Silverfish Control
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South Florida's warm, humid weather makes it an ideal environment for silverfish, and if these pests have invaded your home, you need a silverfish pest control company. You may be wondering why these unwanted insects have appeared in your home. Silverfish seek out moisture and humidity. There are many reasons your home may have excess moisture, from humid weather to leaky kitchen appliances. Limiting the humidity in your home will make it less hospitable to silverfish.
Silverfish can quickly infest your home before you realize what has happened. They may hide away in paper materials around your home where they can feed and reproduce, so a few silverfish can quickly turn into a severe infestation. You need silverfish pest control to eliminate the problem and prevent these bugs from returning. A professional silverfish service is crucial for taking back your home from these pests.
Why Choose Hulett for Silverfish Pest Control?
Hulett is your trusted source for pest control. With over 50 years of experience eliminating pests from South Florida homes, we offer unmatched pest control, including silverfish control.
Insects are constantly adapting to their environments, which is why education and training are an essential part of our business. We pride ourselves on providing our experienced and friendly technicians, who receive extensive training at Bugs University, with the most up-to-date information on pest control, including the latest news on products, their proper usage and handling, and how household pests in South Florida are evolving. That way, you can count on us to provide you with the best silverfish control solutions.
When silverfish infest your home, you need an educated and experienced silverfish technician to eliminate the pests quickly and effectively. At Hulett, we know the ins and outs of silverfish and what attracts them to your home. We work to create a customized silverfish treatment plan to remove these insects from your home and prevent them from returning. We are determined to help you solve your silverfish problem.
Discounts & Coupons
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What Are Silverfish?
Silverfish, or Lepisma saccharina, are a primitive, nocturnal insect commonly found indoors. They descend from the earliest insects and may have evolved as early as 400 million years ago. These sturdy, well-adapted bugs can withstand significant falls relative to their body size, and they are long-lived as far as pests go, often living for as long as three years. As long as they have access to water, they can live without food for up to a year. Their durability and hardiness can make them a formidable opponent for anyone battling an infestation.
Are Silverfish Dangerous?
Silverfish don’t sting or bite, so they aren’t dangerous in that sense, but they can be a nuisance to your household. The enemy of collectors everywhere, paper, cardboard, and fabric materials are potential hiding places for Silverfish, where they can feed on these objects and cause lots of damage to the material.
For book lovers or anyone with a paper-based collection, silverfish can pose a threat to these treasured items collected over the years. It can be upsetting to open your favorite literary classic and find one of these prehistoric book-eaters. Additionally, like many household pests, silverfish are unsanitary and can contaminate your food.
Types of Silverfish
The silverfish scurrying around your home library could be one of three types.
- Common Silverfish. Lepisma saccharina is a shiny silver color and likes to hang out in crawl spaces and basements.
- Gray Silverfish. Ctenolepisma longicaudata is a dull shade of gray, not silver, and you’ll find them in quiet spots around your home, such as basements, storage spaces, closets, and attics.
- Four-Lined Silverfish. Ctenollepisma quadriseriata is a tannish-gray color and may roam throughout your home.
No matter which type of silverfish is crawling around your space, it’s important to close the book on these pesky home invaders.
Appearance
The most common type of silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) is a wingless insect with a flattened body that is a shiny gray color, and it has silvery scales that give off a metallic sheen. Scales will not appear until their third or fourth molt.
These bugs have long antennae that they can regenerate. Silverfish are one-third to one-half of an inch in length, and their elongated abdomen tapers toward the tail. Immature silverfish resemble their adult counterparts but are distinguished from adults by their smaller size.
One distinguishing feature of this insect is the way it moves. You may notice these fast creatures making a fishlike wiggle motion that resembles the back-and-forth, zigzag movements of a fish as they scurry around your home. The way they move, along with their tapered, fishlike shape, is the origin of their name.
Habitat
These insects that invade South Florida homes are found throughout the US and across the globe. They prefer to inhabit moist areas and environments with a relative humidity between 75 and 95 percent.
If you have a silverfish infestation, you may find these insects in your bathroom, basement, attic, or kitchen. More specifically, look for them around sinks and showers and in old books, especially if they are damp or moldy. Silverfish are nocturnal bugs who like to hide out during the day, making it easy for them to go unnoticed for long periods.
Diet
Like many insects, silverfish have preferred foods but will eat almost anything. They like to feed on materials that contain starches, glue, and cellulose. Here’s a list of some of the things silverfish are known to eat:
- Silk
- Glue
- Coffee
- Paper
- Photos
- Sugar
- Tapestries
- Linen
- Cotton
- Dead insects
- Silverfish molted exoskeletons
- Leather
- Synthetic fabrics
- Fibers in Clothing
- Carpet
- Dandruff
- Hair
- Vegetables
- Cereals
- Dried meat
- Plush furniture coverings
The wide range of foods they can feed on and their ability to go without any food for long stretches of time is part of why these well-adapted bugs can thrive in your home. If silverfish are munching on a prized possession, you can place the infested object in the freezer in a sealed plastic bag to kill them.
Silverfish Infestations in South Florida
If you think silverfish might be present in your home, you may be wondering what the signs of a silverfish infestation are and how they entered your space. Let’s examine the common signs silverfish exterminators look for in more detail.
Signs of a Silverfish Infestation
Unfortunately, silverfish can do a lot of damage to your home, and destructive silverfish activity is probably how you will first notice their presence. Look out for:
- Yellowish stains on clothing and paper
- Holes in the packaging materials of starchy or sugary foods
- Silverfish feces (looks like ground pepper)
- Holes in paper and cardboard materials
- Molted skin
You’re most likely to find silverfish pest activity around your bookshelves, cabinets, clothing drawers, and pantry. If you do catch sight of these elusive, light-avoidant creatures, it may not necessarily indicate that other silverfish are present, but regardless, it’s best to take steps to eliminate silverfish right away.
How Silverfish Enter Your Home
Silverfish enter your home in various ways. Common entry points include used items or cardboard boxes, or through gaps in:
- Baseboards
- Window sills
- Roof
- Plaster
Not only do silverfish enter your home this way but also, they like to lay their eggs in these tight spaces. While silverfish lag behind many other household insects in terms of the rate they multiply, an infestation can quickly worsen if they reproduce.
Silverfish infestations may indicate that the humidity is too high in your home, and you can reduce the humidity level by providing better ventilation or using a dehumidifier.
Additionally, some people use a vacuum to remove silverfish. A monthly pest control inspection of your home, however, is the best way to keep it pest-free.
Just Call Hulett for Silverfish Control
The humid weather in South Florida makes silverfish a common household pest in this region. The ideal environment means that we regularly see this insect in homes. Homeowners are often disturbed by the presence of these creepy-looking, prehistoric bugs and call us for a silverfish extermination solution.
We are determined to eliminate these unwanted bugs for you. When you choose Hulett for your silverfish control needs, we will send one of our friendly, prompt, and knowledgeable technicians to inspect your home. Your silverfish technician will determine where the silverfish are hiding, how they found their way in, and the best strategy for removing them. We believe in integrated pest control that uses a multipronged approach to ensure that the silverfish are gone and will not come back. When you need the best silverfish pest control around, just call Hulett!
