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Pest Management Priducts Division of CSPA
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While silverfish prefer damp cool places (with a humidity of 75 to 95 percent) and can be found throughout the home, the aptly named firebrat has a similar high humidity requirement but prefers temperatures over 90° F. As a result, the firebrat is usually found near furnaces, ovens, heating pipes, water heaters, fireplaces, and other heat sources. These insects normally first enter the home by being carried in on food, furniture, old books, papers and old clothing.
Both silverfish and firebrats are chewing insects and general feeders but prefer carbohydrates and protein, including flour, dried meat, oats, paper and glue. Silverfish and firebrats are active at night and hide during the day. When objects are moved where they are hiding, they dart out and seek new hiding places. Sometimes they can be found trapped in a bathtub or washbasin, unable to climb out. Large numbers may be found in new buildings where the walls are still damp from plaster and fresh lumber. They are long-lived, surviving from two to eight years, and can survive a year without food. Silverfish and firebrats undergo only slight metamorphosis as they grow, the main external change being the appearance of scales after the first few months. There are at least 6 nymphal stages or instars before developing into an adult. Unlike most other insects, they continue to molt after becoming adults, with over forty molts recorded for one firebrat. Populations of these insects do not build up fast, and a large number in a home usually indicates a longtime infestation.
Silverfish females may lay over 100 eggs during a lifetime with eggs laid singly or two to three at a time in small groups, hatching in three to six weeks. Firebrats by contrast lay about 50 eggs at one time in several batches. Firebrat eggs hatch in about two weeks under ideal conditions. Young silverfish and firebrats resemble adults except being smaller, white and take on the adult color in four to six weeks. Adults can live up to eight years. Silverfish and firebrats may reach maturity in from three to twenty-four months.