If you’ve noticed weird, silvery insects crawling around your home and even pronounced pest damage, you might wonder what these creepy crawlies are. This means you have a silverfish infestation, but you don’t have to live with this forever. You can easily learn how to get rid of silverfish in different parts of your home.
Silverfish is a common pest insect found in your home or garden. The scientific name is Lepisma Saccharinum, also called paper fish or bristletails. The insects are heavy eaters consuming foods with a high starch level. They usually eat a lot of paper, so the main sign is the damage to your boxes, books, and other materials made with paper.
You can identify silverfish from their gray or silver color, and their bodies look like fish because of their scaly appearance. At the head, the body is broad, but it slims down at the posterior end. In the end, there are three long appendages covered in bristles. One appendage goes straight while the others are on the sides of the torso.
Silverfish grow up to half an inch to an inch long and can live for eight years. The insects are mostly seen at night because they are nocturnal, so you rarely see them during the day. Silverfish are not harmful insects to people, as they don't bite Trusted Source Do Silverfish Bite? Facts, Myths, and How to Get Rid of Them Silverfish aren’t likely to hurt you, but they can damage your home and give you the creepy crawlies. Here’s why you still don’t want them in your home. www.healthline.com , carry diseases, or sting.
Although they don’t cause harm to your health, you don’t want to live with silverfish in your home. They can damage boxes and household materials, and even your building materials can get damaged. Plus, the insects are pretty creepy. Those with severe allergic symptoms can also react to the molt or feces of silverfish. So, you need to figure out how to get rid of the silverfish bug.
If you’ve noticed silverfish infesting your home, you might wonder what attracted them and where these bugs came from. There are a few things that attract silverfish to your home.
For one, silverfish like to stay in moist areas Trusted Source Humidifiers and Health: Uses, Types & Risks Humidifier therapy adds moisture to the air to prevent dryness that can cause irritation. Humidifiers can be particularly effective for treating dry skin. www.healthline.com like leaf litter and under rocks and logs. These areas are well-protected and comfortable for them to live in, so if you have rocks and logs around your house, you might find silverfish if you lift them up. But silverfish can also get into your house, like in books, bathroom sinks, behind the furniture, and in the basement. The moisture levels help them survive, so they look for the wettest areas.
Silverfish also look for places to hide and lay their eggs in your house and will live there. This doesn’t mean they are attracted to dirty homes, as even a dirty house might not have silverfish. Instead, you can get rid of moisture to make your home inhospitable to silverfish.
These silvery insects need to eat, too, so they are attracted to places that offer them a lot of food sources. They enjoy starchy foods like fabrics, fibers, grains, sugar, cereals, pet food, and other dried goods. Silverfish can eat anything, so getting rid of them is hard. They will take composting materials and decomposing items even in the natural habitat. So, even if you have normal pet food, flour, sugar, and cereal, they will still come to your house.
Silverfish have different habits when they live in your home or garden. These insects like to dwell in dark and damp areas because of the moisture, so they are usually found in the bathroom, basement, kitchen, and attics. They can even latch onto your damp clothes and storage boxes in sheds and garages.
Also, they habitually consume a wide range of foods, including proteins and carbohydrates. They can even eat the cast skins of injured people. Silverfish have the same habits as cockroaches and are nocturnal, fast-moving insects. You can also use the best roach killers due to their similarities.
The fastest way to realize an infestation is to see them crawling around at night.
If you suspect you have silverfish in your home, there are different signs you should look out for. Once you are sure that this is your infestation, you can move on to how to get rid of baby silverfish and the adults.
Once you see these wiggly insects around your home, there’ll be no doubt that you’re dealing with an infestation. The insects can be recognized by their small, flexible and slippery appearance, and their color can be blue, brown, silver, or grey. These teardrop-shaped insects look like fish swimming when they wiggle as they move.
Although seeing live silverfish shows you that you have an infestation, it’s hard to do this since these insects are nocturnal. You can only spot them at night, and it’s rarely possible to see them by day.
While cleaning, you might find skin molts of silverfish around your house. These insects shed their skin often, and the molts are transparent, small, and delicate. This is a good sign of a silverfish infestation. Once you notice this, you can use the best flea killers to get rid of them.
These insects will leave a lot of unique droppings around your house when they cause an infestation, so you can easily identify them. The droppings look like tiny, black peppercorns. You might find these droppings while cleaning your cupboards, furniture, or bathroom.
Because of how tiny these droppings are, you might mistake them for simple debris or dust. But, after sweeping once and seeing them again, you can suspect a pest problem.
