The Bug-guy / Bugaboo® Pest control

Silverfish and Firebrats

Description: Silverfish and firebrats are slender, wingless insects, one-third to one-half inch long with three, long bristletails at the end of their body. Silverfish are shiny and silver or pearl gray. Firebrats are mottled gray or tan. B oth are extremely fast runners and are often seen only when trapped in wash basins or bath tubs, where they are unable to climb the smooth vertical surface to escape. They hide during the day and feed at night.

Life cycle: A single silverfish female will lay less than 100 eggs during her lifetime she deposits them in cracks and crevices or behind baseboards in damp and warm locations. The eggs are elliptical and 1 mm long; they take between two week s and two months to hatch depending upon conditions. Firebrat females lay only about 50 eggs in a lifetime and firebrats require a humidity of fifty percent or higher. Firebrat eggs fail to hatch below 70 F and prefer temperatures above 90 F. The silve rfish life span can be three to four months if the house is warm and humidity high or as long as two to three years under less favorable conditions.

Foods preferred: Silverfish and firebrats will eat any of the foods humans eat and also starch, glue, paste, sizing in fabrics, and dead animals even to the extent of cannibalizing dead or injured members of their own species or their castoff skins.

Damage: These insects will damage starched cotton, linen, and silk, as well as bookbinding's, wallpaper, or rayon drapes. The damage often appears as irregular patches of glaze removed from wallpaper or irregular and notched edges on wallpaper or other paper products. Scales, excrement, or yellowish stains on paper or fabric can also indicate the presence of silverfish or firebrats. They seldom damage fibers of animal origin such as wool or hair. Where found: Silverfish can be found anywhere in the house in attics, between walls, under floors, under sinks, in cupboards, and along pipes. They can also be found between rayon drapes and the lining. Firebrats prefer much warmer areas in the house, such as warm attics in the summer, furnaces, hot water heaters, stove, and oven areas, fireplaces and hot water pipes places where it is very warm and possibly damp.

These insects and their eggs are often brought into the home in cardboard cartons, books, papers, starched and rayon fabrics, and other carbohydrate materials.

Prevention and control: Clean up areas where wood, cardboard boxes, old papers or books are stored, and where these insects are noticed.

Spray areas where silverfish or firebrats are seen-usually around closets, shelves, under and around sinks, around steam pipes, baseboards, window casings, and places where pipes go through the walls and, in the case of firebrats, near heat pipes or s tove or furnace areas. There are many pesticides under many brands. Select one labeled for use against silverfish or firebrats with directions for the situation in which they have been found. Dusts are frequently more desirable than sprays. Be careful not to use oil-based sprays around electric motors, gas pilot flames, or other places where they might start fires. If you are troubled with firebrats and not silverfish, you may need to apply insecticide only to warm parts of the house. A light mist o f residual insecticide spray can be applied to corners and both sides of infested draperies.

Results may not be immediate but, if the insecticide is properly and thoroughly applied, it will leave a residue that should be effective within a few weeks. If satisfactory control is not achieved in two or three weeks, make an additional applicatio n.

Trapping: Where application of pesticides is undesirable, silverfish and firebrats can be trapped by covering the outer surface of a small jar (like a one-ounce ointment jar) with masking tape and allowing the insect to climb up the outside. No bait is needed. The insects fall into the jar and can't climb out of the smooth inside walls. The traps should be placed in paths normally used by silverfish, such as intersections and corners of kitchen cupboards or bookcases or next to the baseboard on the floor.



 Jeffrey Tucker is president of Entomology Associates, Houston. Questions can be sent to Questions & Answers, c/o Entomology Associates, P.O. Box 70375, Houston TX 77270, or faxed to 713/681-9069.

SILVERFISH VS. FIREBRATS

Q: I am not sure of the difference between silverfish and firebrats. Is this a case where the same insect has two different names or are they two different pests? Is control the same or is there some difference? (L.C.)

A: Both silverfish and firebrats belong to the same insect order, Thysanura. They are also typically placed in the same family. Depending on whom you consult, there may be as many as eight to 10 different species of silverfish in North America and only one species of firebrat. Beyond that there are both similarities and differences in their appearance and behavior.

At first glance, both silverfish and firebrats appear similar. On closer inspection, firebrats tend to have longer antennae that often extend past the tip of the abdomen. Also, firebrats tend to be a mottled gray color with patches of dark gray and lighter silver over the dorsal surface of the body. Silverfish tend to be uniformly gray or silver in color, although there is at least one species with dark lines extending down the length of its back.

Both silverfish and firebrats are often referred to by another common name, bristletails. Obviously, this name refers to the long appendages attached to the tip of the abdomen. If you are interested in definitely identifying either firebrats or silverfish, you may want to refer to an excellent key found in the chapter on these two insects in the 8th edition of the Handbook of Pest Control.

Both silverfish and firebrats tend to prefer warm, moist areas. However, this may be misleading at times. While an area may appear warm (such as a furnace or heater room), there may not be an obvious source of moisture. In my experience, both silverfish and firebrats generally have a very low moisture requirement and can easily find moisture sources such as floor drains, condensate pans and wet walls. Both insects are most commonly indoors, however, I’ve found that in the South, both can occur in the peridomestic environment. Clutter in garages and storage sheds are typical locations for these pests. I’ve also found firebrats living under tree bark in firewood piles outdoors.

Both insects have chewing mouthparts and can damage a wide variety of materials. They both appear to have an affinity for starches and animal proteins. Typically we find silverfish feeding on paper and some cloth materials. It should be noted that both silverfish and firebrats are extremely resistant to starvation and can exist without feeding for long periods of time. Additionally, both insects are relatively long-lived. Life spans may exceed three years.

Generally speaking, the control procedure used for German or brown-banded cockroaches in homes will also be effective for silverfish and most firebrat infestations. There is some indication that silverfish tend to roam more widely in search of food and harborage and that firebrats tend to be more localized in their distribution. Also, remember that under some circumstances, firebrats exist in the near outdoor environment and may be brought into a structure in infested materials.

If the infestation is severe and of long duration, a number of non-chemical steps may be taken to reduce the suitability of the environment for these two insects. Generally, removing or reducing clutter and other forms of food, as well as reducing the availability of moisture to include reducing humidity, has been effective in managing these pests. In most cases, though, to achieve a quick resolution to a localized silverfish or firebrat infestation you will need to focus on treating cracks and crevices, as well as void areas in and adjacent to the environment where the pests were seen. Most residual insecticides will be effective against these pests. It is important also to remember that the use of dusts, including inorganic materials, can provide not only immediate relief but also long-term control. Currently, I don’t have enough information to determine whether or not any of the baits used in cockroach control will also be effective on silverfish. Perhaps that will be looked into in the near future.
 
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