Warning, protect your star wars against Silverfish

[Pomse2001]

Have you checked under the kitchen cabinets? Depending which type of units you have most of the fitted kitchens in the UK you're able to take the bottom plinth/panel off to give you access under the units. Might be worth a look with a torch if you're able to do that.

I have no idea if I can get under the cabinets, I have sprayed poison on the floor against the panel off all cabinets so if they go out then I think they will die. I did the same in the bedroom.

 

[Fawns61]

Hi @Pomse2001 If you are using cleaning products with Lavandula (lavender) in them, they may only contain a mild concentrate of it. You might be better off getting some pure essential oil instead and putting some drops in water?

I have had silverfish in my toilet room, along the edge of the wall. I hate creepy crawlies so regularly spray around the rooms with a mixture of essential peppermint oil and cedarwood oil in a spray bottle filled with water.

I put about 10-15 drops of each essential oil in a spray bottle and fill it with tap water. I also add one or two drops of washing up liquid and shake it up.
I have sprayed some silverfish with this. It stops them in their tracks, and if left in a small puddle of it they do not move anymore. This will probably be safer than poison for you, and will also make your rooms smell fresh. Worth a try.
The peppermint is supposed to be good for spiders and the cedarwood for moths. Citronella is another good one but I don't like the strong smell of it.

Good luck

 

[Pomse2001]

Hi @Pomse2001 If you are using cleaning products with Lavandula (lavender) in them, they may only contain a mild concentrate of it. You might be better off getting some pure essential oil instead and putting some drops in water?

I have had silverfish in my toilet room, along the edge of the wall. I hate creepy crawlies so regularly spray around the rooms with a mixture of essential peppermint oil and cedarwood oil in a spray bottle filled with water.

I put about 10-15 drops of each essential oil in a spray bottle and fill it with tap water. I also add one or two drops of washing up liquid and shake it up.
I have sprayed some silverfish with this. It stops them in their tracks, and if left in a small puddle of it they do not move anymore. This will probably be safer than poison for you, and will also make your rooms smell fresh. Worth a try.
The peppermint is supposed to be good for spiders and the cedarwood for moths. Citronella is another good one but I don't like the strong smell of it.

Good luck

Thanks I have used Ajax lavandula. I will buy the oil.

Wednesday after work I began to pack the stuff from 2 moving boxes into 2 plastic boxes. I found 5 of this black silverfish in them I think I have let them into the boxes myself because the bags with comics from the closet was laying only 2 meters from the moving boxes and the monsters had been making holes in the bags and escaped. So some of them or maybe all of them had moved into this moving boxes. Because I was looking in this moving boxes a few weeks ago after some stuff and there was no silverfish in them a few weeks ago. Well I did catch 2 of the silverfish in the moving boxes so I run some test on them added some Ajax lavandula in a plastic box next to one of them. It could not get up of the plastic box I guess it was to smooth for the silverfish. It looks like it did not get scared of the ajax and just ran into it after it ran into it, it died Then I did test my poison on another one, it did ran a little bit into the poison and ran out again and did not get killed. It was first when it ran into a lot of poison it got killed. So I guess my poison are not good enough.

I have read baking powder are also good, they die if they eat it and they would love to eat it. Maybe I should test it, if there are any silverfish left.

So far I have found 28 silverfish. I have not found any thursday or this morning.

 

[Pomse2001]

update, saturday I found 2 more of the black silverfish, only some very small ones. Both came from the bags with comics. I am now done with checking all this comics. I killed one and the 2nd I did catch alive. I made a glass with a little bit of baking powder and sugar after I had read they like to to eat it but they die when they eat baking powder. I put the 2nd silver fish in the glass but after 24 hours it is still not dead so I guess maybe it do not die fast, maybe it does not work or maybe it does not eat it also the glass are to smooth for it to go up of the glass. So I used some tape on the outside of the glass, then more maybe will go up and fall down into the glass. So far I have killed 31 silverfish. I have only seen 1 or 2 big ones so I guess maybe I have been lucky so I can stop it since mosst of them are very small.

I will buy some lavandula oil today when I get home from work. I am now done with 50% of the kitchen so I will first be done this week. I am also still buying plastic boxes and packing stuff into this plastic boxes. I have also checked about 150 uk weekly star wars comics and put them in comic bags with cardboard. Now I need to buy some more cardboards and comic bags since I have used all the ones I have.

Like the glass the plastic boxes I have bought are also to smooth for the silverfish so they can't crawl up on them, but I still buy them with lid just to be 100% sure.

I will not be much on the forum this week also. I will be back when I am done.

