External description of silverfish
To understand what the article is about and to notice the insect in time, you need to familiarize yourself with its external description.
The body length of silverfish individuals that have reached sexual maturity reaches almost two centimeters (excluding whiskers). Throughout their life cycle, the size of silverfish can sometimes vary from 0.9 to 1.3 centimeters. After all, these insects grow in length throughout their lives. The insect's body is very flat and gradually tapers towards the tail. It also has a barely noticeable division into segments and is covered with a scaly layer, the color of which changes during periods of molting. The head of the silverfish is poorly defined, and the chest is quite wide.
Very often in nature there are two types of this insect: common and sugar silverfish.
The body of the pest may have the following shades:
- from dark brown to black,
- light brown or dirty yellow (typical of young silverfish),
- off-white (quite rare),
- with a silvery cold tint.
As noted above, silverfish have long and thick whiskers that point forward and at the end slightly diverge to the side.
A distinctive feature of this pest is the three processes present on the tail. They look like insect antennae. Silverfish also have three pairs of short limbs. Their eyes are complex and consist of faceted elements.
Prevention of insects
Silverfish are sensitive to environmental factors. To prevent them from starting up in the bathroom or toilet, you need to take care to reduce the humidity in these rooms. Do not dry wet laundry here. It is recommended to install additional heating and ventilation systems.
After each bath in the shower or bath, you need to remove condensation from the walls . You should regularly dry damp corners with a fan heater. It is recommended to treat the room with a solution containing chlorine. Bathrooms and toilets need to be ventilated frequently.
How to get rid of silverfish
All sorts of insects can ruin your comfortable stay in your apartment. Few people will be happy when, entering the bathroom, you see a cockroach, an ant or some other “living creature” running under your feet or along the wall. In this article we will look at how to get rid of silverfish and what means are best to use.
Is silverfish dangerous for humans and why?
Contrary to popular belief, silverfish do not pose a particular threat or any danger to people.
After all, it is not a carrier of dangerous infections; it does not bite or sting. If there are a small number of silverfish in the house, then they practically do not interfere with a person and do not spoil things in any way. However, this insect is still considered a pest for the following reasons:
- Silverfish reproduce very quickly and each time their presence in human homes becomes more and more noticeable. Bugs can chew through bags and ruin curtains, as well as disfigure books and bedding. If there is shabby wallpaper or rotten wood in the house, silverfish will get to them.
- Insects lay their eggs in food. Although silverfish do not carry infectious diseases, they can still spoil human food and make it inedible. After all, these insects constantly move in places with large concentrations of harmful microorganisms. Once in food, these bacteria cause poisoning in those who eat it.
- The very appearance and constant movement around the house unnerves and annoys the owners. A person can sometimes find these insects in his bed, in a salt shaker or sugar bowl, or in a bread bin.
Despite the fact that silverfish are quite picky about their living conditions, they are at the same time very tenacious.
This is another reason why these insects are classified as pests. It is curious that some scientists attribute silverfish to the ancestors of modern insects. Based on the fossilized remains found, this insect is already 400 million years old. Silverfish are considered to be very dangerous in dark areas such as museums and libraries. They contain a lot of nutritious foods that the bug can eat. That is why in many libraries and museum complexes humidity and temperature conditions are strictly maintained.
Why do insects appear in the bathroom?
The main reason for the appearance of these creatures in the toilet and bathroom is high humidity. There is an increased risk of insects in apartments where major renovations have not been carried out for a long time, plumbing leaks and there are cracks in dark corners. However, these centipedes do not only start from dampness.
Both long and small centipedes love high air temperatures. Failure to comply with sanitation rules is often enough for bugs to appear. An overflowing trash can attracts silverfish. Favorable conditions for this living creature are created by poor ventilation in the house.
Silver and white silverfish
It is difficult to get a good look at a living silverfish, because... it moves quickly, but in the photo you can see the body structure of these creatures. Both white and silver silverfish are found in human homes. These varieties differ only in color. Some insects have a dark gray or black carapace, but have a shiny silver coating on top.
The structure of silverfish.
Other varieties of silverfish have a transparent white shell. It also has a silvery patina.
