They may not be the most menacing creatures, but coming across a flurry of silverfish wriggling their way across your bathroom sink can be more than just a little unsettling. These aquatic-looking insects often invade the moist, humid places in Anaheim homes and businesses. They are adept at hiding, and the damage they create often goes unnoticed for long periods of time before infestations are uncovered. You can get rid of silverfish before they make trouble in your home with the help of professional pest control in Anaheim.
What Is This Little Silver Bug?
When you look at silverfish images, you'll see teardrop-shaped, metallic-looking insects with three long bristletails and threadlike antennas. If you're able to catch one in the open, you can also witness the fish-like movements that further add meaning to their name. While they have six legs, silverfish appear to wriggle much like swimming fish across flat surfaces. They are remarkably fast and often able to get under cover before being spotted.
Unlike fish, silverfish are good climbers and can live anywhere inside your house, including in the ceiling. They can survive for weeks without food or water as long as the humidity level remains high and often hide in cracks and crevices throughout the day, emerging at night to find their food.
How Dangerous Are Silverfish?
While you don't need to worry about a silverfish bite, you still don't want silverfish settling in your home. Silverfish are occasional invaders and nuisance pests. They don't spread disease or bite, but they can harm personal belongings. Silverfish are especially likely to infest things like wallpaper, books and envelopes, clothing, or food like flour and oats. They also feed on other insects.
The real danger of having silverfish in your home is the damage they do to your belongings. You may find irregular notches on the edges of different materials, etches on the surface, or yellow stains and feces in infested materials. So it's more about what silverfish are eating, and then, of course, you have to consider what's eating silverfish. Often, occasional invaders like silverfish will lure other predator pests like spiders into your home.
How To Prevent And Get Rid Of Silverfish
These insects are found throughout the United States in moist, humid environments. Getting rid of silverfish is often easiest to do by preventing them in the first place. You can do this by eliminating the factors attracting them and limiting the ways they can get inside your home.
To keep silverfish out of your Anaheim home, try the following tips:
- Look outside and remove anything stored against your home's exterior that would make it easier for silverfish to climb the walls of your home.
- Clean shake roofs and have them sealed every other year. These are common entry points for silverfish that then enter your home through ceiling soffits, skylights, or canister lights.
- Use a dehumidifier in poorly ventilated areas to keep humidity at a level that is too low for silverfish and other pests.
- Repair leaks and address condensation and drainage issues.
- Remove wet or moldy wood in and around your home.
- If you are storing books or magazines, make sure to seal them in plastic bins instead of cardboard boxes.
- Likewise, keep food items like flour, sugar, and oats in pest-proof plastic or glass containers.
Silverfish infestations are much easier to manage before they occur. These simple steps can help you avoid future headaches with silverfish and other pests.
Professional Silverfish Control For Your Home
Anaheim homes are often the perfect silverfish habitat, and despite your best efforts, there is always the chance that they will settle in your home. When this happens, the best way to get rid of silverfish is with help from the professionals at A-1 Bonded Termite.
They may not be dangerous, but occasional invaders like silverfish are often a sign of other issues like poor moisture control and open entry points for pests. They also attract other species that feed on them. Instead of struggling with silverfish, call on the pest control experts at A-1 Bonded Termite. We can get rid of silverfish and help you safeguard your home from future pests. Call today to find out more.