How to Get Rid of Silverfish - Home Remedies That Work

Step by step

1. 1

   Lower the humidity in the room

   Silverfish need moisture to survive, which makes this the most important step. Air out the bathroom after every shower, leave the window ajar or run the exhaust fan for 15-20 minutes. If you don't have a window, consider a dehumidifier or a moisture absorber. Aim to keep relative humidity below 50 percent, because in those conditions silverfish stop breeding and go looking for damper places.

2. 2

   Set a glass jar trap

   Take a smooth glass jar and wrap the outside with masking tape or a strip of fabric so the silverfish has something to climb. Place bait inside: a bread crumb, some cereal flakes or a pinch of sugar. The insect climbs in for the food, but the smooth glass inside keeps it from getting back out. Set the trap overnight by a baseboard or under the sink and simply carry the catch outside in the morning.

3. 3

   Put out a rolled-up wet newspaper

   This is the cheapest lure you can make. Roll a damp newspaper into a tube, secure it with a rubber band and leave it overnight wherever you keep seeing silverfish. Wet paper combines two things that attract them: water and cellulose. By morning the insects will be hiding inside the roll, so toss the whole thing into a sealed bag or burn the newspaper. Repeat for a few nights until you stop catching new ones.

4. 4

   Sprinkle diatomaceous earth

   Diatomaceous earth is a natural powder that mechanically damages an insect's shell and dries it out. Sprinkle a thin layer along the baseboards, under the bathtub, behind the toilet and in cabinet crevices. Choose a product labeled as safe for household use and avoid breathing in the dust while spreading it. The powder only works when it's dry, so refresh the layer if it gets damp.

5. 5

   Seal grout lines and cracks

   Silverfish hide in cracked grout, behind baseboards and in gaps around pipes. Fill in damaged grout, seal the areas around the sink, bathtub and pipe openings with silicone, then close up the gaps along the baseboards. This takes away their hiding places and travel routes between rooms, and it limits moisture seepage at the same time.

6. 6

   Cut off their food supply

   Silverfish feed on starch and cellulose, so clear away whatever keeps them fed. Store flour, cereal and sugar in airtight containers, don't leave crumbs around, and move old newspapers, cardboard boxes and paper packaging out of damp rooms. The less food in your bathroom and pantry, the fewer reasons silverfish have to stay.

What silverfish are and whether you should worry

The silverfish is a small, silvery-gray insect with an elongated, fish-like body and three thread-like appendages at the tail end. It moves fast in a distinctive wiggling motion and flees from light, which is why you usually spot it at night when you flip on the bathroom light.

The good news is that silverfish don't bite, don't sting and don't spread disease. They also don't damage a building's structure the way wood-boring insects do. Their presence can be unpleasant, but treat it more as a warning sign than a real threat.

These insects can damage paper, books, wallpaper and packaging, because they eat the starch in adhesives along with cellulose. If you keep a home archive or a book collection, that's the one area where silverfish can do real harm.

Why silverfish pick the bathroom

The bathroom gives silverfish everything they need: warmth, moisture and dark hiding places. Steam after a shower, water droplets around the sink and weak ventilation create the microclimate they thrive in.

Then there's food you'd never think of as food. Wallpaper paste, paper scraps, flakes of dead skin and soap residue are enough to keep a silverfish going. That's why cleaning alone won't help if you don't deal with the moisture.

When silverfish point to a moisture problem

A single silverfish once in a while is nothing to worry about. But if you see them regularly and in several places, treat it as a humidity test for your home. A large population almost always goes hand in hand with damp.

Check for a leaky pipe, condensation on the walls, failing grout or poor ventilation. Removing the source of moisture works better against silverfish than any trap, because it takes away their living conditions. If the problem keeps coming back despite drying the place out, look for a hidden leak or a thermal bridge where water condenses.

Frequently asked questions