Do you have ‘silver guests’ … the silverfish whose scientific name is Lepisma Saccharina? We reveal how to get rid of silverfish and what you can do to prevent a new outbreak.
Especially at night in the bathroom you often meet silverfish. Their bodies are about 1 cm long and easily recognizable by the silvery scales and the long antennae.
During the day, silverfish hide in cracks between planks, behind loose wallpaper and strips or the like. They love warm temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius and high humidity — preferably between 80 and 90 percent. Under ideal conditions, the animals can reproduce after only a few months. A female lays about 100 eggs a year . A silverfish can live up to 8 years old .
Silverfish like to eat starchy and sugary foods — hence the European nickname ‘sugar pests’. Their diet also includes hair, mold, dust mites, paper, fabrics, glue and dead insects .
Get rid of silverfish
To get rid of silverfish, there are commercially available sticky traps. Pay attention here to the purchase on the environmental compatibility and the moisture resistance. Or try the following home remedies:
- Potato Trap : Place half a potato in a paper bag on the floor so the silverfish can crawl into the bag. The potato attracts the animals and the next morning you can carry the potato with the bag and the insects outside.
- Homemade Sticky Traps : Spread liquid honey on paper strips and lay them out. The animals stick to the honey and can be disposed of.
- Baking powder trap : mix baking powder with powdered sugar and lay out on a piece of paper.
All traps should only be set up when it gets dark and for the silverfish the day — or rather: the night — begins.
No disease carriers
Although silverfish do not transmit diseases and do not sting or bite, they should be taken seriously: they show that the humidity in the affected areas is too high and are thus a warning sign of mold in the home. The measures to prevent silverfish infestation therefore also help to prevent living molds.
- The best trick against mildew and silverfish: Ensure a dry indoor climate. Ventilate regularly, do not dry the laundry in the home if possible, and ensure a room temperature of 20 degrees – for most radiators this corresponds to level 3.
- Seal cracks in the floor and on the strips and re-glue loose wallpaper corners. This makes it difficult for the silverfish to settle.
- Check your apartment for mold . How to get rid of mold, you will learn here . Look behind the furniture – especially on the outer walls behind the sofa and bookcase unnoticed mold can spread.
- Regularly remove the hair lying around in the bathroom – this not only helps against silverfish, but also pleases the roommates. Let stand about any food open – otherwise could still be the silverfish food moths join.
- Rinse the drains regularly with hot water. Silverfish hiding in the drain are washed away and the pipes are cleaned.
By the way: In order to make your home particularly unattractive for silverfish, you can also work with certain fragrances: lemons, lavender, vinegar and cucumber are particularly daunting.
