Silverfish are one of the most ancient insects in the world, with fossil evidence suggesting that they’ve been crawling around for nearly 400 million years! Though a prehistoric pest, silverfish have never evolved to have wings or develop fighting skills.

However, these shiny, odd-looking pests love a diet chock full of carbohydrates and sugars. They’ll chow down on most items, including clothing, furniture, wallpaper, textile, crumbs and dead insects causing significant damage. 

Silverfish also eat human hair and dandruff. So, don’t be surprised if you find them crawling in your toothbrush or bed. And on rare-disturbing occasions, you wake up with silverfish crawling on your scalp. You can develop an allergic reaction or worse as these swift scavengers can contaminate your food. They leave their feces in food and food preparation areas.

If you thought you could starve silverfish to death, think again! Silverfish can survive for a whole year without feeding and have a lifespan of up to 8 years making them hard to exterminate for homeowners. Hence a silverfish infestation should have you contacting a top rated pest control company to inspect your home and determine the root cause of the problem.

How to Identify Silverfish?

The truth is that silverfish are more strange-looking than scary. At first glance, you can confuse them for fish thanks to their flattened bodies with tapered abdomens and silvery scales. Upon closer inspection, however, you’ll quickly notice that the gray or silver-colored insects have six legs, two long, curved antennae, and three bristle tails.

Although they lack wings, silverfish move at lightning speed and are excellent climbers. In fact, this is one of the main reasons silverfish are so frustratingly hard to control using DIY methods. Unlike most other pests, silverfish shed their skins well into adulthood.

If you see silvery-metallic or opaque-looking scales lying about, then you know for sure you have an active silverfish infestation. And the worst news is that if you spot one silverfish, there is a high chance that hundreds of others are hiding in your house. A good time to call the Exterminator!

How Do Silverfish Get into Homes?

Generally, silverfish will invade your home in search of food and moisture. Their slender and flat bodies allow them to squeeze into your house via the tiniest cracks and crevices. Additionally, silverfish are hitchhikers. You can introduce them into your home unknowingly via infested items such as clothing, boxes, furniture, books, and other items with high sugar and carbohydrate levels.

Naturally, silverfish prefer dark and moist habitats with high humidity levels. That’s why you’ll commonly find them under rocks, tree barks, and leaf molds in the wild. Similarly, when they invade your home, silverfish live in moist and warm places where you can find molds, such as damp basements, leaky attics, laundry rooms, air conditioners, and humid bathrooms.   

Get rid of Silverfish

Female silverfish produce at least 1-2 eggs per day and well over 100 eggs in their lifetime. The eggs, which are often laid in crevices, on clothing, or buried in food/dust, hatch in only 19-32 days. This means that if an infestation is allowed to run amok or is not controlled effectively, silverfish can spread relatively fast, causing thousands of dollars’ worth of structural damage every year!

Perhaps you’ve seen or suspected a silverfish infestation in your home? Don’t sweat it. Old Bay Pest controls technicians are highly trained and equipped with up-to-date tools to safely exterminate silverfish. Don’t let this creepy crawlies colonize your home and destroy your property. Call Old Bay Pest Control for effective solutions to get them out and keep them out.