Silverfish Control Melbourne

Professional Silverfish Pest Control Treatment

Are creepy silverfish invading your home? Whether you live in Melbourne or elsewhere in Australia, you may find silverfish. These uninvited pests can thrive almost anywhere. They can quickly set up colonies that are very hard to eliminate on your own.

If you think you have an infestation, you must contact a licensed professional pest control company right away. Trying to tackle an established silverfish on your own rarely succeeds. The right treatments and preventative measures need to be taken.

Trust Pest Control has provided affordable silverfish control in Melbourne homes and business premises for over a decade. Our licensed technicians use family and pet-safe methods to eradicate silverfish and stop future invasions.

Call us at 03 8595 9880 if silverfish are invading your property. Our inspection and removal services can solve your silverfish infestation issues for good.

What are Silverfish?

Silverfish are creepy little insects that can invade your home. They have long, flat gray bodies about 1 cm long with two antennae sticking out from the top. Their tapered shape and shiny scales give them a fish-like look.

Silverfish use their tiny teeth to chew through things like paper, books, photos, magazines, wallpaper glue, cereal boxes, fabrics, and more to find starchy foods to eat. This chewing makes small holes and damage.

Where Do Silverfish Live?

Just like other pests, silverfish love warm, humid environments, dark locations and are usually found in areas that suit their preferences.

In your home, these areas include attics, basements, bathrooms, kitchens, garages, and storage rooms, anywhere damp and dark surfaces. Silverfish especially hide in cracks, corners, and tiny spaces like under appliances or behind furniture. They also burrow into insulation or crawl inside walls, pipes, vents, and hollow door frames chasing warmth.

Since they feed on starchy materials, you may find damage in them. Don’t forget to inspect papers, drawings, storage boxes, silk items, linens, cloth items, towels, and other fabrics as well. These bugs can nest inside and nibble holes while hidden away.

Types of Silverfish

Various silverfish species can invade Melbourne homes. Some common household pests include:

Common Silverfish

These 12-25 mm long pests frequently sneak indoors into humid basements and kitchens. Nocturnal and reclusive, they hide in cracks to feed at night over their approximately 8-10 year lifespan.

Grey Silverfish

Dark gray in color. They live out of sight in confined, humid spots like bathroom pipes and basement crevices.

Firebrats

Skinny yellowish bugs under 15 mm long. They thrive in hot areas like fireplaces, furnace insulation, and pipes where temperatures top 32 degrees C.

Jumping Bristletails

Look like slender silverfish. These normally occupy gardens, lawns, leaf litter, rocky zones outside but may move indoors during hot, arid weather.

Four-lined Silverfish

Unusual indoor invaders, but can migrate inside especially in tropic climates. Have noticeable stripes and grow over 25 mm long.

Cool Facts About Silverfish

• Silverfish can live up to 8 years. As they get older, they keep growing and reach their biggest size right before dying. Seeing some huge one likely means there is an old colony.
• These bugs shed their skin a lot up to 60 times. You may find their pale leftover skeleton skins where they live.
• Female silverfish can lay over 90 eggs. This allows silverfish populations to grow very fast if not controlled.
• They tolerate extreme hot and cold temperatures. Some even like it hotter than 90° F. This helps them invade many different places outdoors and indoors.
• They have advanced bodies hidden under their simple outer shells. They have a brain, heart, breathing organs, digestive organs, glands, reproductive parts, and sensory parts in their heads.
• These bugs are speedy! They can dash up to one meter per minute despite having no wings. This mobility makes it easier for them to spread through buildings.
• Adult silverfish have been around for over 400 million years since the first land plants they fed on emerged! Their bodies have barely changed, so they are one of the most ancient insects alive today.

The Problems Silverfish Cause

Silverfish don’t bite or sting people. But big infestations can cause other issues:

Allergies & Asthma

Like with other pests, some people might have allergic reactions to them or their droppings. Breathing in tiny pieces can make asthma worse if there are a lot inside walls and vents.

Home Damage

They chew holes in irreplaceable photos, documents, books, wallpaper, furniture, fabrics, and more. This causes expensive damage. Their tiny holes also weaken items.

Clothes & Carpets Ruined

These bugs munch on fabrics like silk, wool, cotton, linens, and carpets where they hide. By the time you spot the holes, there may already be huge unseen damage.

Food Contamination

Rarely, silverfish crawling on counter tops or stored food could transfer bacteria. Eating contaminated food could cause temporary illness.

Pest Fears

Seeing them suddenly appear is alarming and worrisome. Even after treating them, worries about the pests coming back again can still bother some people.

Signs Silverfish Invaded Your Home

How can you tell if silverfish are sneaking into your house? Watch for:

Seeing It Live

Spotting silverfish running around rooms or coming out of cracks obviously means you have an infestation. Seeing them active during the day rather than just at night is even more worrisome – it likely means there is a big colony living in your walls.

Droppings & Debris

The tiny blackish poop, shed skins, and microscopic bits they leave behind accumulate where they nest. Seeing this stuff around baseboards, insulation, attics, and storage spaces hints they are actively living there.

