A silverfish bed bug infestation is one of the most difficult pest infestations to eliminate, second only perhaps to bed bugs. They are remarkably tough and hardy as a species, mainly due to their ability to hide, their long lifespan, and their prolific breeding habits. Small pests have been around for 300 million years, so we know they are not easy to kill.
The number one mistake people make when trying to get rid of silverfish in their homes is simply killing them with poisons and traps without the necessary preparation. If you adopt this tact, it is almost certain that you will see them reappear in force a few weeks later.
Silverfish can live up to 3 years, and during that period the females continue to lay eggs all the time. If you have silverfish in your house, you no doubt have dozens of eggs as well, hidden in all the little nooks and crannies under your refrigerator or in the cracks in the floor in the laundry room. Behind the bookshelves.
So if you just go ahead and poison all the silverfish you can find, then you are not dealing with the eggs, which will hatch in a couple of weeks.
And that’s not all. The creatures are somehow entering your house, so there is nothing to stop the entry unless you do something about it. And they are entering your home for a reason: in a way, you are offering them good living conditions and plenty of food.
So before you start setting poison and traps, you simply have to deal with all these factors: the entrance, the food supply, the living conditions, and the eggs. Only then can you be sure that when you poison existing ones you won’t have to do it again a month later.
The correct way to destroy a silverfish infestation
Now that we know how not to do it, let’s get into a little more detail on how to get rid of them.
The entrance can be a crack in the wall or in the corner of a door. In general, it is a good idea to go and fill in all those cracks, including general cracks in the floorboards. This is also part of the elimination of hospital living conditions.
Research where you can find silverfish most often. They love warm, dark, and humid areas near lots of food. So under the fridge or behind your kitchen cabinets, in the laundry room or pantry if you have one, in the bathroom, in the attic near the boiler or in the basement. In addition to many other areas that might surprise you. You have to clean and dry things well!
And of course, silverfish love food, all kinds of food. Not just the starchy cereals and calluses you find in kitchen and food storage areas, but also the glue on your book bindings and even items on your clothing. So you need to carefully research what exactly these insects eat, and if you have a severe silverfish infestation, you may want to bag and remove all food before proceeding to exterminate it.
You are now ready to kill them, so you can use a variety of methods to find out where the thickest silverfish hot spots are in your home, such as leaving certain traps at night. And when choosing a poison, be wary of anything that is too toxic, as some of them can be harmful to any pets you have, or even children if they get caught.
Only by following all these preparatory steps can you finally get rid of these unwanted little visitors once and for all.