Do You Have A Silverfish Problem?

Silverfish are not as common as the household fly, cockroach or ant, but these insects can cause serious damage to the items in your home.

Why are they considered a pest?

They’re considered a pest as they cause damage to your personal property and eat some of your food. They enjoy eating their way through things like:

• books coming off their spines (as silverfish prefer eating the glue that binds paper to the cover);
• loose papers, photographs, and wallpaper;
• clothes and other fabrics especially linens; and
• starchy foods (packaging may have holes present).

Silverfish feed on foods containing protein and carbohydrates but are able to live for extended periods of time without feedings. When they feed, the marks left are irregular and do not penetrate paper, but they do cause considerable damage and often leave yellow stains on fabrics, like linen.

How do Flick technicians control silverfish?

Silverfish are very agile, quick on their feet and can even survive in cooler temperatures. Their strength lies in their ability to exist in the human environment and go undetected, but their one weakness is their inability to climb smooth surfaces. Silverfish can’t climb in bathtubs and often get trapped in bathrooms. Our Flick technicians often advise customers to check dark, secluded areas of the property which house books and other protein or carbohydrate based foods.

We provide chemical treatments which involve dusting or surface sprays in areas where silverfish would frequent. Space/aerosol sprays are used to eradicate silverfish in the home if they’re confined to one particular spot on the property. The best advice that a Flick technician can give to customers is to remove or contain their food source where possible.

For more information on silverfish and what you can do to prevent an infestation, check out our new silverfish page. If you are noticing silverfish damage, please call 0800 710 010 and your trusted Flick technician can take care of the problem.