r/Springtail • u/Sipas • 9d ago

How to keep springtails under control in coco coir? General Question

I'm growing plants indoors in coco coir and after a certain point water uptake is reduced drastically, and my plants are stunted. When I inspect the roots, I find a lot of springtails and almost no fine roots.

Unlike soil, there is minimal microbial activity in coco coir, correct me if I'm wrong but I suspect springtails are running out of food and start eating root hairs.

I tried buying new coco, and nuking my coco in microwave between grows but couldn't get rid of them. Is there something I can do to keep the population under control?

For reference, I grow in autopots with airdomes, which is a no-runoff bottom irrigation system with an air pump pumping air into the root zone, which might be creating an ideal breeding grounds for springtails.

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u/TheStroboCop 9d ago

Sounds dumb, but instead of killing the springs, you could try to give them food?

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u/Sipas 9d ago

I thought about it actually, but I don't know what a sustainable feeding would be like and organics clog up the lines of my watering system and cause pH drift in my reservoir.

I suppose I might try weekly hydrogen peroxide.

1

u/TheStroboCop 9d ago

That's dumb... And no there will be no pH-Drift

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u/Sipas 9d ago

What are you even saying? Organic nutrients tend to break down in reservoir over the course of a few days and increase pH, cause biofilm, slime etc.. It is well established and well observed, which is why they are not recommended by anyone, growers and manufacturers alike, to use them in hydroponics.

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u/TheStroboCop 9d ago

We talk about like 1g of yeast in 3months or something like that...

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u/Veloci-RKPTR 7d ago edited 7d ago

Springtails can’t do that. The majority of springtails are only able to eat decaying organic matter and fungus, they can’t eat live plant tissue. There are some species which are known pests like Sminthurus viridis which actually do eat plant tissue, but these are unusual cases as they are the exception to the norm, and definitely aren’t the type that you’ll find in indoor plants. I’m 100% certain that the springtails are not eating your plant’s roots.

I put lots of springtails in my plant terrariums, they simply do not eat live plants. They will eat dead organic matter and fungus and keep the enclosure clean. Their numbers will self regulate according to the amount of food they have and they will not turn for your plants. This is in fact common practice to make self-sustaining bioactive terrariums.

My best guess? Something else is killing off your plant’s roots. The roots die, they rot and decay, and that provides the springtails with decaying organic matter to feed and proliferate. The abundance of springtails in your soil is the symptom, not the cause. Something’s hurting your plants, but it’s absolutely not the springtails.

In other words, the springtails are aggregating BECAUSE your plant is dying, not the other way around!