How To Get Rid Of Silverfish

Chances are you may have encountered a small light grey bug that resembles a centipede except for its fish like tail. Don’t worry these little insects are called silverfish. They aren’t dangerous, just annoying. When you encounter them in the home you know you have a problem.

There are four ways to get rid of silverfish, bait, exterminate, trap, and remove the habitat silverfish rely on. The first three are the simplest, while the third option may take a little detective work to solve.

That is what you will learn in this post exactly how to get rid of silverfish. I think as you continue reading you will find this article very informative and helpful!

You may also be interested in reading these two related articles “How To Get Rid Of Cockroaches” and “How To Get Rid Of Termites“.

Known Traits of Silverfish

In order to get rid of silver fish you need to remove the habitat they rely on. To accomplish this will take a little detective work and some effort. Just like a good detective you need to know as much about the perpetrator as possible.

Silverfish are a nocturnal pest, which means they only feed and crawl around at night.
They thrive in moist and dark conditions.
Silverfish love starchy foods, sugars, grains and they’ll go to great lengths to seek them out. This includes books, cereals, clothing, furniture, and glues.
In their natural environment these pests eat mold and if you have an infestation, you may also have a mold issue. Since you can find them under logs or in dense leafy areas, their natural feeding diet is from these fibrous sources.
When they find a good food area they generally stick around until the food source has been depleted.
Females leave the colony to lay eggs in other dark moist areas such as cracks and crevices, on cloths, and in food. Hence, starting new colonies in another area. The good news is that they can only produce one to three eggs a day.
The eggs are oval in shape, are soft and white. They yellow after a few hours. Chances of finding a nest are slim.
Silverfish shed their skin. Finding their cast skin is a good sign that you may have an infestation.
Finding irregular holes on fabrics, wall paper or books or yellowish stain trails on such items is another good sign of infestation.
Like all insects they do have natural predators. Some of the common enemies of the silverfish are earwigs, spiders, centipedes, and now you.

So far, you have learned a lot about the known traits of the silverfish. Where they hide, what they eat, where the females lay their eggs, and indicators that you may have an infestation. You are now capable and ready to hunt this pest down.

There is more to learn and that is how to exterminate them inside your home and outside.

In the next section you will discover the best chemicals and traps to use and even a few natural remedies in order to control silverfish without harming your children, pets or environment.

The Weapons the Pros Use

Cy-Kick is a suspended concentrate with low odor. The main ingredient in cy-kick insecticide is Cyfluthrin, which is a common household pesticide. This product is really over-killed for silverfish, but it will take care of many other insects as well; such as roaches and scorpions.

Cy-kick is fatal to fish. Be sure not to use this pesticide near creeks, ponds or rivers.

Like any chemical consider it toxic to humans. Reading and following the label on the bottle will reduce the risk factor along with proper mixing.

Cy-kick is will not stain surfaces so it is safe to use indoors without worrying about any chemical stains. Though it is advised to relocate or remove any pets before you treat inside of your home.

Tengard SRF One Shot is less harsh as Cy-kick and more environmentally safe. This pesticide main ingredient is permethrin and has been used to spray mosquito nets which kills those flying blood suckers dead on contact and is a common ingredient in certain medicines such as lice shampoo and lotion for scabies.

If you don’t like the thought of using Cy-kick indoors then Tengard, is what you need to use.

How to Use Pesticides Like a Pro

Both the Cy-kick CS and the Tengard SRF one shot come in measured bottles. All you have to do is the simple math from the label for the size of sprayer that you are going to use. Once measured you add the measured pesticide to your sprayer and fill to line using water from your outside spigot or tap. Shake the mixture up a little and then pressurize your sprayer.

How to Use a Pressure Sprayer

Most pressure sprayers have a locking handle that when pumped like a pellet gun creates pressure inside the tank. Once the handle is hard to push down your tank will be pressurized and ready to go to work.

If the handle doesn’t lock into position for carrying then you have too much pressure and will need to bleed a little off by aiming the nozzle toward the ground and pressing the spray trigger holding it down for a few seconds.

Now your handle should lock into place.

Your nozzle has different setting for different uses. The two common settings on a sprayer nozzle are as follows:

The Fan setting on your nozzle wand will produce a wide stream. The fan is best to use for low areas such as baseboards, around doors and cabinets. Outside the fan is used to create a perimeter around your property and home. It covers more ground more efficiently than a straight stream.
Straight stream is best for higher areas such as soffits, outside windows, under decks. A fully pressurized tank should be able to shoot a stream at least 15 feet or more depending on the sprayer. Refer to the manufactures instruction manual for your sprayers range.