 

[Snaketibe]

Thanks for the updates, Lars, and well done on your perseverance with this problem. I really hope you are able to solve this and find a way to eradicate the silverfish for good. Please keep us updated on your progress.

Jeremy

 

[Pomse2001]

Thanks for the updates, Lars, and well done on your perseverance with this problem. I really hope you are able to solve this and find a way to eradicate the silverfish for good. Please keep us updated on your progress.

Jeremy

thanks jeremy, I have not seen any since saturday I have read they also hate the smell of vinegar and it kills eggs if there are any. So now I also use that on shelves and floor moldings, I think I will try to do that for a long time.

I am still cleaning in the kitchen and looking in all the closets. Monday I bought 7 more plastic boxes and I used the last one yesterday. So I will buy some more today after work. So I can pack more items in plastic boxes.

So far I have not found more damage.

I bought some lavandula oil but it does not smell much

 

[Pomse2001]

So far I not found any more silverfish, yesterday I checked all my boxes and instructions for my amiga and pc games and some old computer magazines from the 80s and 90s.

I have bought some new poison for siverfish that I also used yesterday.

I hope to be done sunday

 

[Fawns61]

Hi, @Pomse2001 well done on your efforts so far, hopefully it is paying off for you.
I haven't tried lavander essential oil so do not know how strong the scent is supposed to be. Depending on where you buy it from, there can be differences too.
I don't know if you have bought any peppermint or cedarwood essential oils but they are also supposed to repel them. Most creepy crawlies don't like strong scents.
Silverfish also don't like citrus scents eg. orange and lemon. As well as the oils for these, you can scatter orange and lemon peel around if you use them. They need replacing frequently.

 

[Fawns61]

1) Lemon juice can be used (good for cleaning limescale from taps too), and it is supposed to kill them if they come into contact with it, so is a good replacement for any poisons.
2)A home-made trap to use is to fill a glass jar with any of the following: flour, dried cereal, small pieces of bread, starchy food etc.
Wrap masking tape around the whole of the outside of the jar, to enable them to climb up it and get inside the jar for the 'bait'.
Place the jar(s) in areas where you think they are hiding, and check the jars regularly.
3) Baking soda. I know you have tried this with salt but maybe you need to do the following:
Mix a bit of baking soda, a cup of water, and a tablespoon of honey, into a bowl. Mix it all together to form a paste. Put some of the paste on a piece of card or paper to lure them into a glass jar.
4) Put some rolled up newspaper, dampened with water, onto a plate and leave it overnight where you want to trap them. The moisture will attract them. They will climb inside the newspaper to feed and take shelter. In the morning, throw the newspaper in an outside bin.

On the subject of moisture - which is what attracts them, as well as food - do you have a dehumidifier you can use if the rooms have excess moisture in the air?

If possible and safe to do you can check behind appliances, as creepy crawlies like dark, undisturbed corners to hide behind.

Finally, as you mention using poison I am guessing that you do not have any pets, so this is more a warning to others reading this - be careful using any essential oils or poisons if you have pets and/or children around. ALWAYS READ THE LABELS FIRST, and if you have any medical conditions, check that the products are not ones you have to avoid ie I think tea tree oil is not good for asthmatics?

Sorry for the long posts, hope some of it helps

 

[Pomse2001]

1) Lemon juice can be used (good for cleaning limescale from taps too), and it is supposed to kill them if they come into contact with it, so is a good replacement for any poisons.
2)A home-made trap to use is to fill a glass jar with any of the following: flour, dried cereal, small pieces of bread, starchy food etc.
Wrap masking tape around the whole of the outside of the jar, to enable them to climb up it and get inside the jar for the 'bait'.
Place the jar(s) in areas where you think they are hiding, and check the jars regularly.
3) Baking soda. I know you have tried this with salt but maybe you need to do the following:
Mix a bit of baking soda, a cup of water, and a tablespoon of honey, into a bowl. Mix it all together to form a paste. Put some of the paste on a piece of card or paper to lure them into a glass jar.
4) Put some rolled up newspaper, dampened with water, onto a plate and leave it overnight where you want to trap them. The moisture will attract them. They will climb inside the newspaper to feed and take shelter. In the morning, throw the newspaper in an outside bin.

On the subject of moisture - which is what attracts them, as well as food - do you have a dehumidifier you can use if the rooms have excess moisture in the air?

If possible and safe to do you can check behind appliances, as creepy crawlies like dark, undisturbed corners to hide behind.

Finally, as you mention using poison I am guessing that you do not have any pets, so this is more a warning to others reading this - be careful using any essential oils or poisons if you have pets and/or children around. ALWAYS READ THE LABELS FIRST, and if you have any medical conditions, check that the products are not ones you have to avoid ie I think tea tree oil is not good for asthmatics?

