Snow Flea Control: How to Get Rid of Snow Fleas

This page is a general snow flea control guide. Using the suggested products and methods, you can control snow flea populations. Follow this DIY guide and use the recommended products, and we guarantee 100% control of snow fleas in and around your home.

With the arrival of spring comes warmer weather, melting snow, and small black specks jumping about in the snow. However, upon closer examination, this microscopic pest is a cluster of snow fleas, one of the few active insects year-round. They can jump great distances, so homeowners often mistake them for fleas.

More properly, these small arthropods are actually a type of springtail that has an antifreeze protein, giving them the ability to survive freezing temperatures. Snow fleas usually go unnoticed throughout the year, but their black-blue coloration makes them easy to spot against snow. Though this pest has the appearance of a leaping flea, they do not bite people and are considered parasites.

Snow fleas congregate in large groups and feed on decaying organic matter outdoors. However, the snow fleas will travel indoors when there is a lack of moisture and decaying matter in their environment or too much moisture. Though snow fleas are harmless, they can be considered a nuisance if found indoors due to their ability to damage paper or fabric products with their waste. However, by following the tips and products listed in this DIY guide, they can be controlled.

Identification

Before proceeding with treatment, you must be certain the pest infestation you are dealing with is snow fleas. Careless identification can lead you to use the wrong or ineffective insecticides, wasting your time and finances. Due to its small size, you must use a microscope to view a snow flea's characteristics. Below are some traits to know what snow fleas look like:

• While snow fleas have 6 legs, they do not use these to jump like fleas. Instead, they use a stiff tail-like appendage tucked underneath its body called a furcula. When the snow flea moves, it releases the furcula, which hits the ground and flicks the pest about 18 centimeters in the air, much like how actual fleas jump.
• Snow fleas are dark blue to black colored pests measuring about 1/10 inches long.
• Besides their legs, snow fleas are different than fleas by having a pair of short 4-segmented antennae.
• Snow fleas are wingless insects with an oblong-shaped body and elongated abdomen. They have two clusters of compound eyes with 8 ocelli in each eye.

Use the description and image above to help you identify snow fleas on your property. If unsure, bring us a photo or sample of the pest in a sealable plastic container to one of our store locations. We can properly identify the pest and suggest the appropriate products and control plan. For further assistance, you may call or email us.

Inspection

Once snow fleas have been confirmed on your property, you can proceed with an inspection. During this phase, you learn where snow fleas are found and the conditions allowing the pest to thrive. Knowing where snow fleas are in your yard and home can help you determine where to focus your pesticide applications.

Where to Inspect

Although we hardly notice them, snow fleas are active year-round in moist areas with decaying organic material such as leaf litter, forest floors, compost piles, wood piles, and rotten logs. They also live underneath and on top of the snow, at the base of trees, in or on tree bark, around water bodies such as ponds or puddles in the yard, and in other areas with algae and fungi. However, you are more likely to spot these pests in large numbers as the snow melts.

While snow fleas are mostly found outside, they can also be found in indoor areas that collect moisture, such as the basement, attic, or crawl spaces. 

What to Look For

Snow fleas stay active all year but are mostly seen in late winter and early spring on the surface of melting snow, usually around a tree. At first glance, these pests may appear as bits of dirt or black specks in the snow. This can also look like when a pepper shaker spills onto a white cloth. 

With their small size, snow fleas are hard to witness visibly, but their prolific jumping activities can cause homeowners to mistake them for fleas. This pest is not known to bite people or animals like fleas, so there should be no physical damage, such as skin irritations or bites.

Treatment

Once you have confirmed snow fleas and areas of activity, you can begin with a treatment plan. You must wear the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) before handling and applying pesticide materials.

To get rid of snow fleas, you must focus on exterior and interior treatments with residual insecticides and limit moisture in and around your structure.

Step 1: Address Moisture Problems

First, identify the moist areas in and around your home. Excessive moisture problems promote mold growth, which in turn attracts snow fleas. 

Indoors, look for leaking pipes or faulty air conditioning to repair. If the basement or attic collects moisture and there seem to be no issues, consider installing a dehumidifier. You may also consider using a fan to circulate air within your home to help keep things dry. 

Outdoors, you can rake and remove fallen leaves and other plant debris to remove any decaying matter, allow more sunlight to hit your lawn, and encourage evaporation. 

Step 2: Apply Residual Insecticide Indoors

After all moisture issues in your home have been addressed, you will apply a residual insecticide labeled for crack and crevice treatments and spot treatments indoors.