As mentioned earlier, silverfish can cause severe damage to your belongings. You can suspect silverfish if you’re noticing unexplainable damage to your wallpaper, cupboard, clothing, boxes, and papers. Look for holes in the items, and at night, you can check for the silverfish and learn how to get rid of silverfish in books.
Even if you don’t see the damage caused by silverfish, you might see yellow stains on books, cardboard boxes, papers, and clothing.
This dust is left by their skin molts and is a good sign of an infestation.
If you’re dealing with these pesky silverfish, there are different things you can do to ensure your house is completely free of them. Let’s look at how to get rid of silverfish infestation in your home and surroundings.
Silverfish thrive in humid areas, from staying under logs and rocks to crawling near sinks and cupboards. So, you should start making your house inhospitable for this creepy crawlies by drastically reducing humidity. You can take away their favorite environments since there are different ways to reduce humidity.
Consider using a dehumidifier in damp areas, and keep your bathroom properly ventilated. You must also keep moisture away from your house by closing up cracks with caulk and fixing leaking pipes. Even the gutters and downspouts in your house should be properly set up and cleaned to keep water away from the foundation.
Hiding in tight spaces is one of the habits of silverfish, so getting rid of clutter will make your house inhospitable for them. If you usually keep a lot of old papers, books, and magazines in cupboards and on your desk, you need to clear them out, especially if you notice that you have silverfish.
You can learn how to get rid of silverfish by removing clutter you haven’t used in a long time. You should put the items that you need in airtight bins so that the silverfish cannot get into them. This is especially for papers that are kept in the attic or basement.
You should consider using diatomaceous earth to get rid of silverfish. This is a powder made up of the remains of diatoms. When you pour DE on silverfish, it makes them lose moisture, causing death. So, pour them in places where you might have seen these slippery insects, especially in the evening since they are nocturnal.
Sprinkle the DE on the baseboards, cupboards, bathrooms, basements, attics, and other places where you might have seen them. Also, you should apply it for several nights to be effective. Reviews have indicated that the Harris Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade is a good choice for getting rid of silverfish.
There are different kinds of traps that you can consider when considering how to get rid of silverfish. One of the traps you can make is baiting them with the foods they like. Since they will go the extra mile to find carbohydrates, you can put pet food, flour, or dried cereal in a glass container. Then, remove the top and wrap it with tape instead. Silverfish can enter the jar, but they won’t be able to come back out.
Another trap that you can make for silverfish is sticky traps. You can purchase them at different stores and put them in places where silverfish frequently. After a few days, check and discard the trap.
Furthermore, newspapers are used to trap silverfish. Make an old newspaper wet and roll it up. The silverfish will crawl inside, and you can throw it out after a few days by burning it or putting it in an airtight container.
Boric acid is an effective way to get rid of silverfish, and it’s also organic, so you can rest assured that it is safe. Despite being organic, boric acid shouldn’t be ingested because it is harmful, so you should keep it away from children and pests.
Use the boric acid powder as an insecticide by sprinkling it in the places where silverfish usually pass through. When they walk there, they will be affected by the acid and die. Also, you can mix the boric acid with water and pour it into a spray bottle. Then, spray the mix in the corners that these insects hide in.
You can also consider resorting to insecticides and pesticides when dealing with silverfish. You should check the ingredients before using them and pick the one with liquid pyrethrin. This ingredient is effective in killing silverfish.
The insecticide spray is suitable for everywhere in your house, but don’t spray it in places where children and pets easily enter the kitchen or the pantry. You can use the best bed bug sprays also to get rid of silverfish.
Another method to keep in mind when learning how to get rid of silverfish is cedar shavings and oil. Cedar shavings are a natural insecticide and have a woody smell. But the silverfish are repelled by the smell of the shavings. You can sprinkle them in infested areas, but you’ll have to vacuum them after a while and replace them. Remember that cedar shavings can cause skin irritation Trusted Source What Are the Dangers of Cedar Wood Shavings? | HomeSteady Homeowners can use red cedar chips and wood shavings to solve a variety of problems around the home and garden. homesteady.com , so be careful when using them.
You can also use cedar oil aside from the shavings since they have the same smell that silverfish hate.
You can put the oil in a diffuser, mix it with warm water in a spray bottle, and spray it in tight corners. For the diffuser, you should put it whenever you usually notice silverfish gather.
Silverfish have some natural smells they feel repelled by, and you can use these essential oils to keep them away. This is a good idea when considering how to get rid of silverfish naturally. With essential oils, you can enjoy a nice scent and eliminate all the silverfish.
