Did you notice silverfish in your rooms at home? You must be wondering how such creepy little pests have managed to enter your house. Well, you are not alone wondering about it as many of them find this insect in their house in certain unexpected places.
They appear to be popping up in places where there is plenty of moisture, such as the bathroom, basement, or laundry room. That is because such pests are usually drawn to moisture.
What are Silverfish
A silverfish is also called fishmoth, carpet shark, or urban silverfish, which is quite a small insect having a flattened and slender body. A silverfish may measure between ½” and 1” in length and with a color of light grey or blue.
Since it has a shimmery quality, it appears silver and it can slither across surfaces almost like a fish. Although such a silverfish insect can be disturbing to encounter, it is quite important to keep in mind that they will not just disturb you, but also can damage your belongings.
Three Things that May Attract Silverfish
The following are few things that can attract this silverfish:
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Moisture
Most of these silverfishes are quite sensitive to moisture as mentioned Earlier. They will need a high humidity level (more than 75%) to survive, and hence they are always attracted to humid and damp conditions.
It is very common to find such a silverfish insect in the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry rooms, cabinets, and garages. They can easily stray out for a short time from any areas with high humidity, but generally, they prefer to live in higher humidity areas.
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Warm and Dark Places
Typically, silverfish will prefer any dark places for hiding, where the temperatures are between 70° to 90°.
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Carbohydrates and Protein
Generally, these what do silverfish eat carbohydrates such as flour, starches, and rolled oats present in cardboard boxes, book bindings, paper, glue, and insulation. Also, they can eat protein, e.g. dried beef or any dead insects.
How Can You Eliminate Silverfish
If you like to prevent silverfish infestations in homes, then you can try the following few tips.
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Reduce moisture
Try to repair any leaky faucets and pipes in the bathroom and kitchen. Use any suitable dehumidifier particularly in damp areas so that you can reduce any humidity and water condensation. Also, try to use any ventilation fan while taking a shower or while you are cooking.
Also, try to keep downspouts and gutters totally free from debris, and try to grade your landscaping such that water will drain away from the home.
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Remove food sources
Always store your flour, cereal, pasta, and pet foods in plastic containers that should be air tightly closed.
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Eliminate openings.
By using a proper caulk, you must limit total access to your room to seal all the cracks and crevices present under or behind baseboards, door trim, and around the windows. Also, you can seal all the holes present in walls or floors where any pipes are passing.
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Vacuum regularly your floors, carpets, and other upholstered furniture
Usually, silverfish can hide or lay their eggs inside the cracks and crevices, hence you must target all these areas while cleaning. You must empty the entire vacuum contents outside in such a manner that bugs cannot escape inside the room.
Silverfish infestations in homes are fairly uncommon. In case you manage to wind up with any silverfish infestation. You can also contact any nearby pest control professional available who can also help you to control the silverfish and any other insect infestations in your home.
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Roll up newspaper
Try to wet it so that silverfish can easily crawl into it to make their homes. Wait for a few days and after that, throw your newspaper far away or try to burn it so that you can totally eliminate the silverfish, which have been staying in there.
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Put a certain starchy food/substance within a glass container
In this way, the entire silverfish will get inside the jar just by climbing up on the textured surface available on the tape, however, they may not get back out of the jar because their feet cannot adhere to such a smooth surface of the glass inside.
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Put out a sticky trap
In this way, silverfish can easily crawl and then get stuck on such a sticky trap.
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Put out a little bit of silverfish poison
Prefer not to use this method in case there are pets or small children present at home as they might either eat or touch this poison.
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Use cedar oil
Also, you can prefer to use the oil within a diffuser or in a spray bottle that is filled with water along with cedar oil. They usually hate the strong smells present in cedar.
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Spread any dried bay leaves all throughout your home
These silverfish and all other insects can be easily repelled by oils of bay leaves.
Tips for Preventing Silverfish
Here are a few tips so that you can control silverfish infestations in homes so that they do not become a problem to you:
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Keep all dry foods in the cupboards within sealed containers
By doing this you can keep them totally moisture-free.
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Dust your home regularly
With this, you can keep away silverfish from various particles that can contain starches that they always love to eat.
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Remove all items from your home with adhesive
This may include stacks of laundry, paper, cardboard boxes, or any other items that may be attractive to silverfish.
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Store all your clothes in a certain dry environment
Try to store those clothes that you won’t wear where silverfish cannot easily enter.
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Clean up all food particles available in your home
Immediately after the meal, you must apply a HEPA vacuum so that it can suck up all silverfish eggs and prevent their reproduction.
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Ventilate your rooms that are warm and moist
Your bathroom or kitchen windows and doors must be kept open so that moisture can be cleared.
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Remove piles of dead plants, brush, wood, and leaves
Try to clear your home from leaves and any other damp debris.
Silverfish can Also be an Indication of Larger Problems
Usually, these silverfish will not bite or sting. Also, they will not spread any kind of diseases. As such, they cannot be considered dangerous pests, however, often they can just be a nuisance to most homeowners.
If there is a silverfish infestation in your home then they can damage your items just by feeding on them. They usually eat almost anything that may contain starch or polysaccharides. Therefore, any items e.g. paper, photos, book bindings, wallpaper glue, and more will be in danger of getting damaged.
Often you will notice holes created in various materials or markings getting etched on your items. Often you may also notice small faeces and scales if their infestation is quite extreme.
While silverfish infestations in homes can be a big enough issue, the problems that are caused by them will only be 50% of the story.
Often silverfish is a sign that a certain larger issue is going to happen sooner than later. As you know, silverfish are called moisture-seeking pests, hence they need moisture for their survival. They do require a very high humidity level.
So if any silverfish can live inside your home, then surely they have found some source of moisture somewhere. Such silverfish insects can always make their path into your homes by exploiting certain holes that start as water damage.
Therefore, it could mean that there is some water problem that exists in your home that you may not be aware of e.g. clogged gutters, leaky pipes, or even damage to your home’s foundation too.
Once they manage to get inside, you probably will find them either in your basement, bathrooms, kitchen, or any other high moisture areas.
So How can you Get rid of Such Silverfish?
how to get rid of silverfish – You can eliminate effectively and efficiently your silverfish infestation by taking the help of Owl Pest Control Dublin, janitorial services or any other local pest control professional in your area.
Moisture pests can survive in such places that are often very difficult to get access to, but pest control professionals are well trained and they can easily track them down and easily eliminate them by using certain very safe treatment methods.
Their technicians can even give you a proper idea about the location where do silverfish come from. Thus, you can aggressively tackle this problem as well. After their initial service, the pest control company will offer 3 services in a year so that you can continue to prevent pests from entering your home.
If any problem ever arises in between their routine visits, then they will again visit you to offer their free service. To avoid such creepy silverfish infestations in homes, or also if you are very concerned about moisture issues, you can always contact your pest control service provider and learn more about their residential program for pest control problems.