How to Get Rid of Silverfish - Pest

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How to Get Rid of Silverfish

Discover the best ways to get rid of silverfish and end the infestation faster with professional pest control.

If you want to find the best ways to get rid of silverfish permanently, we have just the tools, tips, and tricks you need. 

Silverfish are one of the most common pests in the United States along with roaches and bed bugs. The tiny crawlers are silent killers of anything containing cellulose so they can cause quite the damage if the silverfish infestation is left unchecked.

So, let’s find out more about this persistent pest and find out how you get rid of silverfish once and for all.

Photo of a silverfish

What Is a Silverfish?

A silverfish is a little, wingless, silvery, carrot-shaped insect that you may encounter in your house. They resemble scaly fish and have antennas on their backside, making them unsightly.

Because silverfish are nocturnal, they will feed and reproduce at night and hide in tight, damp locations during the day. They prefer to congregate in high-humidity areas such as restrooms, basements, and laundry rooms.

Silverfish may be little, but they are quick and persistent. They do not feed on human blood like bed bugs, but they will devour anything containing cellulose and protein, such as books, clothes, and furniture.

So, finding the correct instruments to combat infestation and responding quickly is critical.

Why Do You Have Silverfish in Your Home?

Silverfish are resourceful creatures and they find our homes comfortable enough to live there for a long time. Silverfish are not picky eaters and will eat even the glue that holds your wallpapers, so they will find something to sustain them. In addition, silverfish need high humidity air to survive, which conveniently a lot of bathrooms, basements, and attics have.

So, a silverfish bug might find your home to be the perfect spot if there is:

  • Enough starchy food including books, furniture, glue, and opened food containers
  • High levels of humidity
  • Tight places to hide

Silverfish are not a serious threat to your health, but your property and valuable items are at risk. It’s also not a pleasant sight to see something fast and shiny crawl through your home, so let’s find the best solution for this infestation.

How to Get Rid of Silverfish?

Now that you’re aware of silverfish behaviors and basic information, you may be asking how to deal with a silverfish infestation. Fortunately, even though silverfish are little and hide during the day, there are several excellent traps and solutions you can employ to eliminate an infestation.

Use a Dehumidifier

First things first, you need to get rid of moisture and humidity. 

This can include repairing all the pipes and leaks but also investing in high-quality air dehumidifiers. These specialized machines will suck out the moisture from the air and make it less likely for silverfish to thrive and reproduce.

When the air is drier and you take the measures we recommend, the silverfish will flee your house in search of a better dwelling environment. Silverfish cannot survive in dry air, and you may even get rid of other pests that thrive in humidity, such as cockroaches.

Dust Diatomaceous Earth Powder

If you are looking for a way to get rid of silverfish naturally, the Diatomaceous Earth powder might be just the thing you need. This fine powder will dry out the exoskeleton of silverfish and other pests that come into contact with it, dehydrating them to death.

Make sure you apply the Diatomaceous Earth powder to all the nooks and crannies silverfish might hide in, and use long nozzle applicators to reach those places with ease.

Set up Traps

Using sturdy glue traps is one of the finest ways to control and completely eliminate silverfish from your house or apartment.

Silverfish traps that are eco-friendly and simple to deploy ensure that the pests are attracted to their demise. Glue traps’ strong and high-quality adhesive will cling to any insect that walks over it.

Set up many traps around your home, especially if you live in a high-humidity location. This way, you will be able to confirm the infestation and collect a large number of silverfish bugs that are hidden in various locations. Silverfish glue traps are also an excellent tool for evaluating the efficiency of other approaches such as sprays and powders since you should notice fewer bugs each time you put up a new trap.

Setting up silverfish traps

Hire Professionals

If you think you are unable to tackle the infestation on your own, or just prefer to rely on experts, there are several teams in your region that you can call. Professional exterminators will promptly deal with the silverfish in your home using specialized equipment, tactics, and years of expertise.