Sorry for the long posts, hope some of it helps

thanks mate for the help

No I do not have any dehumidifier.

So far I have not seen any now for 9 days and I have not found any more damage. I am still cleaning and checking closets for bugs I will first be done this week.

I was thinking they could have come inside my home with a packet or more packets or from my job we also have them at work. So I am done with taking packets inside the apartment.

I have traps and there are not any in them but maybe I have killed them all. But there can be eggs I guess so I will continue to clean much more for some time and use poison, vinegar and ajax with lavandula.

I will also try the wet paper. When I am done checking and cleaning.

 

[Robstyley]

I have never had a problem with this in 16 years. Never seen any in my cabinet. I've seen them in my house but not near my collection.

 

[TheJabbaWookie]

What a nightmare. We had a clothes moth infestation a few years ago and they destroyed our carpets including in the Star Wars room. Luckily they didn't destroy any comics etc but they reproduce a lot quicker than silverfish and it took 3-4 complete household cleans with professional cleaning **** to get rid of them ( approx 1 year in total). All reports online suggest it's a lot easier to get on top of a silverfish infestation. Good luck

 

[Fawns61]

Hi, @Pomse2001 - hopefully you are on top of it now and almost done with your mammoth task!

 

[Pomse2001]

I have never had a problem with this in 16 years. Never seen any in my cabinet. I've seen them in my house but not near my collection.

I am happy to read you have not had any problems yet with them

 

[Pomse2001]

What a nightmare. We had a clothes moth infestation a few years ago and they destroyed our carpets including in the Star Wars room. Luckily they didn't destroy any comics etc but they reproduce a lot quicker than silverfish and it took 3-4 complete household cleans with professional cleaning **** to get rid of them ( approx 1 year in total). All reports online suggest it's a lot easier to get on top of a silverfish infestation. Good luck

thanks mate and sorry to hear about the moth infestation you had. I hope they will not come back

 

[Pomse2001]

Hi, @Pomse2001 - hopefully you are on top of it now and almost done with your mammoth task!

Thanks mate, I am not 100% done yet. But I would have been done sunday if it had not been because I had my little nephew all sunday. I hope to be done later this week and I have not seen any more silverfish. My robot vacuum cleaner now clean 1 time every day I hope that will also help on the problem

 

[Fawns61]

Hi, @Pomse2001 glad that you got some time off to spend with your Nephew - much more important and I'm sure the respite will have done you a world of good, too.
Does the robot vacuum cleaner get right into the edges and corners, which is where any creepies tend to hide?
Hopefully you are on top of the main problem now and will be checking regularly to make sure they stay away, especially if you spray essential oils regularly

 

[Pomse2001]

Hi, @Pomse2001 glad that you got some time off to spend with your Nephew - much more important and I'm sure the respite will have done you a world of good, too.
Does the robot vacuum cleaner get right into the edges and corners, which is where any creepies tend to hide?
Hopefully you are on top of the main problem now and will be checking regularly to make sure they stay away, especially if you spray essential oils regularly

Thanks mate no it does not take a few cm of the corners. There I use my cordless vacuum cleaner. I vacuum once evry day now and I am surprised how much dust it can find every day

I checked a closet today in the living room, I had not had time to check it before today. I got everything out of it and found 2 big dark silverfish in it I have all my cardbacks in that closet and all my amiga disc. I could not see any damage The closet is very close to where I placed all the bags with comics about 1 month ago that was infected with this little monsters and they escaped the bags. So I think this monsters could have come from this bags. I moved the closet out and found 2 more dark silverfish under the closet. So after I had not found any for a few weeks then I found 4 today I still need to check a few more places and things before I am done so I will also be busy next week this takes much longer than I first thought it would. After I have placed the kitchen wash stopper in the wash every afternoon before I go to bed then Ihave not any normal silver fish in the wash I guess maybe it keeps them out

 

[Pomse2001]

I am now done with the cleaning after the silverfish attack, no more damage. I hope I got them all but I need to check some of the places I found them the last time again.

 

[Pomse2001]

Saturday I made a check in the bedroom and checked some of the places where I found silverfish weeks ago. I found a very little one in my amiga 1200 box so I had missed one. I will check every week some areas.

 

[Pomse2001]

Damn I am still finding silverfish, Today I saw one at the wall in my livingroom. A big one more than 2 meters from the floor this is the first time I have seen one on the wall. I had hoped I had killed them all. I really hope this was the last one

 

[Snaketibe]

Damn I am still finding silverfish, Today I saw one at the wall in my livingroom. A big one more than 2 meters from the floor this is the first time I have seen one on the wall. I had hoped I had killed them all. I really hope this was the last one

I'm really sorry you're still having these problems.

