Long-tailed Silverfish

Ctenolepisma longicaudatum · Order: Zygentoma · Family: Lepismatidae

Also called: Silverfish, paper silverfish, Grey Silverfish

Can damage your home. They can damage household items.

Long-tailed Silverfish — Photo: unknown, CC0

These insects live in homes worldwide and feed on many dry organic materials such as paper, bread crumbs and synthetic fabrics, but avoid wool, fur and natural silk. They develop slowly, reaching adulthood after two to three years and can live for several years, surviving up to ten months without food.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Adults and nymphs are slender, fast movers with long antennae and three rear appendages: two cerci and one epiproct. Except for the youngest stages, their bodies are covered in scales that give them a shiny grey-to-dark appearance.

Source: Wikipedia

Is it a pest in the house?

They are reported as nuisance pests in homes, schools and museums, and can damage cellulose-based materials in warehouses and cultural heritage collections. Because they develop slowly and can survive many months without food, control efforts must be sustained over a long period.

Source: Wikipedia

How to get rid of it

Integrated pest management that combines several control methods at once is the most effective approach.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

They are synanthropic insects that live inside human buildings; their natural outdoor food sources are unknown. First described from South Africa in 1905, they are now found worldwide in homes.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

They eat a wide range of dry organic matter, including plant debris, insect remains, bread crumbs, paper, and synthetic silk or cotton fabrics. They do not eat wool, flannel, carpet, fur, felt or natural silk.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

They reach sexual maturity after two to three years and can reproduce for at least three years.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

Their bristly sides make them look somewhat like firebrats.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 33 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, California, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina.

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Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: introduced in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Long-tailed Silverfish photo 3 — Photo: Eridan Xharahi, CC BY

Long-tailed Silverfish photo 4 — Photo: Bennett Grappone, CC BY

Long-tailed Silverfish photo 5 — Photo: unknown, CC0

Long-tailed Silverfish photo 6 — Photo: dhasdf, CC BY

Questions people ask

What can I do to get rid of them?

Use an integrated pest management plan that includes multiple control tactics and keep it going for several months because they survive long without food.

Source: Wikipedia

What household items can they damage?

They can damage paper, books, cardboard, dried food, and synthetic fabrics, but they avoid wool, fur and natural silk.

Source: Wikipedia