How Silverfish Damage Your Clothes
Imagine you open your closet doors and start looking through your clothes to find small holes and yellow stains covering your shirts, pants, and skirts. If you have seen these holes on your clothes and other cotton, silk or linen materials throughout your home, chances are you have a silverfish infestation. Here is some information about silverfish and how they can damage your clothes.
What Are Silverfish?
The silverfish is about one centimeter long with several long tail filaments. These insects are part of the Lepisma species and are silver in color. Adult silverfish are long like caterpillars. They are nocturnal creatures, keeping to dark and cool places. They are hardy creatures as they can survive without eating for several months.
Silverfish prefer a diet that is high in protein, starch, and sugar. They can meet these nutrition requirements by eating materials such as carpet, paper, book bindings, wallpaper curtains, and even your clothes.
Why Do They Like Clothes?
These pests enjoy chewing holes in your clothes not for the fabric itself, but because of the substances found on your clothes. When you starch your clothes, the silverfish are drawn to the starch in the fabric and start eating away. Also, if you spilled a beverage or food on your clothes and it was high in sugar, silverfish would begin eating that garment as well.
Not only are closets the buffet area for silverfish, but they also provide them with their ideal environment as they are often dark and cool areas of your home.
How Do You Prevent an Infestation?
It is never a good day when you discover tiny holes and yellow stains in your favorite shirt or dress, so here are some ways you can prevent that from happening. There are several methods you can use to prevent silverfish from ruining your wardrobe. Some simple tasks you can do is regularly vacuum and clean your closets or store your clothes in sealed containers such as plastic tubs.
The best way to do that is to prevent a silverfish infestation. Gibson Pest Control makes it a priority to protect your home and loved ones from pests. Contact us today to schedule an appointment. We will make it our mission to keep you, your family and your belongings safe from pests.