DESCRIPTION AND HABITS 



Both of these insects are slender and wingless. 

 They are covered with scales. Adults are one- 

 third to one-half inch long. Silverfish are shiny 

 and silver or pearl gray in color; firebrats are 

 mottled gray. The young insects look like the 

 adults except that they are smaller. 



Both insects have two long, slender feelers at 

 their head end, and three long, taillike append- 

 ages at the hind end. Each appendage is nearly 

 as long as the body. 



Silverfish and firebrats are active at night and 

 hide during the day. When objects under which 

 they are hiding are moved, they dart out and seek 

 other hiding places. 



WHERE FOUND 



Silverfish and firebrats are common in homes 

 throughout the United States. The silverfish 

 lives and develops in damp, cool places, espe- 

 cially basements. Large numbers may be found 

 in new buildings in which the walls are still 

 damp. The firebrat lives and develops in hot, 

 dark places, such as around furnaces and fire- 

 places, and in insulation around hot water and 

 heat pipes. 



In apartment houses the insects follow pipe- 

 lines from the basement to rooms on lower floors 

 where they find food. They may be found in 

 bookcases, around closet shelves, behind base- 

 boards, and behind window or door frames. 



SILVERFISH 



FIREBRAT 



7 



DEVELOPMENT 



Silverfish and firebrats develop slowly under 

 usual house conditions, and have few young. 

 They are hardy, and can live without food for 

 m \ eral months. 



The females lay eggs at any season. They 

 usually lay eggs in secluded places, such as be- 

 hind books or on closet shelves; occasionally they 

 lay them in the open. 



Silverfish lay only a few eggs at one time; 

 they may lay several batches over a period of 

 weeks. The eggs are whitish, oval, and about 

 one thirty-second inch long. They hatch in 2 

 to 8 weeks; the length of time it takes them to 

 hatch varies with the temperature. 



Firebrats lay about 50 eggs at one time; they 

 may lay several batches. The eggs are soft, 

 white, and opaque when laid ; later they have 

 a yellowish tinge. They hatch in about 2 weeks. 



Silverfish and firebrats reach maturity 3 to 24 

 months after hatching. Their rate of growth 

 depends on the temperature and humidity. 





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(«2iX 



CONTROL 



Silverfish and firebrats can be controlled by 

 using commercially prepared sprays or dusts that 

 contain Baygon, chlordane, DDT, diazinon, 

 dieldrin, heptachlor, lindane, malathion, or 

 ronnel. 



Control with sprays and dusts ma\ not be 

 immediate. But if the spray or dust is properly 