Paper Damage

Little jagged holes, notches, or winding trails of damage seen in paper, books, photos, fabric, cereal boxes, and other items means active silverfish. A brownish staining may outline the destroyed sections.

Noises

You might hear faint rustling, scrabbling noises within walls, attics, or furniture caused by moving silverfish. Pay attention to pinpoint the source if things sound a little odd.

Stop Silverfish From Invading

Use these tips to keep silverfish from infesting your home:

• Clean Up Clutter – Get rid of cardboard boxes, piles of paper materials, etc. that they hide and eat in. Vacuum and mop often to remove food crumbs and dirt they look for. Store items you rarely use in sealed plastic bins.
• Proper Ventilation – Repair leaky pipes, clear clogged rain gutters, and other moisture sources attracting them inside. Use dehumidifiers and fans to keep indoor wetness below 50%. Make sure bathrooms and basements have good air flow.
• Block Entryways – Caulk up cracks and crevices so they can’t sneak in. Install weatherstripping on doors and windows to seal gaps. Add screens to attic vents, pipe holes, drains, and other spots silverfish could use to enter.
• Modify Landscaping – Move wood piles, landscaping rocks, dense bushes, and plants away from your home’s exterior. This takes away hiding spots outdoor they use to march closer to getting indoors.
• Inspect Often – Regularly check baseboards, attics, window sills, etc. for the first signs of silverfish or tiny damage holes. Catching invasions early makes getting rid of them faster and cheaper!

Making your home less inviting to them prevents infestations better than trying to eliminate huge colonies later!

Our Silverfish Control Methods

We utilise integrated pest management techniques tailored to eradicate each client’s unique infestation. Our certified technicians draw from over a decade of experience using proven, eco-friendly methods that provide effective silverfish control and removal of these pests.

Silverfish control & removal strategies we employ include:

Spray

We apply a specialised residual insecticide spray to known and potential harbourages like walls, floors, attics and crawlspaces on a monthly basis. This kills active silverfish on contact and offers lasting control by preventing future invaders from nesting in treated areas.

Cyber WP

This weather resistant powder gets applied into cracks, crevices, and entry points. The fine dust sticks well to surfaces and is small enough to reach deep inside wall voids and attics.

D-Fense SC

We use this liquid suspended concentrate formulation to spray a micro-fine mist into attic insulation, electrical outlets, transformers, and other spots these bugs hide. It kills bugs on contact via ingestion and absorption.

Baits & Traps

Highly attractive bait stations and traps help catch silverfish that avoid our spray treatments. They take the bait with enticing food sources back to nests and harborages to deliver a lethal dose to other colony members.

Diatomaceous Earth

DE powder made from fossilised algae is very abrasive on a microscopic level. They die from dehydration after making contact. We apply DE across floors, into cracks and crevices, and attic rafters where spiders hide and travel.

We also provide valuable cleaning, clutter removal, moisture control and sealing advice to render environments inhospitable to future silverfish activity after elimination. Our goal is effective, long term removal and prevention.

Why Choose Us

• 10+ years experience in silverfish control
• Fully licensed by VIC Health
• Public Liability Insured
• Using latest products and methods
• 100% satisfaction guarantee
• Flexible booking times
• 24/7 Schedules
• Effective long-term solutions
• Prevention Tips and Advice
• Free Quotes

Our Locations

We service residential and commercial clients across metropolitan Melbourne and surrounding suburbs, including:

• Melbourne CBD
• Eastern Suburbs
• Inner North and West
• Stonnington and Port Phillip
• Yarra Area
• Bayside
• Inner South Suburbs

Silverfish Control FAQs

When will silverfish start disappearing after treatment?

Most of our sprays and dusts begin working in hours, killing them on contact. You might see some dead bugs first. It typically takes 2-4 weeks to fully kill all members of the existing group as they eat the treatments.

Why are your products safer than store bought ones?

We use professional grade chemicals made specially to target silverfish, not general pesticides. Our technicians get lots of training on applying them correctly based on inspections to effectively eliminate them while minimizing environmental impacts. We follow all label instructions.

Do your treatments leave behind chemical residue?

There may be trace residue from sprays until the ingredients naturally break down in those areas. Any dusts get removed after service. Everything we use is within safe limits for people and pets after it dries. We avoid food areas.

How do I stop future silverfish problems after treatment?

The best defense is making your home unpleasant for them to live and breed. We suggest fixing humidity issues, reducing clutter, caulking cracks, installing door sweeps, using dehumidifiers or fans based on details from your inspection. Ongoing prevention maintenance is vital for long term success.

What results do you guarantee for silverfish control?

We guarantee satisfaction with all scheduled silverfish treatments. If live bugs are seen between visits, we will promptly return to retreat affected spots at no charge until they are completely eliminated. Our team takes pest control very seriously and stands behind our work.

Call Today!

If you suspect silverfish are invading your Melbourne home or business premise, call us now at 03 8595 9880 for professional inspection and elimination services. The sooner we can implement our proven treatments, the less property damage these harmful pests will cause.