SILVERFISH

Silverfish are one of those triumphs of evolution.  They’ve been scurrying over our planet since 100 million years before the dinosaurs!

Even so, that doesn’t mean you need them in your household.

Silverfish are tear-drop or ‘fish’ shaped insects, sometimes brown-grey or bluish-silver in colour with three long bristles instead of a fish-tail.  When they move, they seem to wiggle a little like a fish and the shimmer of their paper-thin silvery scales have earned them their appropriate name.

Adults measure around 12 to 20mm long but don’t vary much in appearance from when they hatch from eggs. They favour dark, damp places and are especially attracted to wet paper and clothing. They also prefer high humidity and develop faster in areas with warm, wet environments.

These silvery little insects will feed on sugars and starches like linen, silk, cellulose (paper), glue in books, wallpaper and shampoos. They’ll even eat other dead insects. They are nocturnal and fast moving, doing most of their damage quietly and secretly in your wardrobe, kitchen or bathroom while you sleep. You may not know they’re there until you see clothes damaged (silverfish clothes), book pages eaten or notice their pepper-like fecal matter on your shelves.

An adult female can lay up to 20 eggs per day and live for up to 8 years.  That’s a very long time for an insect.

Silverfish Control is difficult to achieve as silverfish bait & regular traps are available at supermarkets but they only target individual insects.  In fact their long term evolutionary path has seen them develop considerable resistance to regular-grade pesticides.

A silverfish infestation requires professional treatment in order to kill the eggs as well as the adults. How to get rid of silverfish? Give our office a call and we’ll treat silverfish in your home as part of our general pest control service.

Silverfish
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