Have you ever woken up to get a drink of water only to find a tiny, silver bug crawling around your sink’s drain? These are called silverfish and they are a common sight in many Las Vegas homes. Keep silverfish at bay with a few easy home maintenance tips:
What Is a Silverfish?
If you’ve never seen a silverfish before, you can instantly recognize them by their silver fishlike scales, two long antennae, and three small tail-like appendages at the back of their body. Silverfish are nocturnal, helping them avoid predators like spiders that may target them during the day. Their lifespan can last anywhere from three months to eight or ten years. Surprisingly, they can live for nearly a full year without food, as long as they have a water source nearby. Within its lifetime, a female silverfish may lay up to 100 eggs, which means an infestation could occur relatively easily in the dark or damp spaces of your home.
Will They Damage My Home?
Compared to some other pests, there is a silver lining to a silverfish problem. First of all, these critters cannot fly. They also do not bite or transfer diseases to humans. Silverfish may be creepy, but they pose no physical threat to your family. Unlike termites or other pests that may cause structural damage to the home, silverfish will only eat household items like paper, fabrics or glue in books and cardboard boxes.
How to Prevent Silverfish
Silverfish love a habitat with three features: darkness, dampness and temperate conditions. Places like closets, kitchens, bathrooms, and dark rooms around 70 to 80 degrees are ideal places for them to nest. Regular cleaning like vacuuming, dusting and decluttering room will help clear them out. If you think you may have a large infestation, use bug sprays, glue traps or call a pest control specialist. By addressing this issue with a few simple home maintenance solutions, you can easily rid your home of silverfish.
Get More Home Maintenance Tips
For more home maintenance tips, be sure to view our other blog posts:
- Our Fall Home Maintenance List is Like You: Proactive but Efficient
- How to Organize and Simplify Your Move
- Clean the Entire House in a Day with These Simple Home Maintenance Tips
