RECENT RAINS CREATE RISE IN AREA INSECT POPULATIONS.

Byline: Karen Thacker Community Columnist

While El Nino's rains produced ants, cockroaches and mice in larger numbers this year in the Antelope Valley, it's the springtails that currently have the phones ringing at local pest control offices.

A -1/8-inch-long grayish-brown pest that hops and is frequently mistaken for a flea, springtails often are found outside around decayed vegetation. But lately they seem to be making their way into local homes' sinks, tubs and showers.

``When the outside dries up they go to the house,'' said Elaine Bloom, office manager at Western Exterminator Co. ``They are looking for moisture - they'll go in drains in the nighttime and live off the algae.''

While some pest control companies say they are receiving the usual amount of calls regarding ants, spiders, cockroaches and mice, many say they are seeing an increase they expected because of El Nino-powered storms.

But the insect and rodent population increase is not just because of the rain. It was a mild winter as well, without the cold temperatures that can kill a lot of larva.

The rain produced more vegetation, attracting more flying insects, which other insects, like spiders, prey on.

More ground cover also makes it easier for mice to survive and multiply because their natural predators can't find them so easily.

While springtails are currently the source of most calls, they will disappear as summer progresses.

Ants are perennially the valley's worst insect pest, exterminators say, with eight different varieties of ants living in the area. Once the temperatures rise above 68 degrees, they start invading homes.

``Ants are the No. 1 problem in the Antelope Valley,'' said Greg Coverdill, Western Exterminator supervisor in Palmdale.

Exterminators say calls about ants have increased in the past few months as the weather warmed up, and they expect this summer's crop to be a big one.

``I think this year we'll have more of a problem than ever,'' said Bug Sluggers manager Richard Kreutel.

Ants tend to keep resurfacing because it is difficult to treat houses built on slab foundations - like most of the ones built in the 1980s boom.

The colonies find cracks, light fixtures, and electrical outlets and use them as entry points.

Exterminators say they also get calls about poisonous black widow spiders and cockroaches.

Black widows, who hatch over 300 babies from a single sack, do well because the wind carries them to different areas, known as ``ballooning,'' to set up house.

Oriental cockroaches, which are usually found in older areas of cities, are now cropping up in new areas of town. They tend to hang around water pipes and water meters, but are also being found in garages and houses.

The local cockroach is a deep reddish-brown color, 1 to 1-1/2 inches long.

The springtails don't bite, but large numbers can irritate the skin.

``They aren't harmful to humans, they're a nuisance - they are a pest,'' said Denise Hicks of Dewey Pest Control, noting that there isn't a sure way to get rid of them.

Cleaning the insides of drains and plumbing is best, Coverdill said.