Adults look like tadpoles. The head is large and the tail is thin. There are long mustaches on the head. These creatures have 4 pairs of main legs and 8 pairs of auxiliary legs. Thanks to the special structure of their limbs, silverfish crawl quickly both along the floor and along the walls.
The favorite habitats of these insects are:
- far corners under the bathtub;
- places where condensation accumulates;
- hidden communications;
- jars of detergents;
- wet towels, mats and sponges.
These places have something in common - high humidity. Here, adult individuals live and also lay eggs, from which not too long white worms emerge. They look like thin caterpillars. They cannot run fast, so they are most often found in places where wet, caked clothes or towels have been left for a long time, as well as in the far corners of the bathroom, where cleaning is not done often.
Insects feed on organic matter . They consume mold, mucus, toilet paper, food scraps, natural fabrics, wallpaper paste, etc. Thus, these creatures can find enough food in the bathroom.
Features of the life of silverfish
Silverfish are typically nocturnal.
During the day, they hide in secluded places or search for a place to lay their ovipositor. Most representatives of this species live in human habitation, and some live in the wild. Those that live in the natural environment feed on mushrooms, moss, algae and humus, and hide under stumps or fallen leaves. The most common type of silverfish is the common silverfish, which is also called sugar silverfish. She acquired this name because of her love for sweets. The thing is that representatives of this species need nutrients: glucose and starch.
Of course, silverfish can eat almost anything, but they have their own taste preferences:
- Sugar, potato and wheat flour, vegetables and fruits. The insect does not eat cereals, but lays its eggs in them, since this place seems safe for silverfish.
- Silverfish also eat cellulose and plastic, which, for example, are contained in books and bags. In addition, the pest can feed on textiles, wool and leather.
- Silverfish can also eat finishing materials, as well as furniture fillings. For example, wood, old wallpaper, foam rubber, and so on.
Despite the fact that this insect has a large appetite, it can live without food for a little less than a year.
The main condition for the life of silverfish is high humidity. That is why the insect often lives in bathrooms. Any crack or crevice in the floor or wall can be a home for silverfish. In addition, it settles under old wallpaper, in garbage or human food. Due to the fact that the insect does not like light at all, it is almost impossible to see it during the day. After all, silverfish move only in dark areas of the room.
The insect itself does not need water. Moreover, it is very dangerous for silverfish, because these pests cannot swim and drown when they get into water.
While in nature, silverfish travel long distances. Interestingly, she moves very quickly. All its life the insect is busy reproducing. Females of this species do not mate with males, but search for spermatophores left by males in random places.
At one time, a female can lay up to 60-70 eggs. Almost all of them turn into larvae and survive.
Silverfish
- these are those insects for which molting is very important. Its larvae change their appearance quite often, because the number of molts during the entire life cycle of silverfish is always different.
How to properly treat a room?
Proper cleaning of the premises is the key to successfully getting rid of insects. It is necessary to remove all remaining debris and seal cracks and holes, otherwise the parasites will return again. After thorough cleaning, you can begin treating floors and all surfaces. Whatever preparations you decide to use, they must be applied to places where insects accumulate, floors, remote corners and ventilation niches.
Insecticides can be removed from surfaces only after 48 hours. Home remedies take longer to work, so remove them later. Before treating the premises, you can collect insects with traps and Velcro for several days.
If silverfish attack an apartment building, independent control of parasites may be ineffective, since the insects will move from one apartment to another. In this case, you should contact a professional pest control service. Comprehensive measures will not only get rid of insects, but will also protect against repeated invasion for a long time.
Features of disinfection in the bathroom
Cleaning and disinfection in the bathroom should be carried out according to the following plan:
- Elimination of excess. Hygiene products are placed in a basin, a rug and towels are placed in the wash, and the curtain is soaked in a soapy solution.
- Washing tiles. Apply the detergent using a sponge to the dampened surface of the walls. An anti-mold spray can be used to clean tile joints.
- Pipe cleaning. A thick pipe cleaning gel is poured into the drain holes to remove dirt and blockages.
