Local Exterminators 888-976-6842

Silverfish. One call, someone's on the way.

Grey insects in the bathroom and around stored boxes

Call 888-976-6842
A home inspector kneeling at an open crawl space vent along the foundation of a house, checking for pest entry points.

Can be scheduled

Is this what you are looking at?

Teardrop shaped, silver grey, with a distinctive wriggling movement and three bristles at the tail. They are nocturnal and turn up in sinks and bathtubs because they fall in and cannot climb the smooth sides. Finding them there is usually the first sign.

Also called: bristletails, fish bugs

Where they actually are

They are moisture driven rather than food driven. High humidity, a slow leak or poor ventilation in a bathroom or basement is what sustains them, and they feed on starches in paper, glue and fabric.

  • bathroom and kitchen cabinets
  • stored cardboard and paper
  • behind wallpaper
  • basements and crawl spaces
  • bookshelves
  • attic insulation

Why the can from the hardware store does not work

Surface sprays miss the voids where they live, and nothing changes the humidity that is actually supporting them. They are long lived and slow breeding, so sightings decline and then return.

What a contractor actually does

A contractor will treat harbourage points and advise on the moisture conditions, because ventilation and humidity control do more here than any product. Reducing stored cardboard and paper removes the food source.

Silverfish damage paper, books and fabric over time but pose no health risk. This is comfortably a scheduled job.

Questions people ask on the call

Does finding them mean the house is dirty?
No. It means somewhere is humid. Clean bathrooms with poor ventilation suit them perfectly.
Will a dehumidifier help?
Often substantially. Bringing humidity down is the single most effective change in most cases.
Do they bite?
No. They damage paper, book bindings and natural fabrics, not people.

Silverfish in the house?

Call and we will connect you with a pest control contractor in your area. Any hour.

Call 888-976-6842
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  • No form to fill out
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888-976-6842