Have you ever noticed any wingless crawling insects along with yellow stains in your house? If yes, I must say you silverfish may have invaded your home. I know you must be wondering how they get inside, whether they will create nuisance, and what is the way to get rid of them!!
Don’t worry, we will see everything in detail about silverfish in your house. Additionally, we will uncover what attracts silverfish, to your home, where silverfish hide, and can pest help to prevent silverfish inside your home.
What Are Silverfish? What attracts silverfish?
The scientific name for Silverfish is Lepisma saccharina. They are fish-like, wingless, small insects that usually live for 2 to 8 years. They also have two long antennae. As the name suggests, Silverfish are silver in color and they wiggle like a fish. Moreover, they are harmless creatures and do not carry any disease.
Silverfish eat starchy food, paper, glue, fabric, and cardboard. However, they are scavenger feeders who can virtually eat anything available. Within their natural habitat, silverfish usually eat veggies. They live among us, eat common home items, and invade kitchens. The best part about their diet is that they can live without food for around 1 year.
Silverfish get inside from the outside or you may bring them unintentionally with any box or product. They can hang inside the wall holes but are usually found in attics and bathrooms when they come out in search of water and food. Moreover, they also eat adhesives and glue from bookcases, bookshelves, paintings, drawers, etc.
Talking about the natural habitat, silverfish live in logs and rocks. Additionally, Silverfish prefer dark places. This is the reason why they may enter your house. Once they get inside, if they find their food, they will stay there. As they are great at hiding, it is easy for them to reproduce and increase their population.
Are Silverfish a Threat?
No, Silverfish are not a threat to humans but they can damage your belongings. They do not sting, scratch, or bite anyone. On top of that, they do not transmit any disease. However, some individuals may be allergic to Silverfish. They eat the starch present in wallpapers, clothes, and books. Although they cannot damage the entire structure of your home, they can indeed create stains and holes on surfaces.
How To Tell If You Have a Silverfish Problem?
During the daytime, silverfish remain inconspicuous, preferring to stay hidden. However, when it is night, they come out in search of food. Basically, silverfish are nocturnal. They are active at night. Detecting their presence can be challenging as they can go unnoticed for a long time. Nevertheless, certain indicators may suggest a silverfish infestation:
- Disturbing their hiding places can prompt their emergence as they hastily scuttle away to seek alternative shelter.
- Evidence of silverfish infestation includes book and clothing damage, along with small stains resembling grains of pepper caused by their excrement.
- The presence of holes and damage on carpets and wallpaper may also indicate their activity.
How to get rid of silverfish?
There are a number of ways that can help get rid of silverfish and other pests. Silverfish are generally harmless and they cannot infest anything. Usually, they are found in humid areas like laundry rooms, bathroom walls and floors, etc. As they feed on starchy foods or objects containing starch, it may result in bacterial infestation. And hence you may need to contact a pest control professional to solve the pest problem.
On the other hand, there are a few non-toxic home protection ways that can help you find the “difficult to detect” silverfish, get rid of them, and stop silverfish from coming around your home.
- Use diatomaceous earth in and around the kitchen, bathroom, and areas where humidity is more than usual. Diatomaceous earth is a kind of non-toxic substance that goes inside the insect’s exoskeleton and kills them.
- Cover the jar of any food with masking tape. If there are silverfish in your home, they will definitely approach the jar. As silverfish thrive to jump into the jar, they will get trapped as they will not be able to climb back due to the slippery glass.
- You can use sachets of cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, etc in your kitchen cabinet and around windows, cracks or holes in the kitchen. This is necessary because silverfish can live and lay their eggs in gaps and cracks as well.
- Use a dehumidifier in and around cupboards, book bindings, bathrooms, and damp areas. This environment for silverfish is not at all suitable.
- Keeps dry things in air-tight boxes. This will prevent moisture and help control silverfish to ruin the food materials.
- As silverfish love paper and fabric, you can use a newspaper roll to attract domestic silverfish. Keep the newspaper rol(with moistening center) in the areas where you have seen them.
Final words on silverfish infestation and how to get rid of silverfish
In conclusion, I would say that it is better to dehumidify your home to prevent a silverfish from ruining your home. They usually hide in small cracks and crevices and can be seen at night. Although silverfish are harmless and don’t bite, still they may find their way to your food items and ruin them.
Pest control is not that necessary for silverfish, but it is better to do that. Along with silverfish, other insects will be killed and your home will be cleaned. In the above, article, I have also mentioned some harmless tops to keep silverfish away from your home. The best advice here is to keep your home clean and keep the damp areas as dry as possible.