- Cleaning the toilet and bathtub. The cleaning agent is applied to the surface of the bathtub for a while and then washed off. Water is removed from the toilet, then the lid, walls and surface under the rim are washed. For disinfection, the product is left on the surface and then removed.
- Cleaning mirrors. Wash with detergent and wipe with a soft cloth.
- Washing the floor. The floor is washed with a disinfectant, then rinsed with clean water and wiped.
Note! For cleaning, you must choose products without abrasives.
Very often we just clean the bathroom, but forget about disinfection.
How to exterminate silverfish
If the population of silverfish in the house is large, pesticides are used to exterminate them.
The owners also use folk recipes and homemade traps. To repel insects, you can use shavings of lemon, orange or tangerine, as well as spices that have a strong smell: bay leaf, cinnamon, basil or sage. These spices are placed in kitchen cabinets. Essential oils also repel pests well. To do this, you need to mix a few drops of bergamot or lavender oil and spray it throughout the room.
If you want to make your own silverfish trap, you need to wrap a small glass jar with electrical tape and put a sugar cube inside. Insects will crawl into the trap towards the bait, but are unlikely to be able to crawl out of it.
You can also make a trap from regular newspaper. It is rolled up and one edge is wrapped with an elastic band. The newspaper itself must be wetted and left overnight. Surely the silverfish will crawl inside the newspaper, after which you will throw it away along with the pests in the morning.
Remember that traps and traditional methods alone will not be enough to completely remove the insect from your home.
One of the common chemical agents against silverfish is diatomaceous earth. They scatter it all over the house, and in the morning they simply go over the floor with a vacuum cleaner. The same principle of use applies to boric acid.
Insecticidal aerosols are also considered effective in helping to get rid of various types of insects. However, it is recommended to use them with extreme caution, because they can be dangerous not only for the silverfish themselves, but also for humans and pets.
To get rid of silverfish in your home, you need to do the following:
- Collect all trash in the house and remove unnecessary items to gain access to hard-to-reach places.
- Carry out wet cleaning: wash the floors with the addition of chlorine and treat all surfaces with it.
- For greater efficiency, you can wash the floors with the addition of copper sulfate. After wet cleaning, you need to dry everything thoroughly so that there is no moisture left in the corners and crevices.
- Treat the area with the selected insecticide. Close the room for 2-3 hours.
- After this, you need to ventilate the room well for at least one hour.
To enhance the effect, these steps can be repeated again after about 7 days.
Ways to combat silverfish
The silverfish insect does not live in dry rooms for more than 3 days. To drive out uninvited guests, it is worth drying the floor rag, wiping the bathtub dry, fixing the taps and covering up the places where they hide.
Folk recipes against silverfish
1). Mix bay leaf, cloves, sage and cinnamon and place between books and clothes.
2). For 1 liter of water, take 3 g of red pepper, tobacco and baking soda. Pour into a spray bottle and spray into crevices and damp areas. After 8 hours, rinse surfaces with bleach.
3). Make a powder from 1 part boric acid and 4 parts chalk. Sprinkle in areas where silverfish live, repeating every other week.
4). Spray the composition from a spray bottle: dissolve alum (100 g) in 0.5 liters of boiling water.
5). Silverfish do not like the smell of cedar shavings or sawdust as much as they do lavender and lemon.
6). Make a trap: a liter glass jar, with electrical tape wrapped around it, with sugar or starch at the bottom, placed in the bathroom in the evening. In the morning, the caught insects are removed.
7). Roll up the newspaper, staple it and wet it. The next morning, remove and burn.
Chemical methods of combating silverfish
Among insecticides, you should choose products with permethrin. And from concentrates and aerosols - with pyrethroids.
You can't deal with silverfish with crayons, pencils, fumigators and ultrasonic repellers; it's better to use powders.
Preventive measures against the appearance of silverfish
If you create conditions that are completely unsuitable for silverfish to live in a house, they will not live there.
