Top 10 Hiding Places for Silverfish in Your Home

Secretive and nocturnal, a silverfish infestation can go unnoticed for some time. A versatile, primitive insect, silverfish can inhabit a wide range of hiding places in your house.

Silverfish like to eat starchy foods, so they find paper and cardboard delicious!

They are also particularly like dark, undisturbed, damp conditions with a high humidity.

You should check areas that contain your stored belongings. Old clothing, books and files are both a safe hiding place and delicious treat for silverfish. They commonly damage clothing and documents in storage, often valuable items that cannot be replaced.

The top 10 silverfish hiding places

The other common places to find silverfish are:

1. Roof voids – are dark, with warm protection provided by the insulation. Fill this environment with lots of cardboard boxes and this is a ready made silverfish paradise
2. Sub-floors – can be dark, warm and humid due to poor ventilation and often poor drainage. Like the roof void, stored goods in cardboard boxes make this a silverfish hotspot
3. Wall cavities – are dark and undisturbed places that can make DIY pest control difficult
4. Kitchens – provide moist, warm conditions and plenty of food.
5. Bathrooms – are warm, damp environments created by baths and showers
6. Spare rooms/home offices – are often spaces with lots of stored paper and boxes
7. Wardrobes – are a favorite for silverfish as they enjoy eating tasty fabrics such as cotton and linen, clothes and sheets
8. Drawers – often contain clothes, papers and books that silverfish like to eat
9. Garages – often warm and moist with poor ventilation. They are also a typical space for storing boxes that can go undisturbed for long periods of time
10. Sheds – are another common location for storage boxes, where silverfish can live and thrive undisturbed

If you have a silverfish problem it’s important to do a thorough inspection… especially looking inside all the boxes and dark, undisturbed places. Storing good in sealed plastic containers will remove potential food sources and hiding places, and reducing humidity will make conditions less favourable. However, treating hiding places with a residual insecticide will kill any silverfish present and provide long lasting protection.

More information on how to control silverfish.

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