Silverfish might sound like something found in water but in reality, they are one of the most resourceful pests you can encounter in your home. So, if you notice a few shiny and fast insects around your home and you wonder if you might have a silverfish infestation, we have all the answers in one place.
While these pests are small and pretty harmless to people, they can cause substantial damage to valuable property, books, and clothes.
Many traps on the market claim to eliminate silverfish from your house, but how to find the best trap? In the continuation of the article, you will find all the best tools to use and some additional tips and tricks that will allow you to have the bug-free home you deserve.
Let’s jump right in!
What Are Silverfish?
A Silverfish is a wingless insect that resembles a fish because of its unique silvery color and fish-like movements.
These notoriously fast pests are rarely discovered in homes before the infestation is severe, simply because they are nocturnal and do all the vital actions during the night. But, this doesn’t mean you won’t encounter a few of them during the day.
Getting rid of silver fish is not easy, considering they are pretty small and resourceful.
They can hide in all crevices of your home, but they do prefer high-humidity spots such as the basement, attic, laundry room, and bathroom. Because they need high moisture to thrive, this can be a good way to eliminate the pests in the future.
We’ll get to the problem of trapping the silverfish later in the article and explore all the options.
Is a Silverfish Harmful?
Despite being an unpleasant sight to see, the silverfish is not a known carrier of any diseases or pathogens harmful to humans.
However, these pests are known for their appetite for anything containing cellulose. This might not sound too bad at first, but considering many items such as books, carpets, coffee, glue, paper, photos, plaster, and clothes contain cellulose, they are on the menu.
So, even if you won’t get bites like when you have the notorious bed bugs, you can still suffer incredible damage that is hard to notice at first. This is why so many people are looking into the best bait for silverfish that will end the infestation fast and efficiently.
Best Product to Get Rid of Silverfish
Now that we are more familiar with the pest, their preferred habitat, and eating habits, you might wonder how you can kill silverfish and what are the best products to use.
Considering this is one of the most common pests in homes across the U.S. right after roaches and bed bugs, there are many solutions on the market that claim to eliminate them completely.
But, before we choose the best trap for silverfish infestation let’s go over some of the most popular traps people use:
Sticky Traps for Silverfish
Silverfish sticky traps are one of the easiest, safest and passive solutions to manage the silverfish infestation, capture the insects in your home and evaluate the severity of the problem.
Glue traps are a very popular solution because they are easy to use and very versatile.
You just need to reveal the sticky surface and place the trap in a convenient spot, where a lot of bugs tend to hang out.
With the help of glue traps for silverfish you will be able to:
- Confirm the presence of pests in your home
- Attract and capture many specimens of silverfish
- Monitor the effectiveness of other tools you might be using to combat the infestation
Diatomaceous Earth Powder
This natural powder dries out the exoskeleton of all insects that come in contact with the Diatomaceous Earth (“DE”), so you will kill many silverfish with it.
While DE is not an attractant, any bug that walks over the surface that has the powder will eventually die from dehydration. This is why spraying DE powder with specialized nozzles will eliminate not just the silverfishes, but all crawlers that might be in your home, walls, holes, and crevices.
It’s one of the safest ways to eliminate all the pests at once, just make sure to apply the DE powder with proper tools to avoid an additional mess in your home.
Boric Acid
Even though it is organic, it is advised to keep boric acid out of the reach of children and pets because it can be hazardous if consumed.
It is as simple as dusting the powder along the route of the silverfish to use it as an insecticide. Alternatively, combine it with water and spritz the solution into hard-to-reach crevices with a spray bottle.
The boric acid will kill the silverfish, but you need to be careful with the application and with the storage of the strong chemicals.
DIY Silverfish Bait Traps
Many people resort to DIY traps to get rid of various pests in their homes, and you will find that many recommend the silverfish jar trap as the most effective.
Take any glass jar with a height of at least three inches from your recycle bin. Cover the outside of the jar with tape (sticky side out), lay a piece of bread in the bottom, and position the trap in an area where you've observed silverfish. The silverfish can crawl in with the help of the tape, but they can't crawl out on the smooth glass.
You can also make the sticky trap by combining flour and water, and even adding some boric acid for that deadly effect. But, practice all DIY silverfish traps with caution, because they can get quite messy and even dangerous if you mix ingredients such as boric acid.
Chemical Treatments
Clear silverfish bugs can be eliminated with harsh chemical treatments just like any other pest in your home. The most popular ingredients to look for in pesticides are Pyrethrin and Propoxur. While you can find these pesticides everywhere you should be careful when using them in your home.
Harsh chemicals and pesticides are not only deadly to the pests, but also harmful to your family and pets.
If you decide to go for the extreme and chemical DIY silverfish killer, always follow the instructions and never leave containers in the reach of small children.
How to Choose the Best Trap for Silverfish?