Silverfish hate the smell of lavender and lemon, so you can purchase a bottle of citrus or lavender oil and dilute it with warm water.
To learn how to get rid of silverfish with essential oils, you need a spray bottle, warm water, or a diffuser. Pour the mix into your spray bottle and spray the mixture in different places where you can find silverfish. These include the cupboards, sinks, edges, and other moist areas. Plus, this method is completely natural, so you can spray it whenever possible.
It’s important to know how to get rid of silverfish in different areas of your house, as some methods are specific to particular rooms. Here’s how to get rid of silverfish in drains, bathrooms, closets, beds, and more.
You should contact a professional pest management company for a silverfish infestation in your apartment. You also need to inform your landlord so you don’t mistakenly damage your property or violate the agreement. The company will provide an effective method how to get rid of silverfish in the apartment without causing further damage.
There are different methods to consider when looking at how to get rid of silverfish in the house, but you can start by cleaning it, removing moisture, and cleaning out all the clusters. You can also use boric acid and diatomaceous earth, where these insects usually hide. Silverfish might be hiding outside your home and in the window too. Before they get in, you should spray an insecticide in the spaces around the doors and windows and the foundation line. Remove clutter, foliage, and brush as much as possible, or put them far from your home to keep the silverfish from getting in.
Silverfish will hide in moist and damp areas, which is why you can find them in bathtubs and drains. Here’s how to get rid of silverfish in the bathroom. You can get rid of them by removing moisture in the bathroom and all the clutter. Clean out the paper and towels, and vacuum all the corners. Also, sprinkle the diatomaceous earth in the bathroom regularly, and add a dehumidifier.
If you’re planning on how to get rid of silverfish in your closet, you shouldn’t use toxic products or poison. Instead, you should consider using cedar shavings or oil on the seams or baseboards of your closet.
The aroma will keep them away and protect your clothes. Also, vacuum the corners of your closet regularly.
You don’t have to pour the essential oils or cedar oil on your clothing just to keep them away.
Silverfish will be attracted to your attic or basement because they are moist and quiet places to hide. If you notice these slippery insects hiding in these places, you need to be aggressive because they can be hidden in any corner. Boric acid is a good method when looking at how to get rid of silverfish in the attic and basement. Sprinkle it in the crevices and vacuum the space regularly. You should also sweep up the dust regularly and clear out the clutter. Aside from these oils, you can use the Dekko Silverfish Paks to get rid of them.
While silverfish usually stay in moist corners like bathrooms and closets, you might also see them in your bed. To get rid of them, you should first check the fabric care label of your bedding to prevent damage. Wash the bedding in hot water thoroughly, and dry it on the highest setting. Also, remove clutter from your bedroom. You can also call a professional pest control company to provide methods on how to get rid of silverfish in bed.
While looking at how to get rid of silverfish, there are different tips to keep in mind. It’s always a good idea to prevent them from returning to your house after treating one infestation. Some tips include:
Since silverfish like dry foods and carbohydrates, you need to keep them where they cannot find them. These include pet foods and cereal. Take these foods and put them in sealed, airtight containers. Whenever there is a food spill, clean it up immediately.
Regardless of the pest you are trying to keep away, a clean home is always a good way. As you clean your home regularly, you can easily inspect for signs of silverfish infestation like their skin molt, dropping, and yellow stains. Dust and vacuum your home once a week or more often if you have a lot of inhabitants in your home.
Seal all the crevices in your home to prevent silverfish from accessing your home. You can use caulk to seal them around the doors and windows.
Silverfish can damage your clothes significantly, so you should store them in a cool, dry place, so they are not attracted by moisture. You can eliminate humidity and keep your clothes out of the basement.
Since silverfish like moisture and damp areas, you should focus on ventilation to prevent them from coming in and get rid of them. Make your home inhospitable for them by ventilating the rooms that are usually moist, like the kitchen or bathroom. Also, use a dehumidifier to make your rooms dry.
Since silverfish are attracted to certain food sources, you should remove these. Silverfish will eat organic and non-organic materials, and although you can’t get rid of the books and clothes in your house, you can remove food sources outside. These include debris, leaves, and mulch.
Now that you know how to get rid of silverfish, you can keep your home free from these pesky insects and protect your belongings. These insects might not bite, but they can do a lot of damage to your house before you know it. Use the tips in our guide to get rid of silverfish effectively. You should also prevent a future infestation by making your house inhospitable.
