Don’t let the name fool you. Rather than a metallic fish, they are a nuisance pest with the ability to destroy paper-based products like books, grain-based foods, and non-animal-based fabric items. Silverfish don’t threaten people or cause structural damage, but they do cause damage to clothes, books, furniture, and dry goods.
Once you see one silverfish or another type of pest, there is much more behind your walls and other hidden areas of your home and business. The entire Seitz Bros. team of licensed and highly trained professionals offers you decades of experience to find the cause and eliminate your pest problem.
Eliminating silverfish is tough to do on your own. We work with you to create a custom plan to eliminate these pests from your property.
Silverfish Description
Silverfish looks like a small teardrop-shaped insect varying from white to bluish-silver in color. They have three long bristles on their rear, scales covering their body, and are typically between 12 and 19 millimeters in length.
They move rapidly with the ability to scuttle sideways, and their flat bodies let them hide in narrow crevices.
Where Do They Live and Hide?
You’ll find silverfish in the cooler and dark areas like basements or storage pantries. Like many pests, silverfish are most active at night, moving quickly, and reproducing rapidly. They are very agile by using their flat bodies to squeeze through cracks and other tight spaces throughout your home or business.
Silverfish can live from two to three years within a suitable habitat and produce more than 50 offspring. They lay between one to three eggs taking 19 to 43 days to hatch. If unnoticed, an infestation can quickly spread.
Damages Caused by Silverfish
Silverfish are not harmful to humans besides situations of an allergic reaction due to the molting of their scales. They neither cause structural damage to your building. These pests attack items inside of your home or business.
This pest looks for meals filled with sugars and carbohydrates, including:
- Cereals
- Wallpaper
- Books
- Clothing
- Upholstery
- Clothing
- Cardboard
- Tissue paper
- Insulation
They’ll even eat human hair that’s fallen to the ground and cannibalize dead and injured insects. If silverfish do not have access to food, this insect can survive for weeks without food and water.
You may wonder what difference it makes if a pile of paper gets destroyed? Consider how fast silverfish breed if left unchecked. If a few silverfish are allowed to thrive in your property, an infestation may grow in your home or business. Prevent a few bugs from turning in ruined unreplaceable photo albums or damaged clothing.
Make Your Property Less Attractive to Silverfish
Silverfish are fast, adept at hiding, and their nocturnal nature makes them hard to spot. However, a common pest in our area, removing silverfish from your property is challenging without professional assistance from a licensed pest control technician.
Look at a few steps to prevent silverfish from moving into your property and potentially damaging your property.
- Keeping dry goods like grains, pasta, and pet foods in sealed, airtight containers.
- Thoroughly vacuum carpets, sweep floors, and clean upholstery regularly.
- Remove moisture from basements and other potential damp areas with a dehumidifier.
- Keep gutters clean.
- Avoid pooling water around your home.
- Seal cracks and holes to prevent insects from entering your property.
- Check seams between walls and ceilings for gaps around baseboards, windows, doors, and trim.
Trust the Experts to Remove Silverfish
Avoid wasting your time and money with box store traps and sprays that may either have no effect or pollute the indoor air of your property. Without a thorough inspection, you may never know the level of infestation.
Schedule a free quote with a Seitz Bros. team member to help remove any silverfish problem with a customized plan. If you see one, image the number hidden throughout your property.
Seitz Bros. has served residential and commercial customers in the area since 1975. We are a family-owned and operated company providing quality and ethical pest control.
