Silverfish?

[nyrak]

This is gross, but I'm hoping someone can help me here....I've noticed a lot of silverfish in my house lately, mostly in the bathroom & basement, but I've found the odd one in the kitchen & one -yikes - in my bed. Any advice on how to get rid of them? And I have dogs, so any kind of chemical/pesticide is out of the question.

Thank you!

[Ozzisk8tr]

Found this, hope it helps. Citrus one seems the safest.

There are four common solutions of killing, getting rid of, repelling, or exterminating silverfish that are safe and natural.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1716699The first are citrus sprays. These are citrus smelling sprays specifically made to get rid of insects like silverfish who are repelled by the smell. Use it generously where you feel the infestation may occur as well as along baseboards and the outside of the home. Do not use citrus smelling cleaning sprays as they are not organic and are not made to repel silverfish. This is an organic pest control product.

A second technique are electronic methods like ultrasonic pest control. These are small devices that are plugged into electrical outlets that let out noises that make it uncomfortable for the insect to be in the area. Some are said to work well keeping pests away while others have complained that it does nothing if the house is completely infested.

Third, Diatomaceous Earth will kill silverfish as well as other insects and even spiders. This white powder will essentially dehydrate the pests. You can sprinkle this around the home where the silverfish might be as well as use it in your garden. This is definitely a method of exterminating as opposed to repelling the silverfish.

The last technique is the use of traps near the silverfish infestation. Dark areas of the home or wall voids is the best place to use these. These traps will also catch ants, aphids, and fleas as well. Obviously this is a safe non-chemical solution.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1716699

[snoopy]

If this is new, I would check for plumbing leaks. Silverfish like it moist and there is likely a water source somewhere that is attracting them. Also don't keep packing boxes around if you can avoid it - silverfish eat the glue on packing tape or even the glue on book bindings. Also they eat grain, so if there is grain in the dog food I'd be careful about where that gets put out. Once they find a food source, they tell all their friends.

I had silverfish coming in under my front door - apparently they can live in tree bark and i have a barky tree in my front yard. I started chemical spraying under the door and around the perimeter of the front of the house. That keeps them out. Me and the cat may die a little earlier but I really don't want silverfish in my house. Also, if I find spiders, I leave those alone- they are one of the few silverfish predators, and for some reason I don't mind spiders as much.

[Wyliefan]

Keep all the bathroom drains closed. That'll keep them from coming in that way.

[liv]

I also have silverfish and their numbers have been increasing too. The food source that I noticed was the cat food crumbs that fell out of the dish that is kept in the basement. I hate these guys too, but there are far worse insects to have in your house!!

Thanks for the advice.

[Artemis@BC]

Third, Diatomaceous Earth will kill silverfish as well as other insects and even spiders. This white powder will essentially dehydrate the pests. You can sprinkle this around the home where the silverfish might be as well as use it in your garden. This is definitely a method of exterminating as opposed to repelling the silverfish.

I've used diatomaceous earth for silverfish and for (shudder) the one time I had cockroaches. It's not the fastest method, and you have to live with little piles of the dust hanging around for a while, but it does work very well to kill the bugs. Plus it's non-toxic, completely pet and human safe, which is the biggest plus in my books.

The repelling methods would be good to put in place after you've gotten rid of the nasties, but since you're already infested you have to go with an extermination of some sort.

Good luck! I feel your pain.

[Karina1974]

but there are far worse insects to have in your house!!

Yeah, like house centipedes. Hate those things... I'm actually more freaked out by them than I am of spiders. I usually see them in the bathroom, so I hit them with a blast of hairspray, and then step on them.

[Andora]

Diatomaceous Earth is a great idea as long as you use/place it properly.

House centipedes, like spiders, are your friend! They'll eat other, more troublesome insects, maybe even silverfish! But they do look terrible. :S I was working at home late one night and watched one walk away from me. It actually stopped once my eyes hit it. Creepiest thing I have EVER seen.

[liv]

My parents had centipedes in their house so i grew up with them. It was a very old and damp place with a dirt basement, and I was freaked out by them. They can get reeeealllllly big. The worst is when you are lying in bed and see one crawling on the ceiling above you... the horror!!

[Anita18]

My parents had centipedes in their house so i grew up with them. It was a very old and damp place with a dirt basement, and I was freaked out by them. They can get reeeealllllly big. The worst is when you are lying in bed and see one crawling on the ceiling above you... the horror!!

That's what's so scary about them! When I was younger and lived on the east coast, we'd go to my aunt's house often and she had the WORST house centipedes! Some of them were bigger than a human hand!

Silverfish are eh. I see them every so often but since they don't bite people, I usually leave them be. In fact, I think they're kind of cute.

[Karina1974]

The worst is when you are lying in bed and see one crawling on the ceiling above you... the horror!!

