Silverfish is actually not harmful to humans but it is not good to see them in house. They live in dark, cool, humid places and they like to have paper, drywall, starchy foods and glue clothing. They do not cause any disease or eat human and do not cause damage to home.
Silverfish appears about ½ inch long with a uniform silvery color in the top surface and has long slender body. The cast skins of silverfish indicate their presence. The stain in yellow color and irregular holes in fabric also indicate their presence.
Homemade Remedies to Get rid of Silverfish
Recipe 1: Cedar oil based
- Cedar oil
- Water
- A spray bottle
Method
Mix some cedar oil with water to dilute them and fill in spray bottle. Spray them in cracks and crevices of home. They give a smell that is pleasant to human but unpleasant to silverfish and other pests.
Recipe 2 : Basking Soda, Honey & Water based
- Water
- Baking soda
- Honey
- Sturdy Paper or cardboard sheet
Method
Mix water, baking soda and honey and then apply this mixture on a paper or cardboard sheet. Place these traps in the book shelf behind books. They kill silverfish. This trap is best to fit in book shelf.
Recipe 3 : Use Diatomaceous earth
Method
Sprinkle some Diatomaceous earth in the areas where silverfish are found. Diatomaceous earth are the foliated remains of micro organism and hard shelled algae. It works on the bugs exoskeleton using microscopic shards so they become dehydrated.
Recipe 4: Borax & sugar based
- Borax
- Flour or powdered sugar
Method
Mix borax and flour or powdered sugar and sprinkle them in areas where we suspect silverfish bugs. The mixture will repel silver bugs completely.
Recipe 5 : Use Strong smelling spices
- Cloves
- Cinnamon
- Other strong smelling spices
- Small sachets bags
Method
Put some cloves, cinnamon and other strong smelling spices in the small sachet bags. Stick it in kitchen cabinets is the way to get rid of silverfish in kitchen.
Recipe 6
- Lemon
- Lavender essential oil
- Water
- A spray bottle
Method
Dilute lemon juice or lavender essential oil with water. Fill the solution in a clean spray bottle. Spray them all over closets, drawers, bedroom areas and in places where we do not want silverfish.
Silverfish Traps
Glass trap
Wrap a tall glass with tape or cover the top with a masking tape. We can use oatmeal or crackers as a bait to attract silverfish bugs into the trap.
Newspaper trap
Role a paper, put bands at the end of the role. We can wet them with water to moisten them to attract silverfish. When we find silverfish in the paper, we can throw them or fire them. By repeating the process several nights we can remove the silverfish bugs infection.
Traps from store
We can use any traps from store. Any type of sticky traps is good to catch silverfish. Roach motels are stronger and we can also buy other small traps against silverfish.
Silverfish prevention
- We can reduce the moisture products at our place which attracts the silverfish bugs. The bugs are attracted to 75% to 90% humidity.
- We can dehumidify our rooms using a dehumidifier and other methods include ventilate closed rooms, clear stagnant water or we can use an air conditioner.
- Store all pantry food items in a tight lid container.
- Vacuuming cracks and crevices in the home regularly with sharp tip.
- We can sprinkle some cedar in all areas, whose smell repels silverfish.
- We can get a chemical spray with liquid pyrethrins and spray it in baseboards, cracks to repel silverfish.
