Natural Silverfish Control: Eco-Friendly Approaches

Understanding Silverfish

While these insects have the word fish in their name, they’re technically not a fish at all. Rather, they’re named after the silver scales that cover their body, typical of aquatic life. There are some color variations, too, as some will be brown or more of a gold metallic hue.

Silverfish aren’t giant insects, as they grow to around 12-20 mm long. They have six legs and a pair of antennae on top of their head. Some areas of the country call these insects bristletails due to the trio of bristles located at the base of their tail.

If you find them in your home, you’ll see them in areas with abundant moisture, such as basements, kitchens, bathrooms, laundry facilities, and the attic. Thank goodness eco-friendly approaches can help you eliminate them once and for all.

You may have a problem for an extended period before you notice them, as they tend to move about at night due to their nocturnal nature. Another thing to consider is their shy temperament, as they want to avoid human contact at all costs.

They can quickly escape by slithering into cracks in the wall or behind floor trim to get out of harm’s way. Thankfully, they can’t fly around your home, and if you encounter them, they can’t bite you either.

Feeding Habits

What do they eat, and how can you avoid inadvertently feeding them? Silverfish can remove starches and sugars from simple things like wallpaper or books. That novel you’ve wanted to read that’s collecting space might not bother you, but it can be a feast for these insects. They dine on the following things:

• Photographs
• Paper documents
• Soaps
• Dust
• Dead skin cells
• Glue
• Clothing made from linen, cotton, or silk.
• Hair
• Coffee grounds
• Oats
• Flour

Reproduction

Silverfish are unique insects that don’t reproduce through direct fertilization. Rather, the males do a mating dance with the females by touching the tips of their antennae together. Once they’ve made contact, they stand beside one another to allow the transfer of sperm.

The male vibrates his body using his tail to get things flowing, and he places little packets of semen into the female. The female leaves and goes to a secure location to lay her eggs. Ironically, she lays 1-3 clusters of eggs daily, which can have anywhere from 2-20 eggs in total.

She deposits these eggs around the area where she lives, and if it’s in your home, it can be any crack that she feels is safe for her offspring. Finding and eradicating these egg clusters is nearly impossible before they hatch into more insects to control.

Some insects can only reproduce during the warmer months of spring and summer, but the silverfish can breed all year long. Once the eggs are laid, it takes approximately 3-4 months to mature.

The egg will become a nymph and then an adult. There are various species within the silverfish family, but most will hatch anywhere between 20 to 60 days. Though these hearty insects can thrive in any environment, they do better when humidity increases.

In cooler climates, it can take an astounding two years for the eggs to hatch and the nymph to mature into adulthood. Once they’ve become an adult, they can live anywhere from 2-3 years, a more extended period than most insects.

Why Are Silverfish Such a Problem in Your Home?

How can an insect that can’t bite, doesn’t want to be around you, and only comes out at night be such a problem for you? First, silverfish have the innate ability to trigger allergies in those who are susceptible. Respiratory issues are commonplace when these little slimy critters move into your home.

How can an insect covered in scales trigger allergies? Well, it has everything to do with the skin they shed. Yes, these insects shed their skin all around your home. The scales they leave behind contain a protein called tropomyosin, which is known to cause allergic flares.

Like most insects, silverfish leave droppings around your residence, triggering allergens. Since they crawl through fecal matter from themselves and other critters, they’ll contaminate any food products they touch.

Outside of the possible allergy issues, these insects can also cause damage by chewing through precious family heirlooms like pictures and clothing and destroying other things like wallpaper and documents. Though they won’t do any structural impairment by chewing through wood like termites, they can still do a costly amount of damage.

Signs of a Problem

How do you know you have a problem with silverfish in your home if you can’t see them? Here are some common signs that these little bristletails are lurking in the corners of your basement or attic.

• Yellow stains on papers and clothing
• Fecal matter that looks like tiny coffee ground specs
• Holes or notches in clothing, pictures, documents, and wallpaper
• Seeing them scurry into the walls so quickly you might question what you saw.

