Silverfish

Description

The silverfish is a small, wingless insect that is .5 to 1 inch long. It gets it’s name from its silvery blue color combined with its wiggling fish-like movements. Silverfish are some of the oldest insects on earth having existed for the past 300 million years. They are nocturnal and superior runners, often able to outdistance any prey that is after them such as wandering spiders and centipedes.

Reproduction

Silverfish have a mating ritual that involves 3 phases: In the first phase the male and female face each other with their antennae touching. In the second phase, the male runs away and the female chases him. The third phase involves the male and female standing side by side. Finally, the male lays a spermatophore, a sperm capsule covered in gossamer, which the female takes into her body via her ovipositor to fertilize her eggs. The female lays groups of fewer than 60 eggs at once, deposited in small crevices. The eggs take between 2 weeks and 2 months to hatch.

Where Do Silverfish Live?

Silverfish are found in Africa, the Americas, Australia, Eurasia, and other parts of the Pacific. They inhabit moist areas, requiring a high humidity between 75% and 95%. In urban areas, they can be found in attics, basements, bathtubs, sinks, kitchens, old books, and showers.

What Do Silverfish Eat?

Silverfish consume anything that contains polysaccharides, such as starches and dextrin in different type of glues. These include book bindings, carpet, clothing, coffee, dandruff, glue, hair, some paints, paper, photos, plaster, and sugar. They will damage wallpaper in order to eat the paste. Silverfish can also cause damage to tapestries. Other substances they may eat include cotton, dead insects, linen, silk, or even their own moulted exoskeleton. During hard times, a silverfish may even attack items made of leather and synthetic fabrics. Silverfish can live for a year or more without eating if water is available.

How to Get Rid of Silverfish

• Silverfish love damp places so running a dehumidifier will help eliminate a desirable habitat. The drier the area, the less time silverfish want to spend there.
• Caulking cracks and gaps in walls will prevent silverfish from laying eggs in hidden spaces.
• Removing silverfish food sources will also help dissuade them from taking up residence in your home. Keep books off the floor and keep dirty and old clothing in plastic bags if they are kept in dark places.
  If you have old wallpaper, consider replacing with new or remove the old and paint the walls instead.
• Pick up cardboard boxes off damp floors and place on shelves.
• Call Jarrod’s Pest Control for professional silverfish extermination.