Of course, it is unlikely that it will be possible to create completely uncomfortable conditions, but if you exclude just one parameter, insects will definitely not want to settle in the apartment. The main secret is to avoid high humidity. Typically, silverfish live in rooms where the humidity reaches 80 percent. We need to make it equal to 50 percent. It is also recommended to carry out repairs: seal the cracks, re-glue the wallpaper and remove old wood from the house. Remember that there should be enough light in all rooms. In addition, you need to regularly carry out general cleaning in the bathroom and kitchen, and also ventilate these rooms well. Otherwise, not only silverfish, but also centipedes, wood lice and mold can settle here. It is best to store all food products in containers or resealable bags. Old clothes should be placed in bags, and books and magazines should be kept away from moisture.
It is worth remembering that insects enter the house through ventilation holes. Therefore, before fighting them, you need to check the ventilation. It happens that insects settle in it.
Features of the fight
The main condition for successful control of insects is the correct choice of methods of influence. The appearance of silverfish in an apartment does not explain how to get rid of it. Here, identifying three main factors will be important:
- places where insects appear and enter the home;
- reasons contributing to the violation of the sanitary situation;
- choosing ways to eliminate them.
As a rule, pests begin to appear inside the bathroom or toilet - these are the places most suitable for their permanent habitat. Folk recipes require placing sugar traps under the bathtub or sink against these uninvited guests as a preventative measure. But if the attack becomes widespread, and a person is clearly losing in this fight, it is worth paying attention to methods and means that do not have a preventive, but a destructive effect on silverfish. But it can be difficult to cope with the problem without professional help. After all, fighting malicious guests will take a long time and be difficult.
Insecticides
Insecticides in the form of aerosols, sprays and concentrates are suitable for treating silverfish habitats, for example, such as:
- August Cucaracha Spray
- Concentrate Medilis-Super
- Aerosol Clean House from skin beetles
- Raid Max aerosol
- Combat SuperSpray
Using any glue-based insect traps on substrates is also effective. They will need to be changed periodically as they become dirty.
Chemicals against silverfish
Modern insecticides are quite effective against various types of insects. Serebryanka is no exception. If you have decided to use chemicals, then pests have infested the entire house. There are many different types of drugs, differing in method of application, active substance, etc. However, not all drugs can be quite effective in the fight against silverfish. This is due to the fact that the necessary trials of such drugs are often not carried out.
Of all insecticides, dusts are the most effective. But it is worth monitoring the humidity in the room - dust clumped from moisture does not attract silverfish. Dusts such as Chisty Dom, Ripan, and Fenaksin are often purchased.
Sprays and aerosols also have a strong effect. Among the products that are used against silverfish, it is better to choose products that contain pyretoids and pyretin. The most popular sprays are Combat Superspray, Dichlorvos, and Clean House.
There are chemical concentrates that have proven to be excellent in pest control. These are Get, Tetrix, Cucaracha, Lambda Zone, Delta Zone.
Less effective, but still used in everyday life, are crayons and gels. The structure of the body allows the poison to penetrate inside, so such products can also help. Absolute, Cleanbait, Fas, Raptor gels are used.
Sticky traps. Since silverfish reproduce slowly, this method can significantly reduce the pest population. They use Domovoy, Global, and Argus traps.
The best means to kill silverfish
We'll start with an overview of substances containing powerful active ingredients. Then we will study a quick method of killing - sprays and liquids. Let's finish with a review of the traps.
AquaFumigator Raptor
AquaFumigator Raptor is a highly effective device that helps get rid of all types of insects, including silverfish.
This type of device is recommended for use in residential and non-residential premises. A positive result in killing insects is achieved through the production of a special enzyme. A fumigator filled with a special solution produces invisible steam that is absolutely harmless to humans and fatal to all types of insects. The maximum effect from a working device is achieved a few hours after its activation. Price: 441 rub.
Spray Raptor against crawling insects
An innovative product that helps destroy flies, cockroaches, ants, silverfish, and other types of insects, as well as their larvae. Using Raptor spray will allow you to spray the active substance in all hard-to-reach places. The appearance of vapors and the destruction of insects occurs within a few seconds after using the spray. The spray is absolutely safe for humans and animals, so this product can be used in residential areas. A positive effect in killing insects is achieved after 1 time of using the active substance.
Price: 239 rub.