Doxem NXT is a unique residual aerosol insecticide that eliminates snow fleas upon contact with 2 adulticides and prevents them from becoming adults with 2 insect growth regulators. When it dries on labeled cracks, crevices, and voids, it will continue to repel snow fleas for up to 180 days.

First, treat all indoor cracks, crevices, and voids to eliminate snow fleas traveling to and from your home. For crack and crevice treatments, insert the injector tip into cracks, crevices, or other small voids where you suspect snow flea activity. Spray at one foot per second with one foot of space between each application.

Use Doxem NXT as a spot treatment around water pipes, doors and windows, behind and under refrigerators, and sinks. Hold Doxem NXT 12 to 15 inches away from the target surface while spraying at the rate of 2 seconds per 2 sq. ft. Spot treatments must not exceed 2 sq. ft. in size.

Do not allow adults, children, or pets to enter the treated area until the sprays have dried.

Step 3: Perform Perimeter Application

When temperatures begin to warm up during the winter season, there will be an abundant source of moisture around and inside your home. To stop breeding and traveling activities, apply a residual insecticide like Supreme IT around the exterior perimeter of your home.

Supreme IT is a powerful bifenthrin 7.9% insecticide concentrate designed for broad-spectrum control of over 70 insects, including springtails. Its residual leaves no offensive odor and, once dried, continue to prevent and repel snow fleas from entering your home for up to 90 days.

To use Supreme IT, you will need to mix it with water before applying it with a handheld pump sprayer.

Determine how much Supreme IT to use by measuring the square footage of your treatment area. To do this, measure the length and width of the treatment area in feet, then multiply (length X width = square footage).

For a perimeter treatment of springtails, apply 0.33 to 1.0 fl. oz. of Supreme IT per gallon of water per 1,000 sq. ft.

Now that you know how much product to use, you can begin mixing. Fill your sprayer tank with half the amount of water, pour in a measured amount of Supreme IT, and add the remaining half of the water. Secure the spray tank lid and shake until thoroughly mixed.

Once thoroughly mixed, spray 3 feet up the structure and 3 feet on the ground next to your home. You will also need to treat around the window and door frames, electrical/plumbing penetrations, and other entry points.

Do not apply this product to frozen soil. 

Prevention

Once snow fleas have been removed from your home and yard, you will want to ensure they do not return. Here are some preventative measures you can take to ensure snow fleas do not return to your property:

• Snow fleas emerge from their hiding places when the weather begins to warm. However, leaf litter and other fallen plant debris can generate heat during the winter months, allowing this pest to be active throughout the year. To remove potential habitat sites, rake fallen leaves, wood debris, and other plant materials. Also, clean rain gutters out of decaying, wet plant materials.
• Repair water leaks and moisture issues in and around your home. Exterior water repairs mostly involve fixing water leaks from pipes and plumbing and improving water runoff and drainage by redirecting rain gutters away from your home's foundation. This also includes removing mulch and relocating ornamental landscapes away from the structure's foundation. Likewise, interior treatments usually involve repairing or replacing pipes and plumbing and drying out damp areas.
• Keep up with regular cleaning and vacuuming of floors, corners of rooms, underneath appliances, and around baseboards.
• Spray Supreme IT every quarter to prevent snow fleas from returning to your home and yard. Once the ground is no longer frozen, covered with snow, or saturated with water, you can make a broadcast application across your lawn. Use 1.0 fl. oz. of Supreme IT per gallon of water per 1,000 sq. ft. of turfgrass. Spray the top and bottom of grass blades until wet, but not to the point of runoff. Keep children and pets off treated areas until it is thoroughly dried or 24 hours have passed.

Key Takeaways

What are Snow Fleas?

• Snow fleas are not actually fleas but a type of springtail most often seen during the winter months as black dots in snow. Though they are not harmful, their jumping and traveling activities can be irritating.

How to Get Rid of Snow Fleas

• The first thing you will need to do is remove and repair the source of moisture from both inside and outside your home. To get rid of snow fleas inside your home, spray Doxem NXT indoors and Supreme IT on the outside of your home as a perimeter treatment.

Preventing Snow Fleas Reinfestation

• Prevent snow fleas from returning to your property with regular lawn and home maintenance such as raking, repairing piping and plumbing, and cleaning rain gutters. Regular vacuuming and other cleaning practices should also be used inside your home. Spray Supreme IT every 90 days as a perimeter and lawn treatment to keep snow fleas away.