What is that crawling around on your Mississippi property? Nobody likes uninvited guests roaming around, especially when they reappear at any time. If you have seen some tiny silver bugs on your property, chances are that they are silverfish bugs.
What are Silverfish Bugs?
Silverfish bugs are nocturnal members of the insect family that flourish in warm temperatures and high levels of humidity. They can become serious pests if not taken care of. The silverfish bug gets its name from its silver or grey shade and its fish-like motion that comes from its antennas and tapered tail. These bugs are swift, which can make them hard to visually keep track of. Consequently, they can often outrun their predators and burrow themselves into dark places.
Do Silverfish Bugs Bite?
Since you are seeing them all over, you might wonder if silverfish bite or what they do. While silverfish do not bite and are not a danger to you or your pets, you cannot ignore them. However, they are a true nuisance that can destroy your belongings.
They sustain themselves on a diet that consists of paper, starchy foods, and fabric. As far as getting rid of silverfish bugs is concerned, the best approach is to address them from the root, which can sound like a nightmare. If it is any consolation, you do not have to get harsh chemicals that are highly toxic, as the less toxic efforts are quite effective.
Where Silverfish Bugs Are Found and What They Eat
A common space to inspect for these tiny creepy crawlies is in a Mississippi bathroom. If you have leaks around your pipes or in the roof, then that can provide just enough moisture for silverfish bugs to thrive indoors.
They can survive up to a year without eating if they have a water supply. These bugs often leave tiny holes in anything that they bite and a yellow stain or residue behind. You can look under your kitchen sinks, in the garage, and in other dark and damp areas of the house. Check that pile of unfolded clothes or any fabric you may have laying around.
Silverfish bugs enjoy building their nests close to their food sources. So, while they do not bite, you can find them eating away at your carpet, photographs, sugar, books, glue, coffee, paint, bindings plaster, hair, and paper. They eat all of that as they love items that are filled with polysaccharides.
That new wallpaper you put up last fall is not safe either. Silverfish bugs can damage it by eating the adhesive plate used to keep it on the wall. Sadly, they do not stop there. They can destroy the tapestries you have around the house that are made from silk, linen, and cotton. You may also find that they eat your left-over breadcrumbs, dead insects that may be around the house, molted exoskeletons, and if the bugs are extremely hungry, they might decide to eat leather and other synthetic fabrics.
Preventing Silverfish Bugs from Taking Residence in Your Home
Keep Papers Tidy and Neat
Silverfish bugs love paper so get rid of any old mail, newspaper, magazines, or books you may have around the house. You can store paper in cupboards, on shelves, and in storage containers. Keep the floors clear of anything that might even remotely be deemed as food for a silverfish bug. Wet paper is especially dangerous.
Vacuum Silverfish
Vacuuming is one way to easily remove silverfish bug eggs and any possible food sources in Mississippi. You can do it once a week to keep your space clean and tidy. Scrub and wipe your kitchen floors and counter to further remove food crumbs.
Use a Dehumidifier
By reducing the humidity inside your home, you create a less welcoming environment for silverfish bugs. A fan or air conditioning unit can be effective in this scenario. You can also seal up any crawl space or vents to help with air moisture control.
How to Get Rid of Silverfish Bugs
If there is already an infestation in your Mississippi home, preventative measures are not enough to fight against them. You can try some other useful options, such as:
- Using boric acid in places where you see silverfish bugs is a popular, almost non-toxic solution. You can opt for sprinkling the acid around or buying traps with boric acid to get rid of them.
- Employing diatomaceous earth solution that happens to be lethal to many insects. It works by going under the insects’ exoskeleton and dehydrating them. You must be extremely careful when using this option, especially if you have children and pets.
- Using pyrethrin, a less toxic biodegradable chemical pesticide, can be helpful too since it is made from the seeds of the pyrethrin plant. While no pesticide is completely safe, pyrethrin is your best bet and is an active component in many flea and tick collars.
- Placing dried leaves throughout the house as they repel silverfish bugs and other unwanted insects.
- Putting a starchy substance in a glass container or jar and wrapping the outside area with tape. Silverfish bugs can crawl into the container by climbing up the textured exterior of the tape but are not able to out since their tiny legs cannot stick to the smooth glass surface inside.
- Placing some sticky traps where you observed the silverfish bugs. They should crawl onto to traps get stuck. Discard the used traps after you have caught the bugs.
- When all else fails, then you call in the professionals. This is the most effective way to handle an infestation of silverfish bugs in Mississippi. You need an expert that is versatile in liquid and granular pest control strategies, so that your home is protected throughout the extermination process.
Though silverfish bugs are difficult to see and even harder to catch, experts have the technology and experience to get rid of them completely.
Conclusion
Silverfish bugs as tiny critters that are nuisances to your Mississippi property and can cause allergic reactions. There are various ways to prevent and eradicate the tiny monsters from your life. If all your attempts to eliminate them should fail, call in the silverfish professional exterminators.
If you’re looking for the right team to handle the issue for you, Synergy² is here to help. We provide trusted services throughout the area, so contact us for the best pest control services around.
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