Silverfish and Firebrats
How to identify
Silverfish are shiny and silver or pearl gray. Firebrats are mottled gray. Immature insects look like adults, except smaller. (Adults are 1/3 to 1/2 inch long.) Both are slender, wingless insects and their bodies are covered with scales, with two long slender antennae attached to their heads and three long tail-like appendages at the hind end. Each appendage is almost as long as the body.
Problem with Silverfish and Firebrats
Silverfish and firebrats may cause damage by eating foods or other materials that are high in protein, sugar, or starch. They eat cereals, moist wheat flour, paper on which there is glue or paste, sizing in paper book bindings, starch in clothing, and rayon fabrics.
Locating Silverfish and Firebrats
Look in bookcases, around closet shelves, behind baseboards, windows or door frames. They are active at night and hide during the day. When objects under which they hide are moved, they dart about seeking a new hiding place.
Both silverfish and firebrats are common in homes. Silverfish live and develop in damp, cool places such as along attic eaves that have become moist inside due to ice buildup over winter months. Large numbers may be found in new buildings in which the newly plastered walls are still damp. Firebrats live and develop in hot, dark places, such as around furnaces and fireplaces, and in insulation around hot water or steam pipes.
You should also look for eggs year-round in secluded places, such as behind books or on closet shelves.
How to limit the conditions that attract or support Silverfish and Firebrats
- Eliminate moist conditions where silverfish develop.
- Repair roof leaks.
- Improve attic ventilation if condensation is found.
- Thoroughly vacuum areas where silverfish or firebrats are found.
- Seek professional assistance and consider an ongoing, preventive program.
Buffalo Exterminating is tough on Silverfish and Firebrats
Our program includes treatment with residual sprays and insecticide dusts directed into the localized areas of activity where temperatures, humidity and food requirements are found. We make recommendations to eliminate environmental conditions that attract and support silverfish and firebrats. Preventive maintenance programs offer ongoing protection from these pests.
Over-the-counter treatments kill the silverfish contacted, but it is necessary to locate all harborage areas to gain control, which normally requires professional expertise.
More information
Under usual house conditions, silverfish and firebrats develop slowly and have few young. They are hardy and can live for several months without food.
Females lay eggs year round in secluded places, such as behind books or on closet shelves. Silverfish lay only a few eggs at a time, but may lay several batches over a period of weeks. The eggs are whitish, oval, and about 1/32 inch long. They hatch in two to eight weeks, depending on temperature. Firebrats lay about 50 eggs, one at a time; and lay several batches. Firebrat eggs hatch in about two weeks. Both insects reach maturity in 3 to 24 months, depending on temperature and humidity.
