Common Problems Caused by Silverfish in Merced Homes

When thinking of household pests, many homeowners don’t look at silverfish as much of a threat compared to other pests, such as cockroaches and rats. However, silverfish can cause a number of problems as discussed below.

Silverfish Contaminate Food

Silverfish like to chew on anything that contains starch in it, so your pantry is going to be a major target if these pests find their way into your home. The silverfish will easily chew through that paper packaging of most of your food items and they will head for anything with flour, sugar and other starchy items. You should keep your food safe from contamination resulting from silverfish activity by storing those food items in sealed plastic containers.

Silverfish Can Destroy Your Home

While you will not find silverfish chomping on wood and causing structural damage to your home, AAI Pest Control says that you should not dismiss these pests as a threat to your home. These pests can cause you to incur unexpected home improvement costs by the time they are through with the wallpaper in your home. They will chew right through it and make such a mess that you will be compelled to buy and apply new wallpaper.

Silverfish Damage Your Belongings

Silverfish are also a big threat to your belongings. Merced pest control experts identify a number of belongings that are vulnerable to damage by silverfish. These include your fabrics, especially natural fiber fabrics. However, the silverfish will not hesitate to chew through other fabrics if those contain dirt and sweat. You may therefore have to change your wardrobe sooner than you had thought if these pests stay long enough in your home.

Books, magazines, photos and other items that contain cellulose are also targeted by silverfish. The silverfish find the glue used to bind books especially delicious, so the pages in your books are likely to fall apart once these pests find their way to those books.

Silverfish Warn of Other Problems…

Merced pest control professionals say that the presence of silverfish in your home is usually a wakeup call that other problems exist on your property. This is especially true if you consider what will attract silverfish into your home. These include moisture, openings in the house envelop, incorrectly stored food, dirt, and grime, etc.

The presence of silverfish may, therefore, be a good sign that you have some water leaks or water damage on your property. Such leaks attract silverfish because moist or damp places provide excellent harborage for the pests.

Secondly, you may need to check the exterior walls of your home for cracks and crevices. Silverfish can crawl through the tiniest of cracks, so you should use a caulk gun to seal any openings that you find. The added benefit of taking this step is that you will improve the energy efficiency of your home since you will have eliminated the gaps through which heat was escaping from your home during the cold months of the year (or heat was getting in during the hot months).

Experts in pest control in Merced, CA say that you also need to pay some attention to your housekeeping if silverfish show up in your home. For instance, do you have any old newspapers piled in a damp place (your basement, for example)? Dirt and grime should also be cleaned out so that silverfish don’t have anything to feed on.

Get Professional Help from AAI Pest Control

Contact AAI Pest Control as soon as you observe a silverfish infestation in your home. We shall use a combination of techniques and products to not only get rid of the silverfish inside your home but also prevent a future recurrence of the problem.