What are silverfish eggs and where do they hide them? The definitive guide for 2023
Silverfish can infest a home quickly. These small, gray bugs are a common pest species, and they are fast, hide in the tightest crevices, and the females can lay 2 to 3 silverfish eggs a day, every day. And it doesn’t take long for them to hatch, leading to a silverfish infestation in no time.
But there is good news. With this guide, you’ll learn where silverfish eggs are likely to be, how to identify them, and pick up a couple of tricks on how to get rid of silverfish, their eggs, and their larvae.
What are silverfish?
Silverfish are small, gray wingless insects with shiny, scaly bodies, long antennae, and three long bristles on the rear of their bodies. These pests have six legs, and their bodies are flat and oval-shaped, resembling a fish on its side (in fact, they move similarly to a fish swimming). They usually grow to be about 3/4-inch in length, but it depends on the species.
What do silverfish eat?
Silverfish eat starches, carbohydrates, and some proteins. These pests can consume cellulose, much like termites, allowing them to eat a food source like paper towels, cardboard boxes, toilet paper, cotton clothing, towels, bath mats, and even wallpaper glue. In many ways, their diets are very similar to carpet beetle larvae.
They can also infest cabinets and eat carbohydrates like flour in cabinets, as well as proteins like dried beef and dead insects. Interestingly enough, these bugs are common food sources for other creatures like spiders and pincher bugs.
Where do silverfish live?
Silverfish prefer warm, humid spaces (this is actually one of the most common causes of insects in a house). Relative humidity levels that exceed 75% attract silverfish. This is especially true if the space is dark, as these insects are nocturnal. With these facts in mind, it’s easy to understand why these insects’ favorite hangouts tend to be a bathroom, laundry room, and even a pantry to a degree.
Within these spaces, silverfish tend to find the smallest hiding places. They may hide in small crevices, tiny cracks, gaps under baseboard trim, wall voids, gaps under improperly installed tiles, or underneath bathtubs.
Are silverfish dangerous?
Unlike some insects, silverfish aren’t dangerous for pet or humans (but here’s a list of insects that are dangerous for pets). Silverfish don’t bite or carry diseases. However, they’re not totally harmless. These bugs do feed on items within the home, like toilet paper, newspapers, paper towels, actual towels, linens, and cotton clothing.
Over time, replacing all these items every time a silverfish nibbles on them will get expensive.
What To Know About Silverfish Eggs
Preventing silverfish infestations requires a bit of knowledge about silverfish eggs. Like other insects, these insects have their own egg-laying habits.
What do silverfish eggs look like?
Silverfish eggs are small and round. The female adult silverfish first lays these eggs, they are white and soft. But, after a few hours, they begin to harden and turn to a yellowish color, and this is how they’ll remain until the eggs hatch. The following silverfish eggs picture, generated by AI, will help answer the question, “what does silverfish eggs look like?”
These eggs are distinctly different from their droppings. Silverfish poop looks like small, round, black pellets. This is a totally different type of waste than the liquid poop of spiders or stink bugs.
Where do you find silverfish eggs?
Silverfish lay their eggs in the same tiny cracks and crevices that they hang out in. Damp areas with high humidity and plenty of gaps under trim, cabinets, bathtubs, behind toilets, and anywhere else they can hide during the day. These are the places where female silverfish are likely to lay eggs.
There is another factor to this. If adult silverfish have a food source, they’ll likely lay their eggs near that food. When the eggs hatch and larvae-stage silverfish emerge, they shouldn’t have to go far for food.
How many eggs do female silverfish lay?
Silverfish lay eggs. A lot of eggs. Adult female silverfish are able to lay eggs two or three times a day. And they do so while hiding beneath cabinets and bathtubs, in cracks and crevices in trim and molding in bathrooms and laundry rooms, under tiles, and in some other very well-hidden and common silverfish.
Because female silverfish lay so many eggs so often, silverfish populations can boom quickly. Each day, more silverfish emerge from eggs, and their larvae start eating. Then, as those insects reach adulthood, they’ll start laying eggs, creating a silverfish infestation. And that might have you wondering, what does a silverfish nest look like? They’re typically full of eggs and near plenty of food, and they may have molted shells nearby.
This is why it’s important to get rid of silverfish as soon as possible.
What do silverfish larvae look like?
As they emerge from silverfish eggs, this species’ larvae look very similar to the adults. The exception is that they’re smaller and white or clear. As they molt (outgrow and shed their skin), they gradually become darker gray and silver.
What do silverfish larvae eat?
Larval-state silverfish eat the same foods as adult silverfish, such as cotton clothing, towels, bath mats, toilet paper, newspaper, and other cellulose-, starch-, protein-, and carbohydrate-based items. This includes items in bathrooms and laundry rooms like paper goods and clothing, food items, or the dead bodies of other pests.
Quick Tips on How To Get Rid of Silverfish Eggs and Adult Silverfish
Keep an eye out for our guide on how to get rid of silverfish, but in the meantime, these tips will help if you spot silverfish or silverfish eggs.
- Vacuum regularly. Silverfish eggs aren’t sticky, so strong suction can pull them out of tiny cracks, crevices, and other hiding places. While this may or may not kill silverfish eggs, it removes them from the house before hatching, allowing for a bit more silverfish control.
- Sprinkle bay leaves (which are also effective against cockroaches) and cloves around the bathroom, laundry spaces, or other areas, keeping silverfish away by natural means.
- Use sticky traps for silverfish control. Silverfish traps will also catch other pests, as well.
- Sprinkle boric acid (Borax) or diatomaceous earth around to kill silverfish (diatomaceous earth is mostly harmless for humans and pets, while boric acid isn’t quite as safe.
- Get the moisture under control. Use a ventilation fan when bathing, and fix leaky pipes or other conditions that may appeal to silverfish.
- Store flour, pet food, and paper goods in airtight containers to prevent silverfish from feeding on them.
- Use a steamer to pump high-temperature steam into areas where silverfish eggs are likely to hide. They won’t survive the heat. The same steamers that work for bed bugs will work for silverfish, as well.
- Call a pest control specialist. Pest control professionals know exactly how to handle silverfish infestations and how to kill silverfish eggs. They know the correct amount of pest control products to use and create less-than-conducive environments for silverfish eggs and silverfish in general.
FAQs
Where are silverfish eggs found?
Silverfish eggs are actually hard to find, as they’re often under cabinets, tucked away in cracks in walls, between tiles with broken grout lines, and other places where humans can’t see them.
What do silverfish bug eggs look like?
Silverfish eggs are small and round. When they first lay them, they’re white and soft. But, within a few hours, they harden and turn yellow.
Can you kill silverfish eggs?
The best way to handle silverfish eggs is to vacuum them up and discard the bag or empty the canister. If they’re on clothing, wash and dry them on high-temperature settings to kill the eggs.
How do you spot a silverfish nest?
Silverfish don’t nest. They lay eggs throughout a home, anywhere they can hide them that’s relatively near a food source.
