Now, let's take a look at the most common silverfish bite symptoms: Itchiness that doesn't last for more than a day. Sharp pain that is similar to an ant bite. Red sequential marks on the skin (note that they might be caused even by contact with the insect, a bite is not necessary)
Although they prefer places like bathrooms and closets, it is possible to find silverfish bugs in beds. These insects are about half an inch in length with silver teardrop-shaped bodies and long antennae. While they're more annoying than harmful, these pests can damage bedding.
While silverfish won't make you sick or bite you, they can destroy your home. Because they are chewing insects, they can eat through your belongings. Their poop will also cause stains. Glue.
Sticky traps, available at most hardware or home and garden stores, are an excellent way to get rid of silverfish. Purchase several of these traps and place them anywhere you've noticed silverfish activity. After a few days, check the traps and discard any that have silverfish stuck to them.
Capable of thriving in most climates, silverfish prefer to dwell in dark, damp areas such as basements, attics, kitchens and bathrooms. They are especially attracted to paper and damp clothing. Commonly found in stored boxes in garages and sheds.
Cedarwood or cedar oil will not only repel silverfish, but it can also kill them when used in the areas they inhabit. While cinnamon has a pleasant smell for us, silverfish cannot stand it and will drive them away quickly. Cloves have a scent reminiscent of cinnamon and like cedar oil, both repels and kills silverfish.
Though it's unpleasant to think about, silverfish droppings can alert you to an infestation. These are small, round, and black. They resemble tiny peppercorns. They are likely to be found in the damp and dark locations silverfish hide including kitchens, bathrooms, garages, and basements.
Silverfish dislike the smell of cedar, so one good natural preventive method is to make a spray using cedarwood essential oil (10 drops to 4 ounces of water, shake gently before each use). Spray in damp corners and/or in closets and near bookshelves. You can also spray down your rugs and upholstery.
Silverfish are nocturnal, and remain in their nesting spots during the day, only emerging at night to feed. Outside, silverfish are found nesting underneath mulch, landscaping ties, fallen trees, and leaf litter.
Keep tidy, remove waste cardboard, old papers and general clutter. Vacuum regularly removing any food crumbs, dust and debris. Keep gutters clean to ensure water drains away, to reduce dampness. If you have an issue with damp in your property consider using a dehumidifier, as silverfish thrive in wet environments.
In addition to contaminating food, the debris they leave behind are allergens and can cause reactions in some people and pets. As with any allergy, the reactions to silverfish debris range from mild to more serious. In most cases, the reactions are limited to coughing, sneezing, itchy throat, and mucus buildup.
Given that Silverfish live where conditions are wet and humid, their presence could be a sign that there is a water issue in your house – it could be a leaky pipe, or water coming from outside of your home. You might also discover damp or rotting wood in areas where you find Silverfish.
Do silverfish crawl on people? These little silver insects enjoy eating dandruff. If you have dandruff, you may find these bugs crawling on you while you sleep, or crawling around on your hairbrush in the bathroom.
You might find silverfish bugs in your bathroom because they love warm, damp areas. These insects need moisture to survive and reproduce, so bathrooms are often the perfect environment for silverfish. Sinks, showers, toilets, leaky faucets, and tubs all provide the conditions silverfish need to thrive.
These pests will also eat coffee, sugar, and other food products that have starches in them and that makes them a pantry pest as well as a threat to your stuff. Silverfish love you. No, not in a love, want to marry you kind of way; more specifically, silverfish love your hair and eyelashes.
Silverfish, like many other insects, cannot tolerate the smell of vinegar, so spraying it around your house will keep them away. Be sure to spray in all the corners and cracks where they like to hide.
Citrus fruits act as a very excellent and effective home remedy for silverfish. These nocturnal pests get repelled by citrus fruits. You can use orange and lemon peels to keep them at bay. Keep the fruit peels in the places which you think are infested and this will drive these pests away from your house.
Silverfish are attracted to moist areas of high humidity. You are most likely to find them in wall void spaces, basements or ceilings and dark, undisturbed corners. Look behind refrigerators and around boiler rooms. Silverfish hate light and stay confined to dark areas.
The eggs typically hatch in three to six weeks. Newly hatched silverfish look like miniature adult silverfish and acquire the distinctive shiny appearance of adults within 40 days. The average female silverfish will lay up to 100 eggs during her life. Silverfish have a lifespan ranging from two to eight years.
Earwigs, house centipedes, and spiders such as the spitting spider Scytodes thoracica are known to be predators of silverfish.
Because silverfish can subsist on a range of foods, including wall paper glue, book bindings, paper, clothing starch, fabrics, flour, cereal, leather and dead insects, it's hard to completely eliminate the things they need to survive in a home.
Earwigs, centipedes and spiders are natural predators of silverfish, so why not leave that house spider alone in the corner?
Each silverfish egg measures about 1 millimeter in length, and is more elliptical than circular (though it isn't quite oval-shaped). When first laid, the eggs are white and soft. After a few hours of exposure to oxygen, the eggs toughen up and turn yellow.
Silverfish eat mold, so their presence may also indicate a mold issue in your home. They are also a preferred food of spiders, centipedes, and other insects, so silverfish in your home may attract these pests.