Eco-Friendly Approaches to Eradicate Them

Most people want to take care of the problem with silverfish themselves before they call in an exterminator. Since these insects aren’t as tenacious as the cockroach and aren’t as destructive as the termite, you can try to take care of the problem unassisted.

Plenty of chemicals on the market can eradicate them, but it’s always best to use more eco-friendly products. Try to stay away from commercial baits as they don’t always work so well on these insects. One thing you should know before you engage in a battle with these critters is that they can go for extended periods without drinking or eating.

This is why bait isn’t a viable option to get rid of them, as they don’t get hungry enough to eat something foreign. Eco-friendly alternatives are the best way to handle these insects unless you’re dealing with large infestations. The simplest thing you can do is reduce your home’s moisture and humidity levels.

If your problem area is the basement, these insects are trying to tell you that the moisture level is too high. Adding a dehumidifier to the space might fix the insect problem and keep mold at bay.

Repellants

Repelling insects is the best way to prevent a problem. There’s scientific evidence that silverfish hate the smells attached to the following items:

• Cloves or clove oil
• Cinnamon
• Cedar shavings or cedar oil
• Peppermint
• Citrus
• Lavender
• Rosemary
• Cucumber

Sprinkling these essential oils or spices around entryways or common areas is an excellent way to keep these and other insects at bay.

Other Earth Friendly Options

One of the best things you can use inside or outside your home is diatomaceous earth, or DE for short. You can find this at almost any hardware store, but you want to ensure you get the food-grade quality as it’s safer around kids and pets.

DE is an alga that’s been fossilized. It has tiny shards that penetrate bugs and insects, leaving them unable to breathe, so they perish. It’s commonly used in chicken coops and other outdoor enclosures to help keep mites down with outdoor animals. The best part about this powder is that it’s safe and non-toxic to you, young children, or any animals that come in contact with it.

While it might be tempting to use boric acid thinking it’s similar, don’t be fooled by this common misconception. Boric acid is highly toxic to humans and pets, so you want to avoid using it and opt for something safer.

DIY Traps

DIY traps are all the rage in eco-friendly pest control. They work great for stink bugs, flies, and other critters. You only need a jar, some starchy food like cereal, and packing tape.

Start by placing the starchy foods into the jar. You only want to put about ¼ of a cup in the bottom. Now, you need to wrap the outside of the jar with tape so that the sticky side will grab their scales. Interestingly, they can climb up using the tape grip, but they won’t be able to climb back out of the jar.

There’s nothing inside for their feet to grip to climb. Once you’ve caught several, put the lid on the jar and throw the trap and insects away.

Glue Traps

While glue traps are made for rodents, they’re an excellent way to trap insects the old-fashioned way. If you’ve ever used a fly trap hanging from the ceiling, it’s the same concept but on the ground. Place these traps around your home where you’re prone to have silverfish, and you’ll be surprised how many you catch just passing through.

Salt

Salt can be used, like diatomaceous earth, to help eliminate silverfish. If you’ve ever put salt on a slug outside, you’ll see instantly how they draw into a ball due to a lack of oxygen. Putting a line of salt in the most common places helps to eradicate a problem quickly, as long as they walk along this pathway.

When Do You Need Professional Help?

Everyone wants to save money these days, and folks in the Garden State are no different. Seal off any cracks or entry points that can allow insects into your home, and make sure you put foods that draw such critters into sealed containers.

If you’ve tried several remedies and failed, how do you know you need to spend money on an exterminator? A rule of thumb is that if you’ve tried these eco-friendly options for over a week and you still have a significant issue, you want to get someone in there who can help prevent any further damage. While you can replace wallpaper and most paper goods, pictures and some textiles are priceless.

Second, silverfish aren’t known to overrun your home like cockroaches or ants. So, seeing them in large quantities indicates that you’ve got some serious issues that require professional intervention. Behind the plethora of silverfish could be a mold issue that’s dangerous and costly for you and anyone who lives in the home.

Many folks are apprehensive about seeking professional help because they fear the cost. However, when you consider the price, you’d pay for all the DIY methods that may or may not work, you could get the help of a trained technician. Your peace of mind is worth having a specialist handle the silverfish and any other insect problems for you.

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