In dusty bathrooms and toilets, they can often be found crawling on the walls unfortunately. Since they eat paper, the dust from toilet paper settles on walls and they go there to eat it. Due to your recent cleaning regime, perhaps the one on your living room wall was searching for food there?

As for how you keep finding them, obviously they are very small and fast moving, with the babies being extremely small and difficult to spot. I also believe they can sometimes eat the glue in carpets, which gives them an extra reason to live in and under those, as well as in other difficult to check places like behind skirting boards, etc.. Eradicating them completely will sadly be very difficult indeed. I'm not saying it's not possible, or not worth trying, but it is very difficult. And if you manage it, sadly they may still re-infect your home at a later date, since they made it in the first time without you knowingly bringing them in.

Perhaps the best you can do is to regularly inspect and use deterrents like Lavandula around those areas you most wish to protect, and to maintain a regular cleaning regime, especially vacuuming your floors and dusting surfaces.

Good luck.

Jeremy

 

[Pomse2001]

I'm really sorry you're still having these problems.

In dusty bathrooms and toilets, they can often be found crawling on the walls unfortunately. Since they eat paper, the dust from toilet paper settles on walls and they go there to eat it. Due to your recent cleaning regime, perhaps the one on your living room wall was searching for food there?

As for how you keep finding them, obviously they are very small and fast moving, with the babies being extremely small and difficult to spot. I also believe they can sometimes eat the glue in carpets, which gives them an extra reason to live in and under those, as well as in other difficult to check places like behind skirting boards, etc.. Eradicating them completely will sadly be very difficult indeed. I'm not saying it's not possible, or not worth trying, but it is very difficult. And if you manage it, sadly they may still re-infect your home at a later date, since they made it in the first time without you knowingly bringing them in.

Perhaps the best you can do is to regularly inspect and use deterrents like Lavandula around those areas you most wish to protect, and to maintain a regular cleaning regime, especially vacuuming your floors and dusting surfaces.

Good luck.

Jeremy

thanks jeremy, I use poison and vinegar on my skirting boards once every week. I have not any in the bathroom yet

Yes I guess it would be hard to kill them all. I think they must have come into my home with something I have bought on the internet from a packet. So I do not bring packets into my home anymore I have not done that since I found this bugs. I now open my packets outside my home and all packing stuff do not get inside the house I throw it out. Then I check my stuff in the packet for bugs before I take it inside my home.

 

[Pomse2001]

Last night I found another big one between 2 pillows in my bed. This is the first time I have found one in my bed, . I killed it and since I found them in my home more than a month ago I have always checked my bed before I go to bed because I did fear they could be in my bed and now I found the first one

 

[Pomse2001]

sunday I found 2 silverfish, I found a dead one in an at-at case that I checked only about 5 weeks ago and I found one alive on a tea towel

But I guess since I have made it hard for them to find food and rest in normal places then the ones that are still alive find strange places to eat or hide

 

[Pomse2001]

damn damn damn, last night I saw a very little silverfish on the kitchen table one of those who eat paper this morning I had a normal silverfish in the kitchen wash it was also small so there are still some left

 

[Pomse2001]

saturday I saw a dead silverfish on the floor where I vacum clean every day. Last night I saw a very little dark silverfish at the kitchen table that I killed. So there are still some. I really hope this was the last ones. The strange thing is I have used vinegar on the kitchen table and I read they hate vinegar, it looks like this one did not care about that so I guess it does not work on dark silverfish.

 

[Snaketibe]

Thanks for the update. I think you're doing all you can to tackle the problem by the sound of things, Lars. I know it must be a great worry to you given the damage they've already caused, but doing what you are doing and regularly cleaning, checking for them, using deterrents and killing / removing any that you find, will help keep on top of the problem and can only reduce their numbers.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Jeremy

 

[Pomse2001]

Thanks for the update. I think you're doing all you can to tackle the problem by the sound of things, Lars. I know it must be a great worry to you given the damage they've already caused, but doing what you are doing and regularly cleaning, checking for them, using deterrents and killing / removing any that you find, will help keep on top of the problem and can only reduce their numbers.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Jeremy

thanks jeremy I think I will still use vinegar, I have read they kill the eggs if there are any where you use it.

I will take some pictures of the damage when I feel better

 

[bosk70]

I did see one in my bathroom last night Lars and made me think of your trouble on here, I have only seen them in my bathroom and under the sink in the kitchen which has always made me think that they just hang out in any areas subject to damp or condensation, my ones are always the very silvery usual silver fish see one about once a week but just in the bathroom or kitchen. Hope you get a resolution to the issue soon.