The common silverfish or sugar silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) is a small insect that lives in apartments or houses. Many people do not notice it until the number of insects reaches 100-150 individuals. This is justified by the fact that this pest is invisible, in addition, the damage from it is quite insignificant.
Common silverfish (sugar silverfish)
External description of silverfish
To understand what the article is about and to notice the insect in time, you need to familiarize yourself with its external description.
The body length of silverfish individuals that have reached sexual maturity reaches almost two centimeters (excluding whiskers). Throughout their life cycle, the size of silverfish can sometimes vary from 0.9 to 1.3 centimeters. After all, these insects grow in length throughout their lives. The insect's body is very flat and gradually tapers towards the tail. It also has a barely noticeable division into segments and is covered with a scaly layer, the color of which changes during periods of molting. The head of the silverfish is poorly defined, and the chest is quite wide.
Very often in nature there are two types of this insect: common and sugar silverfish.
The body of the pest may have the following shades:
- from dark brown to black,
- light brown or dirty yellow (typical of young silverfish),
- off-white (quite rare),
- with a silvery cold tint.
As noted above, silverfish have long and thick whiskers that point forward and at the end slightly diverge to the side.
A distinctive feature of this pest is the three processes present on the tail. They look like insect antennae. Silverfish also have three pairs of short limbs. Their eyes are complex and consist of faceted elements.
Is silverfish dangerous for humans and why?
Contrary to popular belief, silverfish do not pose a particular threat or any danger to people.
After all, it is not a carrier of dangerous infections; it does not bite or sting. If there are a small number of silverfish in the house, then they practically do not interfere with a person and do not spoil things in any way. However, this insect is still considered a pest for the following reasons:
- Silverfish reproduce very quickly and each time their presence in human homes becomes more and more noticeable. Bugs can chew through bags and ruin curtains, as well as disfigure books and bedding. If there is shabby wallpaper or rotten wood in the house, silverfish will get to them.
- Insects lay their eggs in food. Although silverfish do not carry infectious diseases, they can still spoil human food and make it inedible. After all, these insects constantly move in places with large concentrations of harmful microorganisms. Once in food, these bacteria cause poisoning in those who eat it.
- The very appearance and constant movement around the house unnerves and annoys the owners. A person can sometimes find these insects in his bed, in a salt shaker or sugar bowl, or in a bread bin.
Despite the fact that silverfish are quite picky about their living conditions, they are at the same time very tenacious.
This is another reason why these insects are classified as pests. It is curious that some scientists attribute silverfish to the ancestors of modern insects. Based on the fossilized remains found, this insect is already 400 million years old. Silverfish are considered to be very dangerous in dark areas such as museums and libraries. They contain a lot of nutritious foods that the bug can eat. That is why in many libraries and museum complexes humidity and temperature conditions are strictly maintained.
Criterias of choice
Before you start fighting household pests, you need to decide on the choice of disinfestation method. Here the emphasis is on what type of insect is annoying in the apartment, what its number is and how long it has been parasitizing. The safety level of the insecticide should be determined and whether it has an unpleasant odor.
Human safety
All pesticides are divided into highly toxic, moderate and weak. Before using aerosols or insecticide concentrates, you should read the instructions for use of the product. The procedure for treating the premises takes place when the household members leave the apartment. Boric acid, borax, and plants with a strong odor for repelling are safer and more environmentally friendly. But care must be taken to ensure that children do not try these substances or the bitter herb.
Having an unpleasant odor
Many insect repellents have an unpleasant odor. It will make you dizzy if you stay in the house during treatment. With aerosols, the smell quickly disappears. Gels are available with a pleasant aroma or odorless. The plant smells strongly of wormwood, which is often used to repel cockroaches and fleas.
Ease of use
Carrying out pest control in an apartment yourself requires the use of products that are convenient to apply to surfaces. It is not for nothing that sprays in aerosol packages are chosen. They also give preference to ultrasonic devices, which they plug into the network and that’s it.