You have just learned about the two best chemical pesticides on the market for getting rid of silverfish and how to use a pressure sprayer in order to properly distribute the pesticide inside your home and out.

Now it is time to discover some natural remedies of getting rid of silverfish inside your home and keeping them at bay.

Baits, Dust and Traps

Using baits, dust or traps are great to use to help get rid of silverfish in the home once you know they are there. As mentioned earlier, silverfish are nocturnal and like to hide behind baseboards, in moist areas such under sinks and in the bathroom where the humidity levels are the highest in the home.

Earlier you learned what they like to eat such as clothing, grains and glues due to their fibrous properties. Using baits, dust and traps in linen closets, behind furniture, pantries and under sinks will be the best places in your home in order to get rid of silverfish.

Baits are used to attract silverfish and other pests by giving them the food source they like eat and infusing that food source with poison. Most bait’s are designed to allow a pest to remove the food and take it back to their nesting spots where other silverfish will eat the bait as well. As the old saying goes; “Killing two birds with one stone.”

Dust such as Diatomaceous earth or delta dust may look like flour from your pantry but it is actually ground up rock from the query. It is not toxic but when silverfish come into contact with it they tend to dry up like a shriveled raisin. In essence the dust sucks up the moisture from their body. Unlike boric acid, which is toxic will not only kill silverfish but many different pests around your home.

If you use boric acid keep it out of reach of children or pets.

Traps can be purchased or made. They are designed to “trap” the pests and kill them by distress, poisoning or suffocation. Silverfish when using the right base will get stuck on the trap and die.

A simple mix for silverfish is to mix flour, water and boric acid together to form a sticky paste. Spread this paste onto an index card and set the trap in a dark corner of your cabinet, on your shelves in the pantry.

Now that you have a good knowledge of the more natural remedies for getting rid of silverfish, it’s now time to turn our attention to the hardest part removing their habitat.

The Key How to Get Rid of Silverfish

Resolving moisture issues is the key of how to get rid of silverfish long term. Leaky gutters, plumbing, and foundation problems are all culprits for creating the habitat silverfish thrive.

Once these issues are resolved 90 to 99% of your silverfish infestation will be solved. The chemicals will do the rest to eliminate the problem.

As a good detective you need to be sleuthing for moisture problems that can be fixed as you hunt for the silverfish hide out which won’t be too far away.

When on a perimeter sweep outside your home, look at all the possible ways water can penetrate it.

High on our list is going to be the gutter system. This system is designed to move water away from the home. A good sign of leakage from the gutter is to look at the downspouts, are they mildewing around the joints? How about the gutter track itself? Is there mildew or even mold at the ends or around connection areas?

If so, you may need to make sure everything is connected properly and run some caulking around the joints. If gutters aren’t working properly, then the water will puddle around the foundation of the house. The next thing to investigate will be the foundation.

You will be looking for any cracks in your foundation where water can seep in.

Going into your basement or crawl space you will notice any water either on the floor in the corners of your crawl space or as in basements water stains on the wall and possible puddles on the floor.

Anything outside that has been tarp would be a good area to investigate for silverfish. Tarps keep our things dry but they can trap water underneath them causing sultry conditions.

Hot tub, check all drains and water lines for any leaks.

One place not to overlook is exterior doors. Here insects of many varieties can crawl through if there are gaps. Check your thresholds as well and make sure they are sealed.

Inside Your Home

Inside home investigations actually start at the scene of the encounter and which way the perpetrators were last seen and their escaped route.

In the case of silverfish they will scatter and run under your cabinetry, dishwasher, refrigerator, stove and even your baseboards.

Using a flash-light, look inside of your cabinets, bases and uppers. Silverfish are excellent climbers and reclusive. Upper cabinets make great hide outs.

Check any electrical and waterlines that come through your cabinet. A sure sign of silverfish is a yellowish trail.

Look at your drains and make sure there is no water drips, or even hardened lime caused by a leak that may have built up over time and sealed itself off.

Caulk any holes you see, even the around the escutcheons plates for your water lines and drains. You should also consider caulking your base trim at the wall and on the floor.

Under Your House

From your basement or crawl space, check your drainage under your bath, shower, toilets and sinks. If they are covered up by insulation look real good for signs of water leakage on the paper.

While you are down there check your cove joint. This is where the wood and concrete meet in a crawl space or basement. These are dark cubby holes if they get moist or wet they would make a great place for silverfish to hide.

If anything needs to be caulked, filled, or sealed do it. Let’s leave no stone unturned, when it comes to how to get rid of silverfish.

Pure Pest Control