Silverfish

One of the most common house pests among North Carolina homeowners is the silverfish. These grey, wingless, scaly creatures are found mostly in moist areas in the home, mainly the bathroom and kitchen because they prefer the humidity, particularly humidity above 70%. However, you might not see them very often because these insects love to hide in small cracks and crevices within the home, and once they’ve found a reliable food source, they tend to stay hidden in one place most of their lives. 

Silverfish, like cockroaches, are insects that prefer paper, and even glue. They feed on the proteins found in book bindings, the glaze on envelopes, and wallpaper in the home. They will even eat other deceased silverfish just to gain access to those proteins. So, while they are not harmful to humans, they are most certainly an unpleasant pest!

So how do you know if you have silverfish?

Silverfish are fast crawlers. They’re good at hiding, but an easy way to find a nest of silverfish is to check your roof. According to the NPMA Field Guide to Structural Pests, “[s]hake roofs are excellent breeding sites for silverfish during the warm weather months. Here, there is an abundance of moisture, cellulose, starch, and dead insects. From here, they can easily gain entrance and move down through the insulation to the sheetrock board with its glue and paper coating below” (5.11.2). So if you want to find their nest, check the light fixtures in your home during the warm months. They’ll be nesting there.

If you’re being bugged by silverfish in The Triangle area, it’s time to call a professional! 

Give our office a call today, and let us keep your home pest free!

(919) 981-9798

We are currently providing pest control services in Raleigh, Wake Forest, Zebulon, Chapel Hill, Cary, Apex, and other surrounding areas in North Carolina.

Sources

• Smith, Eric H., and Richard C. Whitman. NPMA Field Guide to Structural Pests. Second ed., NPMA, 2007.