Aerosol against silverfish INSECTA
In conclusion, we offer you a couple of classic sticky traps against whiskers. It is better to use them as an additional means of insect control - along with strong chemicals and preventative measures. Additionally, sticky traps are a great way to monitor the number of pests remaining in your home.
Price: from 180 rub.
Aerosol Mukhoyar
“Spray Muhoyar” is an effective means of killing: flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, fleas, bedbugs, ants, silverfish, and various other insects. This device does not require special skills to operate. The spray is easy to spray and penetrates into all hard-to-reach places in the room. The active substances contained in the bottle instantly penetrate into places where insects accumulate and effectively destroy them. The effect of using “Mukhoyar Spray” lasts for a long time. The main condition for using the spray is continuous access of fresh air into the room.
Price: 120 rub.
Where do insects live?
Silverfish can be found in places where favorable conditions have been created for their habitat and reproduction. Most often these are the kitchen and bathroom, namely:
- near water and sewer pipes;
- near sinks and bathtubs;
- in bulk products in the kitchen;
- in places where garbage is stored;
- near the refrigerator;
- near the sink in the kitchen.
Favorable living conditions are created by temperature (20 degrees or more), humidity (more than 70%) and nearby food sources. However, do not think that nasty tenants live only in the kitchen and bathroom. If all conditions are met, they can easily live on the balcony or in the room.
The main reasons for the spread of the pest are the appearance of contaminated things or products in the house, unsanitary conditions, and the presence of individuals in neighboring apartments, from where they can enter your home through the ventilation.
Video: insect under a microscope
Does it make sense to process one apartment? Pros and cons of professional pest control
Living in an apartment building and regularly suffering from an invasion of these not very pleasant-looking insects, it is advisable to seek help from specialized companies offering professional pest control services. Thanks to the use of a number of modern chemical agents aimed at combating various types of domestic insects, professionals will be able to process such large areas as basements and attics with the highest quality and speed. This will get rid of silverfish for the longest possible period of time, as well as prevent the possibility of their reappearance.
specialist conducting professional disinfestation in an apartment
Independent treatment of premises, based on the use of folk and improvised means, will not be able to provide a similar result. However, with its help you can reduce the number of silverfish living in your apartment, thereby stopping the rate of their reproduction. Thanks to the availability of specialized equipment that allows you to treat even hard-to-reach places, such companies can also take care of the individual disinfection of your apartment. The downside of such events may be the need to leave the premises for a certain time after the procedures. And also the need to organize general cleaning of the apartment.
According to data received from specialists involved in the extermination of harmful domestic insects, silverfish cannot tolerate cold, dying at a temperature of -10C. Such treatment can act as an alternative to the use of specialized chemicals, however, it will not provide long-term preventive protection. By taking a comprehensive approach to solving the problem of silverfish in your home, you can get rid of them forever.
The following actions will help you forget about the existence of silverfish, as well as prevent the possibility of them entering your apartment from the outside:
- maintaining cleanliness of the premises,
- reducing humidity levels using air conditioners, dehumidifiers and fans,
- repair of leaking plumbing,
- elimination of deep cracks in the walls of the room, as well as gaps around sewer pipes and water supply risers.
Reproduction and lifespan
Sugar silverfish are insects with incomplete metamorphosis. In life they go through 3 stages.
- The female lays up to 100 eggs throughout her adult life. The fertilization process has its own characteristics. First, the male places seed material on the ground - a spermatophore, then the female picks it up with her ovipositor. Masonry is done in secluded places and crevices.
- Larvae about 0.5 mm in size emerge from fertilized eggs ; they look like adult insects except for color. The coloring of nymphs (first instar larvae) is white, with a distinct pearly tint. Larvae emerge from eggs after 40 days at a temperature of 20°C, and at temperatures up to 30°C - after 20 days.
- Sugar silverfish go through 40-70 molts during their life , and both larvae and adult insects (imago) molt. Mature insects live on average 3 years. Some sources describe cases where silverfish lived up to 8 years of age.
Fact! When the air temperature drops to 5°C, insects go into hibernation (diapause), which can last up to a year without consequences for them.
