Silverfish Facts and Information
Protect your home or business from silverfish by learning techniques for identification and control.
Silverfish
Silverfish Treatment
How do I get rid of rats?
What You Can Do to Get Rid of Silverfish
To get rid of silverfish, reduce moisture in your home by fixing leaks and using dehumidifiers, as they thrive in humid environments. Seal cracks and gaps where they may enter, store dry foods and paper products in airtight containers, and regularly clean up dust and debris. Professional pest control may be needed for severe infestations.
How Orkin Can Help Get Rid of Silverfish
Silverfish infestations require professional treatment. Your local pest control expert will be able to assess the situation and determine the most effective silverfish treatment plan for your specific problem.
At the first sign of a silverfish infestation, contact your local pest control professional. Scheduling a home inspection may help you get rid of silverfish.
Homeowners often transport silverfish indoors unknowingly. When brought inside the home, cardboard boxes and plastic containers recently stored in infested areas can allow the pests to spread.
Warm and moist spaces, like basements and crawl spaces, attract silverfish. The pests will enter homes through foundation cracks, torn screens, or gaps around doors. Leaving dirty dishes out in the open will also lure silverfish indoors.
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FAQs
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May Cause Allergies
Silverfish often present a mild risk to people and property. They do not transmit disease, but the pests may trigger allergies in some people.
May Attract Other Pests
Their presence sometimes attracts carpet beetles and causes unease due to their strange appearance.
May Cause Damage to Personal Items
While indoors, silverfish also eat grains and chew large holes into clothing, upholstery, or paper. In large numbers, they can cause a lot of damage. Ruined items often include stored files, books, and vintage clothes.
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Nocturnal & Secretive
Silverfish are nocturnal and move very quickly. They are secretive, and the severity of an infestation may go unnoticed for long periods of time, allowing for exponential growth. Silverfish reproduce quickly.
Prefer Moisture
Silverfish can survive in almost any environment, but they prefer areas with high humidity. Nymphs develop faster in areas that are humid. Therefore, one of the best ways to prevent an infestation is to control humidity.
Open vents in crawl spaces
In basements, use baseboards with caulking
Silverfish consume a variety of foods, and stringent housekeeping practices may help prevent an infestation by limiting potential feeding sites
Traps
However, if your home already hosts a silverfish population, hiring a professional who can create a customized approach is recommended. Traps and insecticides sold in stores will only kill individual insects and cannot address an entire infestation. Some people try to use cinnamon to repel silverfish from certain areas, but it does not kill the insects or their eggs.
Addressing a silverfish infestation requires treatment of both adult silverfish and their harborage. Most do-it-yourself remedies prove ineffective over time, with brief periods of relief followed by another infestation. There are a variety of silverfish traps on the market. However, these traps target individual insects and cannot prevent entire silverfish populations.
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Most often, homeowners detect silverfish when they find one on the floor or in a sink or bathtub. Their feeding damage also can indicate their presence, along with their tiny pepperlike feces.
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Silverfish cannot swim. They're not aquatic insects and prefer dry environments. However, silverfish can survive in high humidity and may be found near water sources.
Behavior, Diet & Habits
Understanding Silverfish
What do silverfish look like?
Color: white to brown-grey or bluish-silver in color
Shape: silverfish are teardrop-shaped insects
Length: 12-19 mm in length.
Tail: Three long bristles on rear
Where do silverfish live?
Capable of thriving in most climates, silverfish prefer to dwell in dark, damp areas such as basements, attics, kitchens and bathrooms. They are especially attracted to paper and damp clothing. Commonly found in stored boxes in garages and sheds.
What do silverfish eat?
Silverfish are known for their destructive feeding habits, oftentimes ruining papers, clothing and wallpaper. Silverfish feed on carbohydrates, particularly sugars and starches. Cellulose, shampoos, glue in books, linen, silk and dead insects may be food sources. They have been found in unopened food packages.
Silverfish Reproduction
Silverfish undergo love dances prior to mating. Males lay spermatophores, which are taken into the ovipositor of female specimens. Females' egg numbers and habits vary, depending on species. One species lays a few eggs a day where as another species lays clusters of 2 to 20 eggs. Read more about the life cycle of a silverfish.
Silverfish Facts
Silverfish are not harmful to humans or pets, as they do not bite or carry diseases. However, they can damage household items like books and clothing due to their feeding habits, making them a nuisance rather than a health risk.
Silverfish nymphs are small, immature silverfish with grayish bodies that thrive in dark, damp environments.
Silverfish can damage household items made of paper, textiles, and food, as they feed on materials containing starches and sugars. Signs of their presence include irregular holes in paper, yellow stains on fabrics, and visible droppings.
Cinnamon to Control Silverfish
Cinnamon can act as a repellent for silverfish, but it does not kill them or eliminate an existing infestation. While it may deter silverfish from certain areas, professional treatment is essential to effectively eradicate them.
The silverfish life cycle includes three stages: egg, nymph, and adult, with the entire process taking about four months under optimal conditions.
Silverfish eggs are small, white, and oval-shaped, typically laid in clusters of two to twenty in hidden areas around the home.
White silverfish are immature silverfish that emerge from eggs and can cause damage to paper and fabrics. While they are not harmful to humans, their presence often indicates a potential infestation in hidden areas of the home.
Silverfish, or Lepisma saccharina, are small, wingless insects known for their fish-like appearance and rapid movement.
Silverfish do not bite humans or pets, as they lack the necessary mouthparts to do so.
Where Do Silverfish Come From?
Silverfish typically come from dark, humid areas and can enter homes through cracks, openings, or infested items. Once indoors, they thrive in environments with easy access to food sources, especially those rich in starch and sugar.