Silverfish are small and non-poisonous, but their wispy antenna and rear bristles increase their creepiness factor. This is a primary reason why silverfish prevention is a common question the pest control experts receive.
Silverfish prefer to take up residence in the dark, humid corners of your home. Garages, sheds, attics, basements, and inside cupboards are the most common places to stumble upon silverfish. They are most active at night, which also makes them that much creepier when you do spot one.
While silverfish are harmless to humans, they can be extremely destructive when it comes to humans’ belongings. Documents, clothing, wallpaper, book glue, sugars, starches, and even shampoo are fair game for hungry silverfish. Therefore, finding silverfish in your home is cause for concern.
Four Best Silverfish Prevention Approaches
1. Female silverfish lay a lot of eggs throughout their life cycle. For this reason, treating your home to eliminate both eggs and hatched silverfish is critical. You can buy silverfish traps at the hardware store, but these only affect the adult silverfish population. If you have adults, you certainly also have eggs waiting to hatch somewhere in your home.
2. Closely inspect containers and boxes you bring into your home. Contaminated items brought into the home are one of the most common sources of silverfish problems. When in doubt, remove items from boxes and clean the items before bringing them into the house.
3. Silverfish are incredibly rugged bugs and can survive almost anywhere. However, reducing the humidity level in your home can slow their population growth. The more humid it is, the faster juvenile silverfish will mature, and the sooner they can begin laying more eggs.
4. Step up your housekeeping game. Starches and sugars are two favorite foods for silverfish. Most kitchens have some crumbs and dribbles here and there; these minute pockets of debris can sustain many silverfish for a long time. Silverfish also like to munch on paper, so consider storing important documents in airtight plastic bins.
Your Local Pest Control Company Can Help
The most crucial step in gaining control over silverfish prevention is to call your local pest control company. Ask them to conduct a home inspection to identify where silverfish are congregating in your home. These results will inform your pest control expert as to how best approach your silverfish infestation. Let them apply professional-grade products, and follow any post-treatment instructions to the letter.
Silverfish prevention is not a one-and-done deal – it’s an ongoing process. Be a good partner for your pest control company by doing what the technician asks you to do between treatments. If you’re in the Cumming, Georgia area, Think Green wants to be your partner in pest control, including silverfish prevention. Call us at 844-648-2556 to schedule your inspection.