If you are wondering if you can exterminate silverfish without pesticides and chemicals we have just the right solution for you. Now that we know all the available options on the market, we can focus on the best bait and trap for silverfish.
Despite many traps that claim efficient results, experts agree that simple glue traps are the best way to combat the silverfish infestation.
Why? Here are a few reasons to consider:
Natural attractant
Glue traps for silverfish have a natural scent that will lure out many specimens and capture them in the trap. The scent is perfectly balanced to lure many bugs, but it will not cause further infestation from other apartments near you.
Unlike DIY bait traps, you can be sure the scent is proportional and completely natural. There is no need to measure ingredients or make messy traps on your own. Simply fold the box in the indicated areas and reveal the glue to capture all the silverfish in your home.
High-quality adhesive
Even though the silverfish bug is small, it’s pretty resilient and you will need extra-strength adhesive to capture it. With high-quality glue traps, you can be sure the sticky surface will hold onto all the bugs that are lured by the attractant.
If you notice other bugs in your home various glue traps deal with roaches and bed bugs. Once you confirm the infestation you will always have a few glue traps around your home just to be on the safe side.
Easy-to-use
No one has the time to deal with complicated traps and worry about the harsh chemicals.
This is why it’s important to choose a glue trap that can be assembled in a few easy steps and placed in the best location. With the right trap, you won’t stress about the location or the instructions, because it’s easy to use and simple to dispose of once full.
Eco-friendly
The best glue traps for silverfish are always the eco-friendly ones that contain no toxins or pesticides. This way you can be sure all your family members and pets are safe from harsh chemicals and all the bugs are eliminated.
This is very important considering that the infestation can take some time to clear out, and you will be exposed to the chemicals for quite a period if you choose to go for the pesticides. So, many people prefer the non-toxic passive versions the glue trap offers.
Long-lasting
Traps that you use to capture silverfish need to be sturdy and high-quality. This way you can set up the trap once and simply check on it every so often to see how many specimens you captured.
A strong glue and good materials used will provide the best results.
You will only have to change the trap once it’s full and you don’t have to worry about it in the meantime. This is why glue traps are considered the best passive solution to end the infestation.
Where to Place Silverfish Traps?
Silverfish love to hang around places where the moisture is high and there are unlimited food sources. This often implies they can be found in bathrooms, under the sink, in the basement, or in the attic.
Silverfish are nocturnal so don’t expect to see many specimens around your home, but if you notice bite marks on your books and furniture, little pellets of feces, or even parts of the exoskeleton, you are facing an infestation.
So, the best place to put your glue traps is under the sink, in your bathroom, laundry room, and basement. The best results are always achieved with multiple traps all around the areas where the silverfish love to hang out.
This can be different in every household so it’s wise to set up many traps and cover more rooms.
How to Get Rid of Silver Fish For Good
Silverfish insects multiply fast and they are notoriously hard to get rid of, but with a couple of additional tips and tricks, you will be one step closer to a clean home without bugs.
Here is what you need to do in order to completely eliminate silverfish from your house:
Repair leaks
We already know that silverfish thrive in humidity, so the first step to manage an infestation is to locate and repair leaking pipes and other sources of moisture. Without this step all of the other methods will be in vain considering the perfect conditions will always attract more insects.
While there might not be a leaking pipe in your home, you will get a chance to investigate the remote areas and even set a few traps while exploring the hidden corners of your home.
Use a dehumidifier
Once you know the source of the added humidity and you repair all the leaks, you should invest in a high-quality dehumidifier. Some rooms in your home simply have high humidity levels such as a bathroom, laundry room, and basement.
Placing a dehumidifier in these areas will dry out the air and make it an undesirable location for the silverfish. In addition, you will also benefit from less moisture as mold and other problems will be reduced.
Clean clutter
Too many things in the attic and basement will attract various pests that love to hide and feed in hidden spaces. So, if you want to ensure the maximum efficiency of all other methods you use to combat the pest infestation, you need to clear the clutter, vacuum, and clean everything.
When you make the rooms clean, place food in tight containers, and lower the humidity, the silverfish will abandon your home in search of better conditions and opportunities.
Set up sticky traps
As mentioned before, the silverfish glue traps will help you confirm the infestation, manage the number of specimens, capture the silverfish and even evaluate the efficiency of other methods you might use.
With a few carefully placed glue traps, you can determine the severity of the infestation and lure out all the silverfishes that might be hiding during the day.
Add DE powder
To completely eliminate silverfish colonies and get rid of all the bugs in your home we advise you to add the DE powder to all the nooks and crannies these pests might hide in.
This is by far one of the easiest and safe solutions that will kill all the insects including roaches and silverfish.
Final Thoughts on Silverfish
If you want a clean and bug-free home without any harsh chemicals and pesticides, you can achieve that with the right glue traps. Silverfish might be fast and resourceful, but with natural attractants and the strong adhesive used in the traps - they don’t stand a chance.
Follow our detailed guide and you will have the best results in no time.
