Help!!! I returned from vacation to find my master bath and adjoining closets invaded by silverfish. I've cleaned the rooms but am still finding the icky things. Does anyone have any solutions to eliminating them all?
Thanks.
They eat cardboard. So if you have any old cardboard boxes around you need to get rid of that first. We have gotten silverfish bait packets from Killum pest control. We still have some but the packets work pretty good. Good luck and let us know what you find that works.
I just looked them up on Wikipedia. Good to know they are not a human threat and do not carry disease, just a pest.
From Wiki: Silverfish consume matter that contains polysaccharides, such as starches and dextrin in adhesives.[2] These include glue, book bindings, paper, photos, sugar, coffee, hair, carpet, clothing and dandruff. Silverfish can also cause damage to tapestries. Other substances that may be eaten include cotton, linen, silk and synthetic fibres, and dead insects or even its own exuvia (moulted exoskeleton). During famine, a silverfish may even attack leatherware and synthetic fabrics. Silverfish can live for a year or more without eating.[2][6]
As well, they lay their eggs in small cracks. You may want to get on the hands and knees and vacuum all the smaller areas. Eggs hatch within 2 weeks.
Look them up and get their family name. From there you should be able to find something at the hardware store that gets rid of them, although I am sure not child friendly.
I would consider getting a pest control company. We use HomeTeam pest defense. They will spray your whole house inside and out, and also look for bees nests and any other infestation. It's worth the money to protect your home. They come about every 3 months and guarantee their work so they will come out for free in between if needed.
In Dallas I use Alpha Pest Control. They are more natural. Possibly there is something like that near Spring. Or try boric acid:
You can get silverfish traps from the exterminator. They eat paper and wood pulp, so cleaning really has nothing to do with drawing them in.
I found that they left when I eliminated all moisture. So the tub and shower walls are squeeged after every use, wet facecloths are dried on a drying rack, etc. Towels washed and dried after each use. Best of luck.
Moth balls works for me.
Ew, I hate those things. I had a silverfish problem when I was in graduate school and my apartment was overrun with paper and books (I was messy). I got rid of as much as possible and that helped a lot, but it took about 2 years before I saw my last silverfish (and I also "moved" with them back to my parents' house, they were less than thrilled). My apt hired an exterminator and I am not sure what the guy used, but it was odorless and stainless and they kept the bugs away for almost a year (along wtih me being superclean). I guess try looking into a good exterminator and discuss environmentally safe products that may help.