I had one walking down my side of the shower curtain one morning this week. Shit... my shoes were by the door, couldn't reach the hairspray can... I started smacking at it with the shampoo bottle. I still don't know what happened to it...

What I hate the most is walking into a room, flipping on the light, & just HAPPENING to look in their direction & they are just... THERE. It's like not realizing there is another person in the room until you look in a mirror & they are standing behind you.

[Anita18]

I had one walking down my side of the shower curtain one morning this week. Shit... my shoes were by the door, couldn't reach the hairspray can... I started smacking at it with the shampoo bottle. I still don't know what happened to it...

What I hate the most is walking into a room, flipping on the light, & just HAPPENING to look in their direction & they are just... THERE. It's like not realizing there is another person in the room until you look in a mirror & they are standing behind you.

We were welcomed home from dinner out by an extremely large cockroach, exactly in this manner. My fiance wanted to let it outside. I was like, "You go do that, I'll just pretend it's not there."

He eventually got it out, with help from my roommate's kitten, who caught it and carried it in her mouth, legs sticking out in all directions.

[lulu]

I feel you. I've had to deal with were mice, and that was absolutely horrible. Good luck!

[liv]

They really are everywhere.

I was at a funeral in an old church and I had to go to the back area where the bible school/cloakroom area was. I was sitting and glanced down and there was one, inches from my feet. I thought about killing it with my high heels, but then thought, hmmm, not in a church...while I'm attending a funeral!! It felt too wrong. I moved. The area was big enough for the two of us.

When in university over the course of 4 years after I moved out of residence, I had a place with centipedes, then cockroaches, mice and then fleas. I sure knew how to pick apartments! Each year a different pest! Now I have silverfish... I can deal with them, lol!

[Anita18]

I feel you. I've had to deal with were mice, and that was absolutely horrible. Good luck!

At least mice are cute! My aunt had them too. I saw one out of the corner of my eye (while on the toilet ) and freaked out thinking it was a GIANT CENTIPEDE. "Whew, it's just a cute little mouse!" The mice proceeded to evade any and all glue traps we set down.

[sk8pics]

When I was in my aunt's apartment after her funeral, having stayed there overnight, I was in the bathroom and looked up to see a large mouse make its way from the hallway underneath the sink. I never stayed overnight there again! Ick!

[Karina1974]

At least mice are cute! My aunt had them too. I saw one out of the corner of my eye (while on the toilet ) and freaked out thinking it was a GIANT CENTIPEDE. "Whew, it's just a cute little mouse!" The mice proceeded to evade any and all glue traps we set down.

I've had several mice in my apartment. The first one I ever had electrocuted himself on the baseboard heater in the living room. I picked him up on a piece of cardboard and pitched him out the window onto the sidewalk! Then none for a few years until I noticed little shadows moving across the carpet while I was watching TV with the lights out. When I saw a couple slinking along the wall behind the computer desk & entertainment center, I invested in glue traps. So far I've caught 2, both of them in the kitchen, where I have a pair of traps along the wall between the stove & sink.

The beat way to place traps is in pairs, along a wall, because mice usually stick close to walls as they don't have good eyesight, & the more contrast there is in the wall/floor colors helps them to travel more easily. If you use pairs, you know if they miss one or manage to skate over it, chances are they'll hit the second one.

I actually caught one about 2 weeks ago. I was in my room right off the kitchen, & I heard a scuffling & then a squeaking. I knew exactly what it was. The scuffling was from the mouse struggling to get loose, & this trap has been sitting out since February, so I'm surprised it worked so well. I did the same as with the other one - dropped it, trap & all, into a plastic grocery bag, tied the handles together, & carried it across the street to the public garbage can.

[nyrak]

Thanks for all the advice! Will see what I can do...

[BaileyCatts]

Also don't keep packing boxes around if you can avoid it - silverfish eat the glue on packing tape or even the glue on book bindings.

Aw man ... really? I just got done carefully breaking down dozens of boxes from moving my mom in with me and I want to keep them for future use of donating excess or even moving myself if needed. Would it help if I go thru and peel off any tape, or is it moot since the glue would still be on the boxes? I don't want to pitch the boxes, but I also don't want an invasion. I swear there must be close to 100 boxes of all sizes stacked up in my basement, but I don't want to generate a swarm!

[snoopy]

If you don't have a silverfish problem, I wouldnt worry about it. I got rid of mine because I'd find them on the boxes eating the glue, and I wanted to get rid of the food source. I think you can take the tape off but the glue will have to dry (loose its tackiness) before it was safe. Though I never had a swarm of them, it would be 1-2 at a time but I figured those were just the ones I saw.

Once I ditched the boxes and started spraying the door and along the front of the house, the problem seems to be resolved.