Jul 8, 2011 – Silverfish Drive-Up Service
QUESTION:
We are servicing a bank on an every-other-month service. The bank is only about 4 years old, and the only problem is silverfish. The only place I find them is at the drive-up window, in the drawers under the counter. One of our techs put a glue board in one of the drawers and I trapped different stages of silverfish. Can you help on this?
ANSWER:
My first thought is about why they may be appearing only at this one location so far, although it's possible they are hiding other places as well and just not seen so far. Banks can have lots of cubby holes. Perhaps the drive-up window offers some gaps or other openings that are serving as entry points for the silverfish, whereas the rest of this relatively new bank could be pretty well sealed. This might be one thing to carefully evaluate, and if you can find entry opportunities they can be permanently sealed to keep future bugs from getting in. Then you only have to deal with the ones still inside at this time.
Silverfish are common outdoor bugs, so looking around the exterior of the building could reveal other places where the silverfish hide, and these can be removed if they are just piled debris or treated if they must remain in place. You also could treat along the base of the exterior walls, particularly around the area of the drive-up window. I am not fond of recommending insecticide applications as the ONLY procedure, as this then would require you to repeat the application every time you service the account for every year to come. Insecticide active ingredients are not going to last for 60 days outside, so not only would you have to constantly apply, but also would have those long intervals between services when no effective residual is in place to stop wandering bugs. Much better would be the habitat modification and exclusion when possible, as these then address contributing conditions.
Stopping the silverfish on the outside is better than fighting them on the inside where it's more sensitive, but inside at this time you might consider very localized treatments along edges and corners in the vicinity of this window. You also could place some bait insecticide, and a granular bait such as Niban or Dekko Silverfish Packets. The Dekko already is in a station and the Niban granular could be placed within an insect bait station. If the bait could be puffed into a wall void in that area that might be useful, but if used where it is exposed it should be contained.
There shouldn't be much for the silverfish to eat in this area, but what the heck do I know? I'd hate to say that and then start having holes chewed in hundred dollar bills. But, the combination of exclusion to end the entry, residual sprays to intercept the wandering insects, and bait to attract them to a better food source should be helpful.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
We are servicing a bank on an every-other-month service. The bank is only about 4 years old, and the only problem is silverfish. The only place I find them is at the drive-up window, in the drawers under the counter. One of our techs put a glue board in one of the drawers and I trapped different stages of silverfish. Can you help on this?
ANSWER:
My first thought is about why they may be appearing only at this one location so far, although it's possible they are hiding other places as well and just not seen so far. Banks can have lots of cubby holes. Perhaps the drive-up window offers some gaps or other openings that are serving as entry points for the silverfish, whereas the rest of this relatively new bank could be pretty well sealed. This might be one thing to carefully evaluate, and if you can find entry opportunities they can be permanently sealed to keep future bugs from getting in. Then you only have to deal with the ones still inside at this time.
Silverfish are common outdoor bugs, so looking around the exterior of the building could reveal other places where the silverfish hide, and these can be removed if they are just piled debris or treated if they must remain in place. You also could treat along the base of the exterior walls, particularly around the area of the drive-up window. I am not fond of recommending insecticide applications as the ONLY procedure, as this then would require you to repeat the application every time you service the account for every year to come. Insecticide active ingredients are not going to last for 60 days outside, so not only would you have to constantly apply, but also would have those long intervals between services when no effective residual is in place to stop wandering bugs. Much better would be the habitat modification and exclusion when possible, as these then address contributing conditions.
Stopping the silverfish on the outside is better than fighting them on the inside where it's more sensitive, but inside at this time you might consider very localized treatments along edges and corners in the vicinity of this window. You also could place some bait insecticide, and a granular bait such as Niban or Dekko Silverfish Packets. The Dekko already is in a station and the Niban granular could be placed within an insect bait station. If the bait could be puffed into a wall void in that area that might be useful, but if used where it is exposed it should be contained.
There shouldn't be much for the silverfish to eat in this area, but what the heck do I know? I'd hate to say that and then start having holes chewed in hundred dollar bills. But, the combination of exclusion to end the entry, residual sprays to intercept the wandering insects, and bait to attract them to a better food source should be helpful.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
