission of deseaseaces. But, just to be on the safe side. We're talking to his dr. this week.

Answer 4

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RE:

Do Springtail Bugs Bite?

Ive looked everywhere and half the internet says they don't do any warm while others are saying they can bite and leave marks. Last few days I've woken up with itchy bite marks and thought I had bedbugs but couldn't find any. Then I looked on windowsill and found bugs which I looked up...

Answer 5

I had/have something dropping from the ceiling and biting me at all times mostly at night. I thought they were bird/rat mites. The bites look like BB bites. I used Gold Bond Medicated Cream and the biting mostly stopped. They also got in my shoes and would stir during the day. I would spray alcohol, Windex and even bought Talstar P-Bifenthrin. They would torment me to no end. I pray and I asked God to deliver me from this torment. To shorten my story, my spraying turned my apartment into a very high moisture environment. Then I started salting the carpet, sweeping the ceiling, and vacuuming the carpet. Captured lots of them. An Entomologist identified them as springtails.

I don't think they normally attack people.Others can come into my apartment and not be bothered. I have either candida or some type of skin fungus. Springtails normally eat mold and are attracted to high humid environment. I was doing everything wrong. I now mix garlic, onions, apple cider vinegar and V8 in a magic bullet and drink it several times a day. I also went on a veggie diet, eliminate sugar and most carbs. Organic coconut oil taken internally is antifungal, also MSM. It takes a couple of weeks to get our skin to stop attracting the springtails.

I stopped spraying and am in the process of drying out my apartment with salted carpet, no vacuuming for a while, DE and baking soda. The ceiling dropping has slowed down tremendously. I ordered an ozone generator which I heard will help a lot. I pray a lot.

I don't want to argue with anyone but these are springtails and they bite me when I don't apply the cream. They drop from the ceiling just like bird/rat mites. I thank God for giving me a game plan. I feel like I am seeing the light at the end of a 5 month tunnel. When we get depressed, our body chemistry changes and makes us a mite smorgasbord. I will be praying for all of us on this forum.

Answer 6

Springtails Bite

Answer 7

Nikhil Doshi....from 63 Benezet Dr, Augustine Heights, Brisbane, Queensland 20/1/15

Hello everyone, whoever reads this I have the whole story of springtails, YES YES YES they do bit, make you feel itchy and their favourite place is human head, which they feel like grass and hide there. I am renting currently into a brand new house and have a 11days old bub , who also unfortunately have to suffer the bits of springtails. The property mangers are been promising me that they want to fix this but it's been 10 days already and I don't see a permanent solution to these insects. I am killing thousands n thousands of them everyday, vacuumed the whole house 3 times day, still doesn't work, you can see them everywhere, on the bed, wardrobe, baby cot, clothes, have to Erewash the cloths just because of these insects. They breed where they find some moisture, places like bathrooms, they are so tinny that they can easily snic in from anywhere. Carpeted rooms are no good they will live there. They breed in mulch or places like creeks and unfortunately bang opposite my house there is a creek and few acres of land with mulch on it everywhere. I inspected that hugh peace of land myself with a pest expert and we saw billions and trillions of them. I had to put a complaint to Ipswich council and the chief officer, Nick who was the decision maker in such situations came personally to investigate this but came back saying that springtails do not bit neither they spread any disease so it's not an issue for the council and they will not take any action, which leaves me and my family to fight ourselves with the problem. I think even I will have to leave this place because it is non liveable.

Further if you are renting under these circumstances you can lodge form 13 with RTA and without paying any exit fee you can leave the house in 1 day, no notice required.

Answer 8

Yes they do. I never knew these bugs existed until when one was biting me on my arm. I thought it was a mosquito and smacked it. I went to the bathroom and scraped it on the counter to get a closer look and it hopped a way extremely fast. Today, I have marks that look like mosquito bites but the only thing that bit me was that springtail. Bottom line is that they bite and I know that for a fact.

Answer 9

I live in North Texas, YES these little @#$%^&$@ do Bite, I have using Bengal & has helped some, I buy the Bengal for flying insects. My Son thinks I am going crazy, for they do not bother him, I can look @ a bug and I start itching :-). I use a lot of Bleach in the bath room, I am a clean person why are these SOB bothering me, & yes they do get in your bed & cloths. HELP HELP HELP

Thank You

Answer 10

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Thrips and their larvae jump when they are touched and they can bite.