Features of the life of silverfish
Silverfish are typically nocturnal.
During the day, they hide in secluded places or search for a place to lay their ovipositor. Most representatives of this species live in human habitation, and some live in the wild. Those that live in the natural environment feed on mushrooms, moss, algae and humus, and hide under stumps or fallen leaves. The most common type of silverfish is the common silverfish, which is also called sugar silverfish. She acquired this name because of her love for sweets. The thing is that representatives of this species need nutrients: glucose and starch.
Of course, silverfish can eat almost anything, but they have their own taste preferences:
- Sugar, potato and wheat flour, vegetables and fruits. The insect does not eat cereals, but lays its eggs in them, since this place seems safe for silverfish.
- Silverfish also eat cellulose and plastic, which, for example, are contained in books and bags. In addition, the pest can feed on textiles, wool and leather.
- Silverfish can also eat finishing materials, as well as furniture fillings. For example, wood, old wallpaper, foam rubber, and so on.
Despite the fact that this insect has a large appetite, it can live without food for a little less than a year.
The main condition for the life of silverfish is high humidity. That is why the insect often lives in bathrooms. Any crack or crevice in the floor or wall can be a home for silverfish. In addition, it settles under old wallpaper, in garbage or human food. Due to the fact that the insect does not like light at all, it is almost impossible to see it during the day. After all, silverfish move only in dark areas of the room.
The insect itself does not need water. Moreover, it is very dangerous for silverfish, because these pests cannot swim and drown when they get into water.
While in nature, silverfish travel long distances. Interestingly, she moves very quickly. All its life the insect is busy reproducing. Females of this species do not mate with males, but search for spermatophores left by males in random places.
At one time, a female can lay up to 60-70 eggs. Almost all of them turn into larvae and survive.
Silverfish
- these are those insects for which molting is very important. Its larvae change their appearance quite often, because the number of molts during the entire life cycle of silverfish is always different.
Insecticides
Insecticides in the form of aerosols, sprays and concentrates are suitable for treating silverfish habitats, for example, such as:
- August Cucaracha Spray
- Concentrate Medilis-Super
- Aerosol Clean House from skin beetles
- Raid Max aerosol
- Combat SuperSpray
Using any glue-based insect traps on substrates is also effective. They will need to be changed periodically as they become dirty.
How to exterminate silverfish
If the population of silverfish in the house is large, pesticides are used to exterminate them.
The owners also use folk recipes and homemade traps. To repel insects, you can use shavings of lemon, orange or tangerine, as well as spices that have a strong smell: bay leaf, cinnamon, basil or sage. These spices are placed in kitchen cabinets. Essential oils also repel pests well. To do this, you need to mix a few drops of bergamot or lavender oil and spray it throughout the room.
If you want to make your own silverfish trap, you need to wrap a small glass jar with electrical tape and put a sugar cube inside. Insects will crawl into the trap towards the bait, but are unlikely to be able to crawl out of it.
You can also make a trap from regular newspaper. It is rolled up and one edge is wrapped with an elastic band. The newspaper itself must be wetted and left overnight. Surely the silverfish will crawl inside the newspaper, after which you will throw it away along with the pests in the morning.
Remember that traps and traditional methods alone will not be enough to completely remove the insect from your home.
One of the common chemical agents against silverfish is diatomaceous earth. They scatter it all over the house, and in the morning they simply go over the floor with a vacuum cleaner. The same principle of use applies to boric acid.
Insecticidal aerosols are also considered effective in helping to get rid of various types of insects. However, it is recommended to use them with extreme caution, because they can be dangerous not only for the silverfish themselves, but also for humans and pets.
To get rid of silverfish in your home, you need to do the following:
- Collect all trash in the house and remove unnecessary items to gain access to hard-to-reach places.
- Carry out wet cleaning: wash the floors with the addition of chlorine and treat all surfaces with it.
