How do I get rid of Silverfish?

A call by a concerned citizen here in Springfield, MO was asking about a silverfish pest in their home and wanted to see about resolving the problem.

Question: I just noticed a silver looking insect in my bathroom. How do I get rid of them and prevent them from coming back?  I have sprayed the exterior of my house before.  Shouldn’t this take care of most of my pest problems on the inside?

Answer: That silver looking insect is commonly known as the household silverfish (Lepisma saccharina linnaeus) is most often found indoors. It gets into houses in clothing, packaging material, paper products, and furniture. Silverfish can live in a variety of places, including kitchens, bathroom, basements and in attics. They mainly feed on starchy material, but can usually find food wherever they are in the house.

Silverfish don’t carry any disease organisms, don’t bite and generally stay out of the way. They can damage clothing and paper products. We here at Expert Pest Control know that silverfish can be a nuisance and annoy people by their presence.

We know that silverfish are unable to reproduce or even to survive in building where winter heating and moisture loss results in low relative humidity. Airtight houses with efficient humidifiers that keep the relative humidity above 50% year-round can develop silverfish infestations that are very difficult to control using typical insecticide applications.

If we expect your home and realize that you are in these conditions, the relative humidity will need to be reduced. Besides cleanup of clutter and other food items that may be supporting the silverfish infestation, insecticide applications would be required for silverfish management.

Expert Pest Control does treat for this pest. Call our local office and a highly trained Expert Pest Control Specialist will develop a customized solution after inspecting your home.