Silverfish – Control

Q: How can I get rid of the silverfish inside my home? I see more upstairs than downstairs. Do they cause damage?

A: Silverfish don’t survive very well without high humidity indoors. They do some damage to paper but they dearly love the glue of books and the cellulose lint that accumulates near baseboards. First, correct the humidity in your house by covering your crawl space with plastic and remembering to turn on the fan vent in your bathroom and kitchen when they are in use. Silverfish can be trapped using the small “sticky traps” designed for roaches and fleas.

You can also spray with products containing boric acid, pyrethrin with piperonyl butoxide and various other insecticides like trihalomethrin and permethrin.

Poisons need to be applied thoroughly to all possible hiding places including cracks, crevices, around water pipes, in closets, and even in attic the attic. Control may take 10 to 14 days since silverfish in wall voids must move out and contact the insecticide before they are killed.