- For greater efficiency, you can wash the floors with the addition of copper sulfate. After wet cleaning, you need to dry everything thoroughly so that there is no moisture left in the corners and crevices.
- Treat the area with the selected insecticide. Close the room for 2-3 hours.
- After this, you need to ventilate the room well for at least one hour.
To enhance the effect, these steps can be repeated again after about 7 days.
Adviсe
By implementing a set of measures, it will be easier to achieve complete extermination of silverfish. If there are very few insects, several methods may be sufficient.
Repeat the measures a month later to destroy young individuals that have just hatched from eggs.
Plant-based aerosol products will be ineffective in the fight.
To disinfect at home, you must purchase one of the following products:
- A bathtub cleaner that contains chlorine.
- Copper sulfate.
- Special aerosols for killing insects.
Sources
- https://notklop.ru/nasekomye/ostorozhno-cheshuynitsa-v-vannoy-kak-izbavitsya-chto-delat-i-kak-vyvesti-top-5-sredstv/
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- https://ubirahka.ru/pests-in-the-house/%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%88%D1%83%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D1 %8B-%D0%B2-%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B5-4-%D1%81%D0% B0%D0%BC%D1%8B%D1%85-%D1%8D%D1%84%D1%84%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BD /
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Preventive measures against the appearance of silverfish
If you create conditions that are completely unsuitable for silverfish to live in a house, they will not live there.
Of course, it is unlikely that it will be possible to create completely uncomfortable conditions, but if you exclude just one parameter, insects will definitely not want to settle in the apartment. The main secret is to avoid high humidity. Typically, silverfish live in rooms where the humidity reaches 80 percent. We need to make it equal to 50 percent. It is also recommended to carry out repairs: seal the cracks, re-glue the wallpaper and remove old wood from the house. Remember that there should be enough light in all rooms. In addition, you need to regularly carry out general cleaning in the bathroom and kitchen, and also ventilate these rooms well. Otherwise, not only silverfish, but also centipedes, wood lice and mold can settle here. It is best to store all food products in containers or resealable bags. Old clothes should be placed in bags, and books and magazines should be kept away from moisture.
It is worth remembering that insects enter the house through ventilation holes. Therefore, before fighting them, you need to check the ventilation. It happens that insects settle in it.
Why do insects appear in the bathroom?
The main reason for the appearance of these creatures in the toilet and bathroom is high humidity. There is an increased risk of insects in apartments where major renovations have not been carried out for a long time, plumbing leaks and there are cracks in dark corners. However, these centipedes do not only start from dampness.
Both long and small centipedes love high air temperatures. Failure to comply with sanitation rules is often enough for bugs to appear. An overflowing trash can attracts silverfish. Favorable conditions for this living creature are created by poor ventilation in the house.
Silver and white silverfish
It is difficult to get a good look at a living silverfish, because... it moves quickly, but in the photo you can see the body structure of these creatures. Both white and silver silverfish are found in human homes. These varieties differ only in color. Some insects have a dark gray or black carapace, but have a shiny silver coating on top.
The structure of silverfish.
Other varieties of silverfish have a transparent white shell. It also has a silvery patina.
Adults look like tadpoles. The head is large and the tail is thin. There are long mustaches on the head. These creatures have 4 pairs of main legs and 8 pairs of auxiliary legs. Thanks to the special structure of their limbs, silverfish crawl quickly both along the floor and along the walls.
The favorite habitats of these insects are:
- far corners under the bathtub;
- places where condensation accumulates;
- hidden communications;
- jars of detergents;
- wet towels, mats and sponges.
These places have something in common - high humidity. Here, adult individuals live and also lay eggs, from which not too long white worms emerge. They look like thin caterpillars. They cannot run fast, so they are most often found in places where wet, caked clothes or towels have been left for a long time, as well as in the far corners of the bathroom, where cleaning is not done often.
Insects feed on organic matter . They consume mold, mucus, toilet paper, food scraps, natural fabrics, wallpaper paste, etc. Thus, these creatures can find enough food in the bathroom.
