Silver Fish
Fleas bite. Pets spread fleas and their eggs throughout your home. Fleas can be found in your furniture as well as your pets. They lay approximately 50 eggs per day on your pet and can quickly infest your home.
Silverfish are usually found in moist, humid areas such as bathrooms, basements, wall
voids, sub-floors, garages and attics. To control silverfish, use a dehumidifier to remove
moisture from the home, repair leaky pipes and drains, eliminate moldy and wet wood.
Remove items stored against or near your home’s exterior since silverfish can easily
climb up walls and find entrances around windows, door frames, utility pipes and vents.
Typically, silverfish are spotted when they come down ceiling soffits, drop from skylights
or canister light fixtures in the ceiling. More than likely they’re entering through shake
roofs, so be sure to clean and seal them every other year. Shake roofs are an excellent
breeding site for silverfish during the warmer months as they have an abundance of
moisture, cellulose, starch and dead insects. From the roof they can easily gain
entrance into the house through insulation. It’s also important to keep food items such
as flour and sugar in tight containers.
Silverfish are not considered a threat to humans, as they do not bite or spread disease,
but you can expect them to damage old books, magazines, wallpaper, envelopes and
other paper items stored in garages, basements and attics. These pests will also feed
on glue, clothing and even other silverfish. Keep an eye out for irregular feeding marks
such as holes or notches along edges. Yellow stains, scales and feces (tiny black
pepper-like pellets) may also be seen on infested materials.
Did you know silverfish can survive for weeks without food or water, require a high humidity environment of 70 to 90 percent and can live up to three years. Silverfish get their name from their silvery, metallic color, fish-like shape and movements. They are also known as “bristletails” because of the three long bristle-like or tail-like appendages on the rear of their body. Although silverfish tend to hide in very inconspicuous places, when they do come out of hiding you'll find they run very fast and are great climbers.
